Ready Mix

HCI Construction, a subsidiary of Ho-Chunk Inc., has received a 2007 Excellence in Concrete Award for its work in the state of Iowa. Hosted by the Iowa Ready Mix Concrete Association, the awards were announced last month in Ames, Iowa.

The Excellence in Concrete Awards recognize outstanding projects from throughout the state of Iowa in several categories. Entries are judged on criteria including architectural design, project complexity and individuality, engineering challenges, difficulty of construction, workmanship and use of ready mix concrete.

HCI was named in the Commercial Above-Grade Building category for its construction of the Alliance Concrete Ready Mix Plant in Sergeant Bluff, which opened in June.

Two Minnesota construction firms specializing in concrete for residential interiors are winners in the Cemstone 2007 Decorative Concrete Awards.

The Grand Prize winner was Foley Construction of Le Sueur, Minnesota, for a project featuring kitchen countertops made with recycled crushed glass to create interesting color patterns. The judges said, “The hip and stylish countertops are well executed. Nice material re-use of the crushed glass to provide interesting color patterns.”

The First Prize winner was Allstate Decorative Concrete of Cokato, Minnesota, for a colored basement floor featuring a highly detailed coat of arms. The judges said, “This creative and whimsical use of colored concrete provides a rich, warm depth to the first floor basement.”

Cemstone, a supplier of ready-mixed, engineered and decorative concrete in the Upper Midwest, sponsors the award to recognize excellence in the design and use of decorative concrete in residential and commercial construction. The winners were selected from nearly 70 contractor entries that featured Cemstone-supplied colored, stamped and/or stained concrete.

Cemex recently announced the sale of its Arizona and Florida operations as required by the U.S. Department of Justice. The requirement was in association with the Rinker Group Limited acquisition of CRH Plc, the Ireland-based international building materials group.

Rinker was acquired by Cemex in July 2007. As a condition of U.S. regulatory approval, the DOJ required Cemex to sell 39 ready-mix concrete and aggregate facilities in Arizona and Florida at a value of approximately $250 million.

Cemex also announced that it is in negotiations with Ready Mix USA, a private ready-mix concrete company with operations in the southeastern United States, to expand the scope of their ready-mix joint venture formed in July 2005.

Holcim Participations Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to purchase a considerable minority ownership position in Lattimore Materials Co. L.P. of McKinney, Texas.

One of the top suppliers of concrete and aggregate materials in the state, Lattimore operates six aggregate quarries, 19 ready-mix concrete plants, four rail terminals and a fleet that includes more than 400 mixer and haul trucks.

Lattimore Materials’ management team will continue to run the company and oversee its operations. “This transaction makes good business sense for both companies," said president Vic Lattimore, "Holcim is a quality company. We believe that this investment will strengthen both companies' prospects for growth and allow them to add greater value and long term stability."

The closing of the transaction is expected to occur at the end of the month.

The 2008 ConExpo-Con/Agg Exposition is being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 11-15. Held every three years, the exposition attracts persons involved in all aspects of the construction, aggregates and ready-mixed concrete industries, including contractors, materials producers, and government and institutional sector officials from around the world. The event is expected to draw around 125,000 attendees.

Included in the new attractions for 2008 is the Mixer Driver World Cup, the first-ever international competition of concrete mixer truck drivers, sponsored by the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, taking place on-site at the show on March 13.

For more information, call 800-867-6060.

Vulcan Materials Reports Nearly Flat Profits for Third Quarter asphalt and concrete supplier Vulcan Materials Co. recently reported its third quarter profits as nearly flat, hurt by the slumping residential construction market.

Quarterly net income totaled $135.4 million, or $1.38 per share, down from $135.7 million, or $1.39 per share during the same period last year. Earnings from continuing operations totaled $1.47 per share, including two cents per share in expenses related to its pending acquisition of Florida Rock Industries. Revenue was down a total of 3 percent from last year.

Vulcan said it expects private nonresidential and public infrastructure construction to grow, slightly offsetting the decline in the residential sector. However, the company expects continued declines in the fourth quarter, and predicts a 9 percent to 10 percent decline in shipments over the full year compared with 2006.

The Ash Grove Cement Company recently broke ground on a new manufacturing facility in Foreman, Arkansas. The company will invest in excess of $350 million in the new plant, which will replace the existing facility.

Cement production is projected to increase by 700,000 tons per year, for a total of 1.7 million tons annually. New technology and fuel systems at the facility are designed to decrease the impact of cement manufacturing on the environment.

Construction is expected to take two years to complete and will employ more than 600 workers during that time.

Two North Carolina counties are crushing landfill rocks and turning them into aggregate, which they plan to sell to contractors, in addition to using for roads in and out of the landfill.

Brunswick County, following the lead of Horry County, last week the county began grinding 60,000 tons of concrete it has accumulated for several years. Brunswick County reuses about 6,000 to 7,000 tons - about 30 percent - of the construction and demolition debris it receives annually, and that doesn't count discarded appliances and tires. Horry County's construction and demolition landfill recycled about 44,500 tons of waste last year, Hardee said, most of which was aggregate.

The counties expect to sell much of the recycled aggregate to contractors for roadbeds and driveways.

The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) has awarded its Silver Environmental Excellence Award to Granite Construction Company’s Indio Quarry.

The award is given to organizations that actively contribute to the maintenance of the environment by committing to the exemplary use of eco-friendly controls and systems.

The Indio Quarry produces aggregate products for the construction industry, which includes asphalt concrete mixes, crushed rocks and sands, masonry sands, rip rap, aggregate bases, recycled asphalt and Class II base for road construction.

A shortage of concrete is to blame for a work stoppage in downtown Yakima, Washington. The surprise shutdown of Central Pre-Mix's cement-mixing plant was swift and sudden, stalling work downtown and forcing city officials and the contractor, West Coast Construction, to look elsewhere for material, the Yakima Herald reports.

A new supplier, Columbia Asphalt and Gravel, agreed to provide fresh concrete for the project, said Michael Morales, deputy director of the city's Community and Economic Development department. The cost increase was estimated at $15,000.

West Coast Construction also won the bid to rebuild historic Front Street, which involves some concrete work as well. A company official said the shortage of cement was a huge concern.

"We're pretty much at the mercy of the concrete outfits," explained Hunter Sather, speaking by phone from company headquarters in the Seattle suburb of Woodinville. "Somebody's going to have to figure out how to get the materials."