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NSSGA recognized by Green Seal for sustainability
The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) was recognized by the Green Seal Green Office Partnership Program as a leader in sustainability. Last year, a specialist from Green Seal visited NSSGA’s Virginia office and offered recommendations for how the association could further integrate environmentally conscious practices into its daily operations. According to NSSGA, it has become more sustainable in its operations, including waste reduction and recycling, procurement, IT management and staff education. “Like our members, NSSGA is committed to sustainability and we appreciate this recognition from the Green Seal Green Office Partnership Program,” says NSSGA President and CEO Mike Johnson. “As the first construction materials group to be recognized, NSSGA is at the leading edge of sustainable office practices.” Keep Reading
Advocates take action for highway reauthorization at TCC Fly-In
More than 500 individuals gathered in Washington, D.C., April 14-15 for the TCC Fly-In to urge Congress to take action on highway reauthorization before MAP-21 expires May 31. Those who attended represented 31 national associations and construction unions. The event began with a legislation briefing in which House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), Reps. Reid Ribble (R-Wisc.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx spoke to the attendees. Following this, TCC held a reception for members of Congress to meet with their constituents participating in the event. The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) and 11 other trade associations, labor groups and companies also had the opportunity to meet with House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), who is responsible for developing the funding portion of the next highway bill. According to NSSGA, Ryan reiterated his commitment to find the funding necessary for a six-year bill. On April 15, TCC Fly-In participants went to Capitol Hill and voiced the need… Keep Reading
Double Coin/CMA add two new regional sales managers
Double Coin and CMA appointed Rico Austin as regional sales manager for the Southwest region and Bill Telefonow as regional sales manager for the Canada region. Prior to this position, Austin served as western territory manager for REMA Tip Top. He has also held positions at Michelin North America and Continental Tire. Telefonow has worked more than 20 years in sales and management for a number of tire manufacturers, including Continental Tire Canada and Kumho Tire Canada. “Our two new regional sales managers bring a multitude of industry experience to our growing sales team,” says Aaron Murphy, vice president of CMA. “With the expansion of our service footprint as well as additional requirements from the marketplace, we look forward to their contribution in supporting Double Coin and CMA success.” Keep Reading
March construction falls, 2015 construction up
According to Dodge Data & Analytics, new construction starts in March fell 13 percent from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $633.3 billion with a Dodge Index of 134. The fallback can be attributed to decreased activity in nonresidential building and nonbuilding construction. Nonresidential building in March decreased 19 percent to $183.5 billion, with the manufacturing building category falling 57 percent. In addition, the commercial building group declined 10 percent, office construction fell 20 percent, warehouse construction dropped 26 percent and hotel construction stepped by 1 percent. Despite this, store construction rose 13 percent. The institutional building group fell back 9 percent, which the healthcare facilities category dropping 40 percent, educational buildings declining 11 percent and public buildings falling 5 percent. However, the remaining institutional structure types reaped positive results, with transportation terminals up 33 percent, amusement-related work up 52 percent and religious buildings up 71 percent. Nonbuilding construction dropped 22 percent in March to $198.5 billion due to a 73 percent plunge in the electric utility and… Keep Reading
Atlas Copco raises $31,000 for charity organization
Atlas Copco USA raised nearly $31,000 for its employee-led Water for All charity organization during a three-day annual conference. The charity, which aims to provide people with clean drinking water, was launched in 1984 by Torgny Rogert and Peter Hakansson, two Atlas Copco employees. The duo founded the organization after witnessing how a draught created poor living conditions in Peru. According to Atlas Copco, in the past 30 years, the Water for All initiative has helped more than 1.5 billion people gain access to clean water and sanitation. “What started as a one-time project to raise money to combat drought-stricken communities in Peru has grown into a worldwide initiative that allows our employees to act on their commitment to global sustainability,” says Jim Levitt, president of Atlas Copco North America. “We are proud to support organizations that raise awareness and take action around the issues of unsafe drinking water and global water scarcity.” Keep Reading
CEMA issues new standard for ranking conveyor belt cleaners
The Conveyor Equipment Manufacturer’s Association (CEMA), with the help of Martin Engineering, issued a new standard for ranking conveyor belt cleaners called CEMA 576. Included in the 7th edition of CEMA’s book, Belt Conveyors for Bulk Materials, the standard provides performance-based guidelines for specifying belt cleaners by determining the level of difficulty in a given application. “For end users, the standard is an objective means of determining a cleaner’s suitability for the plant’s material and operating conditions, allowing them to specify a cleaner most likely to meet their needs,” says Martin Engineering Product Engineer Daniel Marshall. “It also provides a means to check a sales rep’s recommendations against the application requirements, allowing users to compare ‘apples and apples’ in terms of duty rating, performance and pricing.” In order to develop its ratings, the standard uses belt features and materials characteristics using CEMA Standard 550 to assign values for the material categories. The factors determined include conveyor speed, belt width, splices, material abrasiveness and moisture content. Each factor is scored individually and… Keep Reading
Summit signs agreement to acquire Lafarge cement plant, terminals
Summit Materials signed a definitive agreement with Lafarge North America to acquire Lafarge NA’s 1.2 million short-ton capacity cement plant in Davenport, Iowa, as well as seven cement distribution terminals for $450 million, reports Yahoo Finance. According to Yahoo, the Davenport assets will be integrated into Summit’s Continental Cement Co. in Chesterfield, Mo. With the addition of the Lafarge assets, Summit will have 2.45 million short tons of cement capacity across two plants in Hannibal, Mo., and Davenport, along with eight other cement distribution terminals. “The Davenport Assets are an excellent fit with our materials-based growth strategy and a continuation of Summit’s proven track record of value-added acquisitions,” says Summit CEO Tom Hill. “The combination of the Davenport Assets and Continental Cement creates a strategically compelling and complementary multi-plant cement business in very attractive markets along the Mississippi.” The transaction is expected to close July 2015, and the purchase price is expected to be funding by a combination of debt and equity, says Yahoo. Keep Reading
Legislators ramp up solutions to Highway Trust Fund crisis
A number of legislators are working to solve the Highway Trust Fund crisis. Reps. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) and Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) introduced a bill which would index the gas tax to inflation and establish a Highway Trust Fund “supercommittee” to find a long-term funding solution by September 2016. According to the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), the gas tax would increase the user fee by 4 cents. Reps. John Delaney (D-Md.) and Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) sent a letter to leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Ways and Means committees urging them to look at their Infrastructure 2.0 Act as a solution, reports NSSGA. The act would use international corporate tax reform to patch the Highway Trust Fund for six years. It would also create a $50 billion infrastructure fund for state and local governments. In addition, Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced a bill that would offer multinational corporations a tax holiday on their overseas earnings. This would allow them to bring home… Keep Reading
NSSGA to host AGG1 MSHA webinar April 23
The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) will be hosting its April AGG1 webinar, “Rules to Live By (RTLB) and the MSHA Enforcement Calendar” April 23 at 1 p.m. Eastern. According to NSSGA, MSHA plans to increase enforcement on its two dozen RTLB standards. In light of this, the webinar will focus on avoiding increased MSHA penalties resulting from enforcement changes. It will cover the RTLB standards, including what they require for compliance, pitfalls for enforcement and how the new calculator can trigger additional enforcement. In addition, the webinar will teach ways in which operators can avoid increased penalty costs. Registration is $49 for members and $99 for nonmembers per location. Registration also includes a free copy of the webinar recording. Sign up for this webinar here. Keep Reading
