 What's
the biggest barrier to greater use and acceptance of pervious
concrete pavements?
Take the PCA Poll
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 Industrial
Strength
Pervious Concrete
No longer just for parking lots and sidewalks,
pervious concrete has now marked its place in industrial applications.
Quality Block Co., Inc. recently approached Salt River Materials
Group to install previous concrete for a large, 30,000 square
foot dirt area, in the block plant’s yard that is dually
used as a storm water drain and block load out area. In addition,
the final project extended the pad by 3,000 square feet to increase
the use of the area and storage of water.
Although mainly used in parking lots, sidewalks, and a few residential
street applications, this project has showcased pervious concrete’s
structural capabilities. The pavement houses stacked pallets
of block 3 to 4 high and experiences major forklift traffic.
The project needed to account for all the storm water runoff
from the 75,000 square feet of impermeable surface already in
place. It is designed to retain a 100-year storm for a duration
of two hours, as well as a retention basin. The percolation
rate of the soil was 4 inches per hour.
To install the project, 20 inches of soil was removed and replaced
with 12 inches of crushed rock and 8 inches of pervious concrete.
The finished product not only met, but highly exceeded Quality
Block’s expectations, easily handling the load and continuous
forklift traffic.
AMEC along with Jim Willson and Stew Waller of the Arizona Cement
Association served as design consultants. Arizona Materials
supplied the mix and Progressive Concrete Works was the concrete
contractor.
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 Technical
Conference Boasts
Record Attendance
This year's 49th annual IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement
Industry Technical Conference in Charleston, S.C., last week
broke yet another attendance record. A total of 1,180 participants
representing 22 countries and 400 separate companies registered
for the event with 199 spouses also participating. First time-attendee
participation included 450 registrants.
The conference boasted a wide variety of tutorials and technical
presentations plus tours of Giant Cement's Harleyville plant
and Holcim's Holly Hill plant. In addition to the technical
conference, PCA members attended the spring MTC meetings and
annual Safety Awards Luncheon.
Next year the conference turns 50 as it heads to Miami, Fla.,
from May 18-22, 2008.
Contact
Rick Bohan
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Sullivan Unveils Outlook for
Construction and Industry
Expansion in Keynote Address
PCA's Chief Economist Ed Sullivan delivered
the keynote address at the 2007 IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry
Technical Conference on May 1 in Charleston, S.C. Sullivan’s
presentation to more than 700 conference attendees highlighted
PCA’s 2007 cement consumption forecast and addressed the
outlook for cement plant construction and expansion.
Sullivan expects the on-going correction in residential construction
to drag down overall 2007 construction activity and cause cement
consumption in 2007 to decline by 1.5%. However, increased construction
activity projected to begin mid-year will carry over to 2008
and contribute to stronger growth.
Sullivan also reported that the cement industry is planning
to invest $5.4 billion between 2006 and 2010 in plant expansion.
This investment will increase the industry’s U.S. capacity
by more than 20% or 24 million metric tons.
Contact
Ed Sullivan
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PCA Recognizes Safe Thinking
PCA presented seven facilities with the 2006
PCA Safety Innovation Awards at an award luncheon at the 49th
Annual Cement Industry Technical Conference in Charleston, S.C.
on May 2. The Innovation in Safety Awards honor innovative safety
practices, programs and projects; communicate these ideas to
members of the cement industry; and raise the profile and importance
of safety programs both within and outside of the industry.
Winners are featured in the current issue of Cement Americas
magazine, which cosponsored the awards.
Members
of PCA’s Occupational Health and Safety Committee, Board
of Directors, and a representative of Mines Safety and Health
Administration judged 56 entries this year.
 The
2006 winners were:
- Ash Grove Cement Company—Durkee, Ore.
- Lehigh Cement Company—Mitchell, Ind.
- Buzzi Unicem USA Inc.—Pryor, Okla.
- The Monarch Cement Company—Humboldt,
Kan.
- GCC of America, Inc.—Rapid City, S.D.
- Buzzi Unicem USA Inc.—Greencastle,
Ind.
- Ash Grove Cement Company—Inkom, Idaho
Contact Donna
Wortman
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 62
Plants Honored for Safety Record
On May 2, PCA hosted the annual Safety Award
Luncheon in conjunction with the 49th IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry
Technical Conference in Charleston, S.C. In all, 62 facilities
received awards or recognition for their records in calendar
year 2006.
Frances Petty, chair of the PCA Occupational Health and Safety
Committee, and Scott Foster, vice chair of the Logistic Committee,
presented the awards. The ceremony honored 46 facilities that
operated without a lost-time accident (three categories of awards,
1-year, 2-4 years, and 5 years or more), while 16 facilities
received an award for 1 million or more hours of operation without
a lost-time accident.
In addition to the awards recognizing
safety at cement plants, PCA also presented the first annual
Terminal Safety Awards at the luncheon. Eight terminals received
plaques for 40 or more years without a lost-time accident.
Additionally, 110 terminals that operated without a lost-time
accident in one of three categories—30 to 39 years,
20-29 years, 10 to 19 years—were recognized.
Contact Donna
Wortman
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| Apparent Use
Reports Pinpoint Market Trends
PCA and F.W. Dodge have released
the 2006 editions of reports on apparent use of portland cement
and ready mixed concrete.
2002-2006 Trend Analysis
on Apparent Use of Portland Cement by County presents
a 5-year historical perspective of estimated portland cement
consumption by county and metropolitan area, as well as
a statistical analysis of the trends.
2007-2011 Forecast of Portland Cement by County
(Forecast Option) incorporates the historical
data derived by the PCA apparent use county demand model
along with the PCA forecast of cement consumption by state.
2002-2006 Trend Analysis on Apparent Use of
Ready-Mixed Concrete by County presents a
5-year historical perspective of estimated ready mixed concrete
consumption by county and metropolitan area, as well as
a statistical analysis of the trends.
Report options and sample reports can be found on the market
research section of PCA's Web site.
Contact Lynne
Koutsky
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Promotion Forum
Snowballs as
Workshop Builds on Past Success
Nearly 120 people attended the 2007 Professional
Promoters' Workshop last week at the Doubletree Hotel, Skokie,
Ill. Among the most popular sessions, says workshop organizer
Dan Sladek, PCA's director of regional promotion, was the perennial
favorite "What Works," a series of informal presentations
in which attendees describe their successes and failures.
Also headlining the workshop:
- Special interest roundtable discussions on
special topics or markets in promotion
- PCA Chief Economist Ed Sullivan's outlook
for 2007 and beyond
- The RPG Investment Process Demystified, a
panel discussion moderated by Ash Grove's Ron DeLeenheer
- The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association's
Buildings Under Design, or BUD, a Web-based national lead
service that enables local promoters to track construction
projects before plans and specifications are made public.
Other sessions centered on an overview
of new promotion resources such as the sustainability briefing
kit, Web-based do-it-yourself promotion tools for residential
products, the concrete "Pavements 4 Life" program,
and tips on conducting local events.
Contact Dan
Sladek
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CEMEX to Construct $400 Million
Wind Plant
CEMEX plans to build a $400 million wind-driven
power plant in Mexico in partnership with Spanish construction-company
Acciona SA to cut its energy costs.
The power plant, to be located in the southern state of Oaxaca,
will generate up to 250 megawatts of electricity and supply
a third of CEMEX's power needs in Mexico. Acciona will finance
the project and CEMEX will provide a long-term energy purchase
contract.
CEMEX has been investing to reduce its energy costs since 2000
by converting its plants around the world to use petroleum coke,
a byproduct of refining gasoline.
The wind plant is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
by 600,000 tons a year.
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 Thompson
Named Residential Technology Manager
PCA
named Donn C. Thompson, AIA, LEED AP, as residential technology
promotion manager. He will oversee the residential technical
program and work to enhance cement-based products as a sustainable
development solution for home building.
Thompson has more than 20 years in building and architecture.
He most recently was the commercial projects manager for Reward
Wall Systems where he was responsible for promotion of insulating
concrete form (ICF) technology to commercial markets nationwide.He
received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Architecture degrees
from University of Illinois, Chicago.
Contact
Donn Thompson
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For more information
or to register, contact Julie
Lisiecki.
|
Impact
of Cement Characteristics on Concrete Properties
May 15, 2007
Midlothian, Texas
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Raw
Mix Chemistry
May 16, 2007
Midlothian, Texas
September 19, 2007
Bethlehem, Pa.
|
ACBM
Undergraduate Faculty Enhancement Workshop
June 26-28, 2006
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Pulverized
Fuel Guidelines for the Cement Industry
September 18, 2007
Bethlehem, Pa.
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Aggregates
and Chemical Admixtures for Use in Concrete
October 1-2 |
Kiln
Process
October 1-4 |
Mill
Grinding
October 22-24 |
Concrete:
Principles & Practices
October 22-25 |
Troubleshooting:
Solutions to Concrete Field Problems
November 5-7 |
Cement
Manufacturing for Process Engineers
November 5-8 |
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NRMCA
2007 Concrete Technology Forum: Focus on High Performance
Concrete
May 22-24
Dallas
More
information |
RCC Pavement
Design and Construction Seminar
May 24, 2007
Nashville, Tenn.
November 6, 2007
Atlanta
More
information
|
12th
International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement
July 8-13, 2007
Montreal, Quebec
More
information |
Pervious
Concrete—
A Stormwater Solution
Detroit—July 10
Lexington, Ky.—July 12
Washington, DC—July 24
Pittsburgh—July 26
Minneapolis—Aug. 7
Milwaukee—Aug. 9
More
information
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the cement, concrete, and construction industries.
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5420 Old Orchard Rd.
Skokie, Illinois 60077
847.966.6200 info@cement.org
500 New Jersey Ave. N.W.
7th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20001
202.408.9494 fax 202.408.0877 |
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©2007 Portland Cement Association
All rights reserved
The Portland Cement Association conducts market development,
research, education, and government affairs work on behalf
of
its members—cement companies in the United States and
Canada.
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