Concrete Products

MAR 2013

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.

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CHAIRMAN'S REPORT BY STEVEN PROKOPY 10 years ago," explains Childs. "We believe an educated person, given the facts and a willingness to cooperate, will make an educated decision. Where we originally thought some of these guidelines were too stringent, as we began to meet with members of the EPA, we understood its concerns and made it clear that we are committed to being responsible in every aspect of the businesses we operate, including the environment. "We have exceptional, seasoned professionals in the legislative arena, and have found that the EPA is firm in what it's looking for and the results it wants to produce. But we've also found it reasonable and willing to work with us. We know what its concerns are, and we've worked with the Agency on joint initiatives, including our Energy Star program, Sustainable Concrete Plant program, and our Green-Star program. And during our talks with EPA, we saw that there were probably some changes we needed to make as well. I'd say we have a strong working relationship with the regulators who oversee our industry. "NRMCA and PCA have many of the same interests, and we've developed a strong relationship with its new president, Greg Scott, and Cary Cohrs, PCA's chairman. The initial NESHAP [National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants] legislation wasn't in the best interest of everyone involved. It put the cement industry at a significant competitive disadvantage because other parts of the world are not required to adhere to the same standards that NESHAP was going to require for domestic portland cement production." "A new plant emissions rule needed to be done in a more reasonable format and timeframe," Childs continues. "Cement production would probably have moved offshore, imports would have come back in large amounts, and the total environmental impact to the world would not change. What would have changed would have been the role of American manufacturing and the thousands of jobs lost. We're pleased that the final result came out as it did. We believe it was fair and reasonable, and as an industry, that's all we're really looking for." NATIONAL READY MIXED CONCRETE ASSOCIATION Since 1930, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association has been a leading industry advocate "inside the Beltway." Its stated mission is to provide value for members by representing and serving the industry through leadership, promotion, education and partnering to ensure that ready mixed concrete is the building material of choice. CHAIRMAN (2013) William F. Childs, IV President & CEO Chaney Enterprises Waldorf, Maryland IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN (2012) David Robison President & CEO Delta Industries, Inc. Jackson, Mississippi VICE CHAIRMAN (2014) Henry "Ric" Suzio President The L. Suzio Concrete Co., Inc. Meriden, Connecticut 26 | MARCH 2013 AT-A-GLANCE NRMCA represents ready mixed producers and allied businesses. Now in its eighth decade, the group has promoted ready mixed producer interests via tracking and influencing Washington's impact on the industry, developing and implementing product enhancements and market strategies, plus offering employee-training programs. NRMCA partners with state associations on issues such as promotion and regulatory concerns, extending their influence to a national level. The association also provides education, training, promotion, research, engineering, safety, environmental, technological, lobbying and regulatory programs to enhance industry profitability and professionalism. NRMCA's Engineering Division professionals represent ready mixed concrete interests on industry specifying and standard-setting committees. Moreover, numerous NRMCA committees, e.g., Government Affairs, Operations, Environment and Safety, facilitate collaboration among members and professional staff. Robert Garbini, P.E., is President of NRMCA, located at 900 Spring St., Silver Spring, MD 20910; 301/587-1400 or 888/84NRMCA; www.nrmca.org. BUILDING RESILIENCY There's a growing movement among the associations and other groups that support various construction materials industries that a building's resiliency should be considered when LEED points are awarded. As one executive put it recently, "It doesn't matter how green a building is if it ends up in a landfill after a hurricane has knocked it down." Childs says that NRMCA is firmly in support of resiliency legislation that has been introduced in Congress, which is being modified presently. "We consider that legislation absolutely common sense and practical," he says. "We have seen these storms come into the same areas time and time again, and they have caused the same devastation and destruction. The American people keep rebuilding in the same way. This legislation is another example of necessity being the mother of invention. "The citizens of America cannot continue to rebuild with taxpayer money. It's my belief that FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] is not in good shape financially, as would be expected given the devastating storms we've encountered in the last five or six years. If you're in these storm areas, common sense would say that to rebuild in a fashion that is not going to allow the structure to withstand another storm is ludicrous. There are fair, reasonable, competitive measures—we call it resilient construction—and the key factor is the lateral force that these structures can withstand during a hurricane, tornado or any significant storm. I believe the magic number is 132 lb./sq. ft. of lateral pressure. If a structure can withstand that, a tornado or hurricane will not knock it down. "What that leads to is possibly doing away with 2x4 construction and require 2x6 construction, concrete masonry, concrete wall or insulated concrete form construction. Doing what we have been doing over the last few years would be Einstein's definition of insanity, which is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Yes this new legislation gives us a better shot, but it also gives other methods of construction another shot, just in a different format." HIGHWAY BILL'S FUTURE On July 6, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), which will fund surface transportation programs at over $105 billion for fiscal years 2013 and 2014, making it the first long-term highWWW.CONCRETEPRODUCTS.COM

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