Concrete Products

SEP 2012

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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EDITORIAL DON MARSH, EDITOR Concrete products Prospering in precast/prestressed We focus this month on precast/prestressed in advance of the PCI Convention and National Concrete Bridge Conference, September 29–October 2 in Nashville. Plant and project visits remind us how the segment has fared during the recession: Producers tied to the transportation market, fair to strong; those in commercial building, fairly weak. Among the com- panies we examine are Florida's Finfrock Design-Construc- tion-Manufacture (pages 26–29) and Texas Concrete Partners (pages 30–33). Putting it mildly, they hail from states at the opposite ends of a spectrum as measured by overall effects of the recession. Texas has enjoyed economic activity in the past five years many other states would envy, Florida in- cluded. As we saw in an April 2011 profile of the Metromont Corp., Bartow, Fla., greenfield plant, however, the Sunshine State is projected to return to a strong population growth clip by mid-decade—spurring demand for manufactured and ready mixed concrete toward more normal levels. In this month's cover report, we find Finfrock gearing up for a Florida rebound while forging ahead with technology that will improve productivity in architec- tural and structural panel fabrication. A new plant enclosure at the company's Orlando headquarters is equipped with ceiling-mounted lasers to guide form preparation. When coupled with 3D modeling software of Finfrock subsidiary StructureWorks LLC, the lasers can reduce to minutes certain functions that might have once been measured in hours. In addition to time savings with the laser-guided form preparation, the company is using StructureWorks' PieceTracker product management system. Program devel- opers note how it presents accurate, instantaneous fabrication, delivery and erec- tion information; establishes finished inventory storage according to shipping schedule; tracks shipments from yard to jobsite; promotes teamwork behind data analysis and problem solving and prevention; and, supports initiatives for perform- ance measurement and more efficient and responsible methods. StructureWorks and PieceTracker deployment dovetail Finfrock's introduction of the DualDeck Composite Truss. A simple flooring system with 40- to 60-ft. spans, it combines thin precast panels joined by steel angles and high strength deformed wire—becoming finish-ready floors or ceilings in mid- or high-rise buildings. Moving to the Lone Star State, we visit a precast/prestressed producer in a seg- ment considerably stronger than the Florida commercial building market. Texas Concrete Partners is among a handful of fabricators supplying a bridge segment fu- eled by demand from Texas Department of Transportation plus public or private toll road work. Boosting TexDOT activity are bond issues—bringing billions in road, bridge and transit investment beyond SAFETEA and MAP-21 funding—that state legislators approved during the past decade. Texas Concrete has upgraded its Elm Mott operation, located near Waco along the Interstate 35 corridor, with one of the more ambitious batch plants deliv- ered this year in precast/prestressed. The equipment meets immediate needs— faster output to eliminate mix delivery truck cues—and has capacity for future mix volume requirements as Texas Concrete expands its straight-line bulb tee girder production space. The dual-lane plant is set up for two twin shaft mixers, which have become stan- dard in precast/prestressed due to their speed and ability to raise cement efficiency through robust mixing cycles. Supplier Concrete Plant Restoration tells Concrete Products that the dual-lane design, with seperate weigh belts directly charging the twin shaft mixers, has the makings of a model for precast producers interested in eliminating priority call delays and mix delivery inefficiency. Texas Concrete and Finfrock were both founded in the 1950s, at the dawn of the North American precast/prestressed industry. The plant investments they have made under contrasting conditions in their core markets show how the path to longevity is paved in innovation and efficiency. dmarsh@concreteproducts.com 4 | SEPTEMBER 2012 WWW.CONCRETEPRODUCTS.COM mining media international editorial office 11555 Central Parkway, Suite 401 Jacksonville, Florida 32224 U.S.A. P: +1.904.721.2925 F: +1.904.721.2930 EDITOR Don Marsh, dmarsh@mining-media.com MANAGING EDITOR Steve Prokopy, sprokopy@mining-media.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Josephine Smith, jsmith@mining-media.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Christine Hensley, chensley@mining-media.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Steve Fiscor, sfiscor@mining-media.com Mining Media International corporate office 8751 East Hampden Avenue, Suite B-1 Denver, Colorado 80231 U.S.A. P: +1-303-283-0640 F: +1-303-283-0641 PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Peter Johnson, pjohnson@mining-media.com VP-SALES & MARKETING John Bold, jbold@mining-media.com U.S., CANADA SALES Bill Green, bgreen@mining-media.com GERMANY SALES Gerd Strasmann, strasmannmedia@t-online.de SHOW MANAGER Tanna Holzer, tholzer@mining-media.com AD TRAFFIC MANAGER Erica Freeman, efreeman@mining-media.com Concrete Products, Volume 115, Issue 9 (ISSN 0010-5368 USPS 128-180) is published monthly by Mining Media Inc., 10 Sedgwick Drive, Englewood, Colorado 80113 (mining-media.com). Periodicals postage paid at Engle- wood, CO, and additional mailing offices. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40845540. Canada return address: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor ON N9A 6J5, Email: circulation@mining-media.com. Current and back issues and additional resources, including subscription request forms and an editorial calander, are available online at www.concreteproducts.com. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Free and controlled ciruclation to qualified sub- scribers. Non-qualified persons may subscribe at the following rates: USA and Canada, 1 year $72.00, 2 year $119.00, 3 year $161.00. For subscriber services or to order single copies, write to Concrete Products, 8751 East Hampden, Suite B1, Denver, CO 80231 USA; call +1.303.283.0640 (USA) or visit www.mining-media.com. ARCHIVES AND MICROFORM: This magazine is available for research and retreival of selected archived articles from leading electronic databases and online search services, including Factiva, LexisNexis, and ProQuest. For mi- croform availability, contact ProQuest at 800-521-0600 or +1.734.761.4700, or search the Serials in Microform listings at www.proquest.com. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Concrete Products, P.O. Box 1337, Skokie, IL 60076. REPRINTS: Mining Media Inc, 8751 East Hampden Avenue, Suite B1, Denver, CO 80231 USA; P: +1.303.283.0640, F: 1+303.283.0641, www.mining- media.com. PHOTOCOPIES: Authorization to photocopy articles for internal corporate, personal, or instructional use may be obtained from the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at +1.978.750.8400. To obtain further information, visit www.copyright.com COPYRIGHT 2012: Concrete Products ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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