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/114208
DEVELOPMENTS Concrete masonry technology blockmakers graduate Eleven concrete industry professionals, representing six companies from across the United States and Canada, immersed themselves in a week-long Concrete Materials Technology course. Held at the World Center of Concrete Technology in Alpena, Mich., topics ranged from material grading and blending, cementitious materials, lightweight aggregates, design mix development to admixes and pigments. Students also discussed producing and curing concrete masonry units, concrete products specifications and their multiple uses. Students were educated in a traditional classroom setting, with hands-on experience in the lab and utilizing a Besser equipped block plant. They also toured the Lafarge cement plant located on the shores of Lake Huron. The graduation luncheon was attended by students, instructors, Besser and Alpena Community College representatives. After the ceremony course instructor, Jeff Oliver remarked, "The students in the class had an incredible thirst for knowledge. Their wide range of industry experience provided for lively discussions that drove the information taught in the classroom home." Don MacMaster, dean of Workforce Development at Alpena Community College was also impressed and commented that, "Keeping current with industry knowledge is critical for the ongoing strength of the industry. It's wonderful to see attendance at the Blockmakers Workshops increasing as the construction industry begins to get on solid footing." Upcoming concrete masonry courses at WCCT include Electronic Controls, March 4 – 8; Executive Session, April 9 – 11; Concrete Masonry Technology, May 6 – 10; and, a second Vibrapac course, May 13 – 17. Registration can be completed at www.besser.com. Additional information on Center courses and activities can be obtained from Barb Szczesniak, WCCT secretary, szczesnb@alpenacc.edu; 989/358-7359. CarbonCure taps Lafarge sustainability chief, boosts R&D; Halifax, N.S.-based CarbonCure Technologies has announced staff and facility expansion to support the commercial rollout of its concrete-curing Kevin Cail processes. Kevin Cail, an industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience in the concrete and cement industry in North America, has joined CarbonCure's team as Chief Technology Officer. Cail will lead CarbonCure's research and development activities, as the company commercializes their technology that chemically converts waste carbon dioxide into calcium carbonate in concrete during manufacturing. 16 | MARCH 2013 Cail's vision for the concrete sector is clearly well aligned with the company's. "I've been in the cement and concrete industry a long time, and there's an inherent need to reduce the industry CO2 footprint," says the former director of Sustainability and Commercial Innovation for Lafarge North America. "CarbonCure's novel industry approach stands to transform the concrete sector by providing a cost-effective method to consume a harmful greenhouse gas, and make better concrete products." Cail, a professional engineer, is also active in codes and standards work, and has served on the board of directors for the Canada Green Building Council and the Strategic Development Council of the American Concrete Institute. Coinciding with Cail's arrival, is the expansion of CarbonCure's R&D; facilities by moving into a larger, more modern, facility in Dartmouth, NS, which will increase the company's R&D; capacity for material and technical testing. The company also plans to hire additional technical staff, and form new industry and academic partnerships. "This is an important week for the team; with Kevin leading the team at our new lab space, we're one step closer to meeting our ultimate goal of collaborating and making carbon negative concrete, which is concrete that actually sequesters more carbon than it emits," says CarbonCure CEO Robert Niven. CarbonCure recently signed its first licensing agreement with Ontario-based Atlas Block. WWW.CONCRETEPRODUCTS.COM