Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete focusing on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics.
Issue link: http://concrete.epubxp.com/i/821154
26 • May 2017 www.concreteproducts.com BRIEFS ACTIVITIES & APPOINTMENTS PRODUCERS Graycliff Partners, an independent New York invest- ment firm focusing on middle market private equity transactions, has provided subor- dinated debt and equity financing to Delaware, Ohio-based Oberfields, a key regional player in concrete masonry and hardscape products, including standard gray and architectural block, segmental retaining walls, pavers, and precast components, plus related accessories. The investment supports the recapitalization of the company, led by President and CEO Bruce Loris, and buyout of another principal, Anderson Group LLC. "The Oberfields team has built an impres- sive business—known for innovative, quality products, and its commitment to customers," says Graycliff Managing Director Will Hen- derson. "We look forward to working with Bruce and his team to position the company for future growth while retaining the repu- tation of excellent service built over the past 50-plus years." California architectural and structural pre - cast/prestressed leader Clark Pacific has advanced its Design-Manufacture-Build deliv- ery capabilities with the addition of Mickey Ankhelyi, AIA, as director of Architectural Services. He will be based at the company's West Sacramento headquarters and focus on design-build product innovations to help meet the growing market demand for pre- fabricated building systems. Clark Pacific's third high-profile hire in recent months, Ankhelyi arrives as the producer continues to lead architectural, engineering and construction interests in a paradigm shift from traditional construction methods to the use of off-site prefabricated building systems. He joins Clark Pacific from MG2 where he was Irvine (Calif.) office man- aging principal. Prior to MG2, he was Opus Group of Companies architectural director, overseeing design and business development services in northern California and Utah. With 20-plus years of experience, Ankhelyi is a registered architect in three states and holds a bachelor's degree in Architecture from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and was one of California's first 20 LEED Accredited Professionals. Pennsylvania-based New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co. has filed a notice with the Securi- ties and Exchange Commission to terminate reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The aggregate, ready mixed and asphalt producer had previously filed periodic and current reports to comply with the indenture governing its 11 percent Senior Notes due 2018, which was satisfied and discharged in mid-March 2017. BMC Enterprises Inc., St. Louis, has added to its Missouri aggregates business through the opening of the BMC Stone quarry in High Hill; acquisition of a strategic interest in Base Rock Minerals, LLC, a limestone quarry in Bonne Terre; and, acquisition of Strack Stone Co., a limestone quarry located just north of Cape Girardeau. The latter will operate under the Base Rock Minerals name. "These acquisitions demonstrate our con- tinued commitment to a sustainable growth strategy," says BMC Enterprises CEO Nathan McKean. "The pro-business administration in Jefferson City has given us a renewed optimism about the Missouri economy." The investments, he adds, "will dramatically increase our ability to service our customers with expanded product offerings, and enable the parent company to participate more fully in future transportation and infrastructure investment in the state." The three quarries vertically position BMC along the major interstate corridors from its hub in St. Louis Metro. BMC is the parent company of St. Louis ready mixed concrete market leader Breckenridge Mate- rials, and has upward of 40 operations in Missouri and Illinois. ORGANIZATIONS The American Concrete Institute intro- duced 2017-2018 officers and directors during The Concrete Convention and Expo- sition in Detroit, led by President Khaled Awad, chairman of Beirut-based material and geotechnical consultant ACTS; Vice President Randall Poston, senior principal with Pivot Engineers in Austin, Texas; and, Senior Vice President David Lange, University of Illinois professor of Civil Engineering. Joining the ACI Board for three-year terms are H.R. Trey Hamilton, professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Florida Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment; Joe Hug, technical services manager for Monarch Cement Co., Humboldt, Kan.; William Klor- man, founder of W.M. Klorman Construction Corp., Woodland Hills, Calif.; and, Tracy Marcotte, P.E., a King of Prussia, Pa.-based specialist in metallurgical and materials engineering. ASTM International Committee A01 on Steel, Stainless Steel and Related Alloys has approved the inclusion of grades 310, 325, 340 product in A416/A416M, Specification for Low-Relaxation, Seven-Wire Steel Strand for Prestressed Concrete, representing a 15- to 25-percent increase in minimum tensile strength from existing grades. A new annex will reference the three grades. "In the global engineering and con- struction industries, there is considerable interest in high-performance materials for use in concrete structures," says Korea Test- ing Certification Senior Researcher Taejin Hwang, who chaired the task group revis- ing A416. "For steel reinforcement, the term 'high-performance' encompasses several desired attributes including corrosion resis- tance, toughness, weldability and strength." Higher strength strand joining A416 is man- ufactured in Asia, he adds, and being used in the construction of bridges, storage tanks, and other structures. MANUFACTURERS Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based Mapei Americas has named Jesse Osborne as gen- eral manager of its GRT concrete admix- tures and cement additives division, Eagan, Minn. Report- ing to Mapei North America CEO Luigi Di Geso, he will interface with the Mapei Global Liquid Admixture Group, headed by Walter Nussbaumer, and the company's Research & Development Center in Milan, Italy. His arrival coincides with planning for an admix- tures R&D; facility at Mapei's new plant in Logan Township, N.J. Osborne, whose 37 years of industry expe- rience includes tours of duty with BASF and Euclid Chemical, is tasked with expanding the regional Mapei/GRT sales territory into a national footprint. Geographic expansion will begin in Texas and the Southeastern United States, and spread up the Atlantic Coast to the Northeast. The division will also eye synergies with Mapei facilities and sales staff in Canada. Khaled Awad Randall Poston Jesse Osborne