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Remote idea
Luck Stone takes an improbable concept and successfully applies remote control technology to a wheel loader. Aggregate producers don’t necessarily have to pump millions of dollars into research and development to cultivate a business-changing innovation. Sometimes, getting feedback from the men and women who power the business is a simpler alternative – and the more cost-effective route to take. Travis Chewning, the director of innovation at Luck Stone, has found this approach to be particularly effective. Asking for employee feedback was specifically useful for Luck Stone in the recent development of a remote control wheel loader. About eight months before Luck Stone debuted this technology, a team within the company was working to develop ways to increase the company’s reserves. According to Luck Stone, it isn’t uncommon for the company to leave stone reserves behind in order to keep loader operators safe. Considering this factor, one employee posed a question that probably sounded silly when it was suggested yet ultimately changed how the company loads material. The question was this: What… Keep Reading
Life in the fast lane
A NASCAR career is Greg Biffle’s No. 1 work-related commitment, but the driver with 19 career victories is also at home in the mine. NASCAR driver Greg Biffle’s journey into aggregates stems from his very own crushing and screening equipment. Greg Biffle is the first to admit that playing with toys is still a priority in his life despite juggling a busy racing schedule, time with his wife and daughter, a foundation for animals and a family business. But Biffle, a 44-year-old NASCAR driver, is not playing in the sandbox anymore. His toys have evolved from Tonka trucks to heavy-duty construction and aggregate equipment – and the bigger, the better, he says. Biffle grew up loving anything with a motor and wheels. But it wasn’t until he started purchasing property in the southeastern United States that he thought about running equipment himself. His affinity for iron grew quickly. Biffle started with a dozer, but his affinity soon developed into a considerable spread of crushing and screening equipment, which he used… Keep Reading
CDE Global names general manager
CDE Global Inc. appointed Joel Prince as general manager in North America. Prince will be based in Siler City, N.C., and will oversee the expansion of CDE. According to a press release, Prince joins the company after spending 10 years in the construction industry. In addition, CDE says it will be introducing a new wash plant at the upcoming ConExpo-Con/Agg 2014. The M4500 plant is designed for construction, mining, recycling and industrial sands applications. Keep Reading
Nye expects additional economic growth for Martin Marietta in 2014
Ward Nye, president and CEO of Martin Marietta Materials Inc., offered a positive industry outlook for 2014 upon the release of his company's fourth quarter results. "We are encouraged by various positive trends in our business and markets, especially in employment and private-sector construction," Nye says in a press release. "Nonresidential construction is expected to grow in both the heavy industrial and commercial sectors. Shale development and related follow-on public and private construction activities are anticipated to remain strong. "Further, the commercial building sector is expected to benefit from improved market fundamentals, such as higher occupancies and rents, strengthened property values and increased real estate lending. Based on these factors, we anticipate that the nonresidential end-use market will increase in the mid-to-high single digits." Nye adds that residential construction should continue to grow, driven by historically low mortgage rates, rising housing prices and total annual housing starts. "We believe these trends will lead to double-digit volume growth in residential end-use shipments," he says. "For the public sector, authorized highway funding… Keep Reading
Nonresidential market drives Martin Marietta’s fourth quarter
Martin Marietta Materials Inc.'s nonresidential and residential aggregates product line shipments experienced double-digit volume growth in the fourth quarter last year, driving a 67 percent increase in earnings per diluted share over the company's 2012 fourth quarter. In addition, Martin Marietta reported a 3.4 percent increase in aggregates product line pricing despite shipments being down when compared with the previous year's fourth quarter. "The private sector continues to drive construction growth," says Ward Nye, Martin Marietta president and CEO, in a press release. "Looking closely at our fourth-quarter results, the nonresidential market, which comprised 33 percent of fourth-quarter aggregates product line shipments and increased 11 percent, was a major contributor. We saw notable growth in both commercial construction and the energy sector as we continue to benefit from the investment in shale energy. "Looking forward, we anticipate additional opportunities as developmental activity moves into downstream projects." The residential market achieved volume growth of 21 percent and accounted for 15 percent of Martin Marietta's quarterly shipments. According to Nye, those figures… Keep Reading
Firm: Construction starts climbed 6 percent in 2013
New construction starts in December grew 5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $554.5 billion, according to McGraw Hill Construction, a division of McGraw Hill Financial. Although both nonresidential building and housing settled back during the final month of 2013, McGraw Hill Construction says the nonbuilding construction sector finished the year strong. For 2013 as a whole, total construction starts advanced 6 percent to $516.8 billion. This follows a 10 percent gain reported for 2012 and modest 2 percent gains in both 2010 and 2011. The December stats produced a reading of 117 for the Dodge Index compared to 111 in November. This marked the third-highest month for the Dodge Index during 2013, after September’s 118 and October’s 125. During the first eight months of the year, the Dodge Index hovered within the fairly narrow range of 100 to 108, but it showed a stronger pace of activity during the final four months, reflecting in part the impact of several very large projects. "The construction industry in 2013… Keep Reading
Looking ahead to Las Vegas
Megan Tanel, AEM’s vice president of exhibitions, offers a preview of the show. Just how big will ConExpo-Con/Agg 2014 be? How can you best prepare for the five-day trade show March 4-8? And how can you take advantage of NASCAR’s presence in Las Vegas that week? Megan Tanel, vice president of exhibitions at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), weighs in on these topics – and more – in an exclusive interview with Pit & Quarry’s Kevin Yanik. P&Q: How does AEM expect this year’s ConExpo-Con/Agg to compare historically to previous ConExpo-Con/Agg trade shows? MT: Previously, the largest show was 2.28 million net sq. ft. This show is already over 2.33 million net sq. ft., and we expect it to be right around 2.35 million net sq. ft. The show is at capacity, and we have been at capacity for indoor space for some time. It’s a great position to be in, but it’s challenging as well because you want to accommodate everyone in the industry who wants to be there.… Keep Reading
One-hundred-acre Georgia quarry sold
Stephens MDS LP acquired the 100‐acre granite quarry in College Park, Ga., from Bluegrass Materials Co. The transaction closed Jan. 22 for an undisclosed sum. According to a press release, Bluegrass Materials had purchased the quarry along with three other Atlanta-area quarries from Lafarge North America in January 2013. The quarry in College Park has at least 40 years of commercial life remaining, says Stephens MDS. Stephens MDS says it owns property bordering the granite quarry and has used it to operate a waste management operation that includes construction demolition disposal, recycling and aggregate sales. The recycling operation accepts and recycles soil, rock, concrete, asphalt and other building debris and resells the processed products to the construction industry for reuse. Stephens also mines and sells its own aggregate on site, previously operating in competition with the adjacent quarry Stephens now owns. Keep Reading
Vulcan selling cement, concrete operations in Florida
Vulcan Materials Co. has agreed to sell cement and concrete businesses in Florida and Georgia to Cementos Argos for $720 million. According to a press release, Vulcan is retaining all of its aggregates operations in Florida. Vulcan is selling businesses in Florida and south Georgia, including its cement plant in Newberry, Fla., cement terminals and grinding facilities in Tampa and Port Manatee, Fla., 69 ready-mixed concrete sites and 13 concrete block and building sites. As part of the transaction, Vulcan entered into a supply agreement to continue to provide aggregates to the concrete facilities for 20 years. The transaction is expected to close sometime this quarter. In addition, Vulcan says it exercised an option in December to purchase land containing 136 million tons of aggregates reserves in Southern California for $117 million. The company previously operated the quarry under a lease that was scheduled to expire in 2017. Keep Reading
