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Schenck AccuRate, Mac Process forming single company
Sister companies Schenck AccuRate and Mac Process are joining forces to form a single entity called Schenck Process North America Inc. Schenck AccuRate, a dry material feeder manufacturer and weighing technology specialist, and Mac Process, a supplier of design pneumatic conveying and air filtration systems, will integrate their sales teams. Jay Brown will direct the combined business as president and CEO, and Dirk Maroske will assume the new role of COO. Schenck Process North America will officially launch on January 1, 2013. The AccuRate and Mac brand names will remain, and the company says existing operations in Houston, Whitewater, Wisc., Kansas City, Mo., and Milford, Ohio, will remain largely unchanged. Keep Reading
WTS International names keynote speaker for 2013 conference
Gloria Steinem, a women's liberation movement leader in the late 1960s and 1970s, has been named the keynote speaker for next year’s WTS International annual conference. WTS International is an association that focuses on the professional advancement of women in transportation. The conference, to be held May 15-17 next year in Philadelphia, generally attracts corporate and government industry leaders worldwide, including executives, CEOs, government administrators and engineering authorities. Attendees at the conference gather to network, discuss the state of the world’s transportation infrastructure, strategize on advancing professionally through glass ceilings, and explore successful municipal and private transportation and traffic projects. Photo: WTS International Keep Reading
June construction retreats 1 percent
New construction starts in June slipped 1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $446.1 billion, according to McGraw-Hill Construction. After the elevated activity that McGraw-Hill reported during March and April, which reflected the lift coming from two nuclear power projects, total construction in May and June returned to a level just slightly above the average monthly pace reported during the previous year. June featured a moderate loss of momentum for nonresidential building, after this sector’s improved performance in May. At the same time, residential building in June maintained its gradual upward trend, while nonbuilding construction was unchanged as the result of divergent behavior by its public works and electric utility segments. For the first six months of 2012, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis came in at $225 billion, up 4 percent from the same period a year ago. Keep Reading
Nineteen mining deaths second fewest ever at midyear
MSHA reports 19 miners died in work-related accidents at mines across the United States in its 2012 midyear summary of mining deaths. Ten of the 19 deaths were coal mining related, while nine were metal and nonmetal mining deaths. Four of the nine metal/nonmetal deaths were attributed to powered-haulage incidents, and two were the result of a falling face, rib or highwall. Three others were linked to accidents involving machinery, falling material and a person falling. “While 19 is the second-lowest number of mining deaths recorded in mining midyear, we know that these deaths are preventable,” says Joe Main, MSHA’s assistant secretary of labor. “Many mines operate every shift of every day, year in and year out, without a fatality or a lost-time injury. Mining workplaces can and must be made safe for all miners.” Keep Reading
Former Martin Marietta employee joins Crisp Industries
Crisp Industries Inc. has named Doug Swoveland operations manager of the company’s branch in New Braunfels, Texas. Swoveland will oversee Crisp’s daily operations and service activities for the South Texas area. Before joining Crisp, Swoveland worked for Martin Marietta Materials Inc. for 24 years in various positions at its Beckmann plant. Keep Reading
Webinar to outline transportation bill details
Jack Schenendorf, an attorney with the law firm Covington & Burling LLP and a staff member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, will lead an NSSGA webinar July 30 at 3 p.m. EDT that outlines what’s in the transportation bill for your business these next two years. Schenendorf, who has served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for nearly 25 years, will focus on the bill’s funding, program reforms and streamlining provisions. Keep Reading
Graniterock CEO’s death ruled an accidental drowning
Placer County (Calif.) deputies confirmed earlier this week that Graniterock CEO Bruce Woolpert’s death was an accidental drowning, The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports. Although there were no witnesses, an investigation concluded that while near North Lake Tahoe, Woolpert fell and hit his head June 24 either on a powerboat or his untied dinghy. He landed in the water. A woman spotted Woolpert's dinghy drifting with no one in it about 200 ft. from the powerboat. She then spotted Woolpert, who was floating face down in the water. North Lake Tahoe firefighters found Woolpert in about 2 ft. of water, and they declared him dead at the scene. He had a visible head injury, which led investigators to believe he struck his head on one of the boats. Sgt. David Hunt says Woolpert was not wearing a life jacket, but he doubts a life jacket would have saved Woolpert because he was floating face down. "It appears, in its entirety, to be an accidental drowning," Hunt says. Photo: Gratinerock Keep Reading
New standard sought to distinguish safe, harmful fines
A proposed ASTM International standard will be used to distinguish between harmful and non-harmful fines in construction aggregate. A test method to rapidly determine the methylene blue value for fine aggregate and mineral filler is being developed by a normal weight aggregates subcommittee, which is part of an ASTM International committee on concrete and concrete aggregates. According to Eric Koehler, research and development director at W.R. Grace and Co., the test method will be used, once approved, to qualify new material sources and for production quality control by personnel at aggregate producers, ready mix concrete producers and asphalt concrete producers. Koehler says this particular method does not involve the titration and visual assessments typically associated with such testing. He adds that the test can be performed in the field in about 10 minutes. “Once it has been approved, the proposed standard will enable the use of a wider range of sands and limestone fillers in concrete, while also ensuring that these aggregates are of high quality,” Koehler says. Keep Reading
Irving Materials purchases competing operation
Irving Materials Inc. has acquired the assets of Rock Industries Inc., The Indianapolis Business Journal reports. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Rock Industries operates quarries in Peru and Plymouth, Ind., producing more than 500,000 tons of stone, sand and gravel each year. The company has 20 full-time employees. Keep Reading
