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P&Q partners with National Mining Hall of Fame
At its annual Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame ceremony, Pit & Quarry announced a partnership with the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum. Through the partnership, the inductees in the Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame will be featured in the National Mining Hall of Fame in Leadville, Colo. “It gives residence for the inductees and for their bios and for their life stories,” says Frank McAllister, chairman of the Mining Hall of Fame board. “So people can physically come and look at them and see them amongst their peers in the industry.” The Pit & Quarry Hall of Fame inductee plaques will be hung near the entrance of the museum. McAllister also hopes to eventually incorporate a digital element to the museum. “[By digitizing the museum,] we’d have the opportunity to not just show the fellow’s plaque, but we could also show a little bit about his life and where he worked and things like that,” he says. P&Q and the Mining Hall of Fame plan to… Keep Reading
BCC report indicates growth in hydraulic proppants
BCC Research announced in its report, “Fracking Proppants: Global Markets,” that increasing industrialization has resulted in significant growth in demand for hydraulic proppants. According to the report, growing industrialization has led to an increased need for energy with expansion being driven by China, India, Brazil and Russia. It says the U.S. may become largely independent of fossil fuel imports, while other European consumers, along with China and India, are preparing for increased dependency. The most commonly used proppant is silica sand, says the report, and in the U.S., demand for proppants is primarily from the shale oil industry. In addition, as the production of shale gas increases, so do proppant sales. “While most of the proppant spending will take place in the Americas and in the U. S. in particular, annual growth rates for other nations and regions are more aggressive, as the unconventional oil and gas boon spreads across the globe over the next ten years,” says BCC Research analyst Tanmay Joshi. “Of particular note are the proppants markets… Keep Reading
Brock, chairman and former CEO of Astec, dies
J. Don Brock, chairman and former CEO of Astec Industries, died Wednesday at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn. He was 76. Brock was diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer in 2012. Brock, a member of Pit & Quarry’s Hall of Fame, was one of the five founders of Astec, which formed in 1972. Under his leadership, Astec became a global company with 18 subsidiaries around the world. He also held about 100 U.S. and foreign patents on construction machinery and drying equipment. Brock won a number of awards, including the Man of the Year award from the National Asphalt Pavement Association; the Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni award from the Georgia Institute of Technology; the Dougherty Award from the University of Tennessee; the ARTBA Top 100 Private Sector Transportation Construction Professionals of the 20th Century award; and the Dr. J. Don Brock Transovation Award from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. Keep Reading
Shuster, Glassman to speak at NSSGA convention opening session
The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) announced that House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and columnist, diplomat and author James Glassman will be speaking at the opening session of its annual convention Monday, March 16 at the Baltimore Hilton, Baltimore, Md. “Chairman Shuster understands the critical importance that a long-term and sustainable bill for maintaining the nation’s roads, highways and bridges has to our nation’s economy,” says Mike Johnson, president and CEO of NSSGA. “In the coming weeks, he will be urging his colleagues on Capitol Hill to pass a bill before the existing MAP-21 patch runs out at the end of May.” In conjunction with Shuster’s speech, Glassman will provide insights on the need to invest in infrastructure to further economic growth and job creation. Keep Reading
Colorado School of Mines, CMAEF sponsor online mining course
The Colorado School of Mines and the Colorado Mining Association Education Foundation (CMAEF) are sponsoring an online course, “All About Mining,” for kindergarten through 12th grade educators. The course consists of 47 online lectures on the facets of the mining industry and is followed up by a three-day in-class orientation/material review at the Colorado School of Mines campus in Golden, Colo., and one week of field trips to underground and surface mines. The online lectures are free to whoever would like to view them. The refresher course and field trip cost $300. Those who complete the online lectures, refresher course and field trip will be granted six credit hours of graduate level recertification credit from the Colorado School of Mines. For more information, visit the course website or contact Shannon Mann, course coordinator, at coordinator@allaboutmining.org. Keep Reading
Hagerty elected to Rogers Group board of directors
Rogers Group announced the election of William Hagerty IV to its board of directors. Hagerty is a founder and managing director of Hagerty Peterson & Co. Hagerty's prior experience includes serving in the Cabinet of Governor Bill Haslam as the commissioner of economic development for Tennessee, where he ran the department responsible for jobs, industry and economic growth. He also worked on a regular basis with the U.S. Congress, where he provided Congressional testimony. Hagerty began his career with The Boston Consulting Group, ultimately serving as the senior expatriate with responsibility for the firm’s international activities in Japan. He then went on to work on the White House staff as White House fellow reporting to the vice president. He has served on a number of boards, including CyMed, NEW Customer Service Company, Ultra Stores, Sound Advice, Birch Telecom and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Keep Reading
JCB expands North American presence with wheel loader, excavator
In light of the upcoming spring season, JCB held a press event March 5 at its headquarters in Savannah, Ga., to debut its new equipment. North America is the company’s third largest market, and JCB plans to take advantage of the region’s ever-growing opportunities. “JCB’s global sales were helped by a strong North American construction equipment market that grew by 13 percent in 2014,” said Arjun Mirdha, president and CEO of JCB North America. With 97 dealers in about 300 locations, the company said it’s focusing on responding to the region’s needs. JCB plans to do so with its new wheel loaders and excavators. Rounding out JCB’s line of wheel loaders is its 457 wheel loader, which is the first machine to feature the company’s JCB CommandPlus cab. The CommandPlus cab includes JCB’s Command Driving Position, as well as an adjustable steering column and seat-mounted hydraulic controls. In addition, it provides increased internal space, additional storage room and LED lighting. “It’s a massive improvement on the previous cab,” says Pete… Keep Reading
Summit Materials files IPO plans
According to a filing made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Summit Materials plans to raise between $376 million and $432.4 million in an initial public offering, reports the Denver Post. "The private construction market is beginning to rebound, which we believe signals the outset of a strong growth period in our industry and end markets," the company said in its filing. The Denver Post states the company’s growth has come largely through its more than 30 acquisitions. At the end of last year, the company had $1.06 million in debt, and the offering proceeds will go to pay down those loans. The article says Summit plans to issue 22.2 million shares, with the underwriters having rights to issue another 3.3 million shares if demand exists. The current owners of Summit will retain nearly three-fourths of the voting rights in the company, while new shareholders will obtain just under one-fourth of the voting rights, says the the Denver Post. Keep Reading
Women in Mining breaks more than one stigma
A mostly female organization educates the public on the mining and aggregate industries. Few people are aware that toothpaste is made with the same mineral they walk on every day. Members of Women in Mining (WIM), a national organization, use this fact as an educational tool for teaching students how to make their own toothpaste out of calcium carbonate and baking soda. “‘If it can’t be grown, it has to be mined.’ That’s our motto,” says Julia Lakes-Martinez, California chapter president of WIM and environmental manager for the Southern California Materials Division at CalPortland. Women in Mining was founded in 1972 in Denver. It aims to educate its members and the public about the mining and aggregate industries. “The purpose is really to change peoples’ view or outlook on the mining industry and educate people on the importance of mining minerals and aggregates,” Lakes-Martinez says. “[We want to] change peoples’ negative view of the mining industry.” Educating the public Women in Mining has chapters throughout the United States, with locations… Keep Reading
