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Dodge Momentum Index at highest mark in nearly four years
The Dodge Momentum Index, a monthly measure of the first report for nonresidential building projects in planning, rose 5.2 percent in April from the previous month, according to McGraw Hill Construction. Gains have been reported for the momentum index in each of this year’s first four months. Since December 2012, the momentum index is up by 23 percent. The April increase brings the momentum index to 114.4 – the highest level since mid-2009. According to McGraw Hill Construction, the April advance was largely the result of a strong upturn by its commercial segment. New plans for commercial buildings rose 8.5 percent in April, buttressed by several retail projects. Among the larger retail developments to enter planning in April were a new $71 million outlet center in Niagara Falls N.Y., and a $60 million shopping center in San Francisco. The institutional segment in April showed a slight gain at 1.2 percent, as a decline in plans for new health care buildings offset a gain for education-related development. Keep Reading
Xylem establishes branch in Tennessee
Xylem opened a new dewatering solutions branch in Blountville, Tenn. Located at 2020 Highway 75 in Blountville, the branch will serve southwest Virginia through Knoxville, Tenn. The facility has a 15,000-sq.-ft. shop and 3,000 sq. ft. of office space, three dock and nine drive-in doors, and three acres of paved yard space. "This area has been a growth target for Xylem for a number of years," says Jarrod Williamson, Xylem's southeast regional manager. "We have had strong support in the region from our Charlotte, N.C., location, but are now ready to give it more direct attention. Our focus in the area will be diverse, but will include industrial work, municipal opportunities, utility and general contractors, heavy highway constructors, and work in the aggregate market." Keep Reading
Luber-finer awards national scholarship
Luber-finer awarded a $1,000 National FFA Collegiate Scholarship Program award to Amber Scarbrough, a resident of Fairfield, Ill., who plans to continue her education at Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel, Ill. Luber-finer has been a sponsor of the National FFA and its scholarship program for more than 17 years, according to a company press release. Keep Reading
CEO, chief technology officer leaving ABB
Joe Hogan, CEO of ABB is leaving the company. Hogan will continue to lead ABB until a successor is announced. He joined the company as CEO in September 2008. “Joe is a great and successful CEO and has done a remarkable job of leading the company through the deepest economic crisis in living memory," says Hubertus von Grunberg, chairman. "ABB today is in a much better position than it was when he joined five years ago." In addition, Prith Banerjee, who joined ABB in 2012 and served as chief technology officer, is leaving the company in the coming weeks. He will be relocating here to the United States, where he will be taking another position outside the company. Banerjee's successor has yet to be announced. Keep Reading
Lafarge makes donation to Canadian zoo
Lafarge Canada Inc. has partnered with the Calgary Zoo and the zoo's Centre for Conservation Research, donating cash and a gift in kind of aggregates, concrete and cement, as well as employee volunteer hours. Lafarge aims to help sustain the ecosystems where we work and live. “Lafarge has a long history of environmental leadership and has connected specifically with the conservation research center to further our efforts," says Rene Thibault, president and CEO of Lafarge Western Canada. "We have supported the zoo for over 20 years and find their research work critical to biodiversity." The support from Lafarge will help back field research projects such as black-tailed prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets, whooping crane incubation studies at the zoo’s Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre and international community-based conservation work in collaboration with the zoo’s conservation outreach team. Keep Reading
Virginia roads bill signed into law
The commonwealth of Virginia's road construction fund was on a pace to run out in four years. But a landmark transportation-funding bill Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-Va.) ceremoniously signed Monday will generate $1.4 billion per year for Virginia's roads and highways. According to the Washington Post, the law changes the way Virginia raises funds for transportation, creating the first new revenue stream in nearly a generation to one of the nation’s largest and most congested road systems. The law cuts the fuels tax but allows it to rise with inflation. It raises the sales tax from 5 percent to 5.3 percent and allocates a portion of existing revenue to roads. In addition, the bill raises funds for regional authorities in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads for transportation projects in those congestion-prone areas. “This bill is crucial to the future growth of Virginia’s economy, and this is a great day for job creation in the commonwealth,” McDonnell said. Keep Reading
Vulcan makes first-quarter results public
Vulcan Materials Co. released its 2013 first-quarter results today, noting that its aggregates gross profit was down over the prior year's first quarter yet emphasizing that the company's business segments performed as they were expected to. "Aggregates segment gross profit, while down versus the prior year, was in line with our expectations and up sharply versus the first quarter of 2011," says Don James, Vulcan's chairman and CEO. "We expected first-quarter aggregates shipments to be lower than last year when shipments increased 10 percent due to favorable weather and the timing of shipments to several large projects." James adds that demand for Vulcan's products in several markets continues to benefit from recovery in private construction activity, particularly residential. "Most notably, we realized double-digit percentage increases in first-quarter aggregates shipments in Arizona, California and Florida – driven by demand from housing," James says. "In other key markets, particularly Texas, shipments also increased, reflecting broad-based recovery across all end-markets. Housing starts, as measured on a seasonally adjusted annual rate, are now more than… Keep Reading
Luck’s alternative management approach
Luck Cos., a MegaProducer with 15 quarries in Virginia, sunk to its lowest point in the company's 90-year history in 2008, according to President and CEO Charlie Luck IV. That year, the Great Recession forced Luck Cos. to reduce its team by 18 percent. Many companies went the low-man-on-the-totem-pole route in determining who to terminate that year and in the years that followed. But Luck Cos. went a different route – one that exhibits a unique company culture Luck Cos. had previously discovered. "In the past we would have let the newest people go and kept long-tenured people," says Luck, who delivered a special presentation back in March during the AGG1 Academy in San Antonio. "But we looked through our team and made cuts through a new lens. We kept the people who were really focused on working on themselves." A focus on developing people first – not profit – is an approach few producers and contractors probably took over the Great Recession's trying years. But Luck Cos. went that route because… Keep Reading
Dates announced for Blasting and Explosives Safety Training
The annual fall Blasting and Explosives Safety Training (BEST) Seminar will be held Sept. 4-6, 2013, at the South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City, S.D. The two-and-a-half day educational training session will be capped by a night blast at the Crazy Horse Memorial on Sept. 6. RAM Inc.’s BEST Seminar is designed specifically for those who work with explosives – explosives engineers, drillers, field crews, safety personnel and drilling and blasting engineers. The seminar is also designed to help attendees comply with state and federal regulations. Upon completion, each BEST attendee will receive a course certificate and a manual with information that can be used in the field. All attendees will receive 20 continuing education (CE) hours. An advanced course registration discount is available through July 31. Visit www.ramets.com for more details. Keep Reading
