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/849790
S NOW MEET ALL www.concreteproducts.com July 2017 • 17 NEWS SCOPE PRODUCERS Under an agreement announced late last month, Rialto, Calif.-based Thompson Pipe Group will acquire the concrete and steel pressure pipe assets of U.S. Pipe, a division of concrete drainage products leader Forterra Inc., Irving, Texas. In exchange for five pres- sure pipe plants and a fittings facility, the latter will receive $23.2 million in cash plus Thompson's Conroe, Texas, concrete drainage pipe and products operation. "We believe this transaction, which includes not only the divestiture of non-core assets but also the acquisition of a facility in the large Houston market, will enable us to sharpen our focus on our core business and high-margin growth opportunities," says For- terra CEO Jeff Bradley. The concrete and steel pressure pipe opera- tions reported a $1.6 million loss on 2016 sales of $99.7 million. They have minimal synergies with the core drainage products business due to limited customer overlap, separate manufac- turing facilities and a different manufacturing process, notes Forterra, which characterizes pressure pipe as a "narrow market segment with significant competition and limited near- term catalysts for improvement in demand." Thompson Pipe CEO Ken D. Thompson views the asset exchange as an opportunity to provide focus and discipline to turn a business around. "My father started this company as a small private underground utility contractor in 1972," he observes. "As we grew into large public works projects, we gained experience installing the very products we now produce. We know what it takes to be the best con- struction partners for trenchless, drainage, water and wastewater owners, engineers, and contractors." "We'll now be able to supply exactly the right product for the right application on a national scale," adds Thompson Pipe Exec- utive Vice President Mike Leathers. "It's an enormous challenge, but one that Thompson Pipe Group will be well equipped to meet. With a complete range of pipe products and the engineering support, we can serve our customers like never before. We'll have, by far, the largest offering of open cut and trenchless product solutions in North America." Forterra, Thompson Pipe trade gravity and pressure pipe production assets The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association is spotlighting results from a recent Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy study concluding that every job at an aggregates site supports nearly five others beyond the gate. In "The Economic Impact of the Natural Aggregates Industry: A National, State, and County Analysis," Phoenix Center President Lawrence Spiwak, Esq. and Chief Economist George Ford, PhD affirm, "The aggregates industry exerts a sizable influence on the U.S. economy. In addition to the direct employment [of 61,000], quarry industry economic activity is associated with an additional 297,275 jobs for a total employment effect of 358,317. Extending the analysis to the employment of entire aggregates industry, economic contribution is nearly 600,000 jobs." "The industry's $6.1 billion in earnings (payments to labor and proprietors) ripples through the economy to create an additional $25.6 billion in earnings, for a total of nearly $32 bil- lion in earnings," they continue. "Including multiplier effects, the aggregate industry's $27 billion in sales drives nearly $122 billion in total sales." Employment and other study metrics enable stone or sand & gravel operators to show their businesses' tangible benefits when interfacing with community stake- holders and neighbors, especially during the permitting process. Through the www.nssga.org/ aggregates-matter portal, NSSGA is helping producer members communicate employment and community support facts across multiple media platforms. — www. nssga.org/aggregates-matter AGGREGATES' EMPLOYMENT, ECONOMIC MULTIPLIERS 600 HORSES. S S NOW MEET ALL 600 HORSES. S When it comes to power, there's no replacement for displacement. Which is why Western Star still offers the industry's only available 16-liter engine, the American-built Detroit ™ DD16. ® And when you spec one in a Western Star 4900, you not only get up to 600 horsepower, you get plenty of efficiency, too. Not to mention performance and profitability for years to come. Find out more at westernstar.com/powertrain