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/836829
www.concreteproducts.com June 2017 • 33 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT BY JOSEPHINE SMITH for members to get more involved in regional groups as well as PCI national activities. Seismic provisions, climate and many other issues affecting precast and prestressed con- crete are regional in nature. We hope people will engage at the regional level confident they have a voice at the national level or, they can be directly involved in PCI commit- tees and councils. There is a desire to attract more engagement at both levels and there are opportunities at both depending on the individual's interests." Looking ahead, PCI will launch a com- pletely redesigned website by mid-summer and a new marketing campaign: "How Pre- cast Builds." One great aspect of the new site will be the ability to equip regional affiliates with micro sites. Groups will be able take advantage of the PCI information technology infrastructure without incurring site devel- opment and maintenance costs on their own. INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS PCI has engaged in partnerships with indus- try peers to better serve members and boost precast concrete demand. The Institute has recently teamed with the Portland Cement Association to develop a model, based on cement consumption, to track precast/pre - stressed concrete shipments. Staff members are still in the data collection stage, and hope to have verification of the model later this year. Market conditions suggest that PCI members will see shipments climb in the single digits for this year, on the heels of a 15 percent year-over-year gain in 2016. One of the Institute's biggest partner- ships is with the National Precast Concrete Association. Last year marked the first time PCI collaborated with NPCA to co-locate The Precast Show with the PCI Convention and National Concrete Bridge Conference. The co-located shows were such a success that the partnership will continue through at least 2021. Additionally, the 2017 show was the first year of crossover from NPCA and PCI educational tracks. "From the producer standpoint, the col- laboration with NPCA and The Precast Show has been good in a lot of ways but also in helping member engagement," Dan Juntunen affirms. "More members are sending more people to committee meetings and the trade show; this should feed on itself. We are get- ting more plant operations people attending the show and now need them to participate in committees." This isn't the only PCI-NPCA collabo- ration. On the heels of the Environmental Product Declaration series—Architectural and Insulated Wall Panels, Structural Precast Concrete Products and Underground Pre- cast Concrete Products—the organizations jointly rolled out in 2016, PCI and NPCA have also teamed up on addressing Occu- pational Safety and Health Administration silica rule compliance with an exposure con- trol manual specifically for precast plants (see sidebar, page 31). A two-day workshop during PCI's 2016 Committee Days and Mem - bership Conference in Nashville centered on silica exposure safety measures and the new manual. Along with NPCA and other con- crete industry stakeholders, the Institute is closely tracking Construction and General Industry workplace compliance deadlines that OSHA has reviewed under the Trump Administration. Celebrating its 60 th anniversary this year, Wells Concrete con- tinues to build and install reliable, competitively superior structures and building systems that are leading-edge in qual- ity, cost and customer satisfaction—owing to the integration of experienced people, production technology and industry standards. All four of Wells Concrete's plants—located in Wells, Albany and Rosemount, Minn.; and, Grand Forks, N.D.—are PCI-certified. In fact, the Wells site recently celebrated being PCI-certified for 50 years. Each Wells Concrete plant designs, manufactures and installs architectural and structural prod- ucts for architects, building owners, developers and contractors throughout the Upper Midwest. Earlier this year, Wells Concrete began offering tours of new 10- x 30-ft. mock-up buildings at each of its plants—built spe- cifically to showcase the many different finishes and features available in architectural and structural precast. Part of an architect outreach program, the structures are fully enclosed and comprised of eight different wall panels showcasing unique architectural finishes, such as thin brick, acid etch, sandblast, form liners, and polished concrete. The structures include three common roofing systems: double tee roof members, bar joist, and hollowcore. Both the outside and inside of the mock-up buildings provide insights into how the panels are cast and fitted together, with some connections intentionally left unfin- ished to illustrate the before and after. Initially expecting only 150 participants for the year, so far more than 400 architects, engineers, developers and general contractors have toured the buildings with architects making up the overwhelming majority. Wells Concrete expects to reach 1,000 by year's end. WELLS CONCRETE At-A-Gl A nce