NRMCA Hosts Contractor and Finisher Day in Oregon

NRMCA's Pave Ahead and Build With Strength programs along with the Northwest Cement Council (NCC) and NRMCA member CalPortland  hosted a Contractor and Finisher Day on April 22 in Salem, OR, reports Senior Director, Local Paving, Greg Halsted.

Coordinated through the Oregon Concrete and Aggregate Producers Association (OCAPA) and held at the Wilsonville Concrete Products (WCP) plant, the event attracted 38 contractors, finishers, materials suppliers, designers and Oregon DOT personnel; the goal was to help concrete finisher crews and contractors become more comfortable working with concrete mix designs featuring blended cements through a hands-on workshop. Attendees were able to watch concrete sections being placed and finished, understand what to look for, address common misconceptions, answer real concerns and establish best practices for working with blended cements.

"These types of in-person demonstrations highlight the cement and concrete industries’ support of the transition to lower carbon concrete mixes," Halsted said.

The outdoor classroom portion of the day began with CalPortland Ready Mixed Sales Manager Matt Scott who discussed how using blended cements in concrete mixes could help reduce CO2 emissions. Nearby, two 8’ × 8’ × 3.5” concrete evaluation sections (seen here) were produced and placed by WCP and finished by Anaya’s Artistic Concrete LLC. One section was a 100% Type IL (portland-limestone cement) mix while the other was a Type IL mix with 40% slag cement. Half of each section was treated with an evaporation retarder to better evaluate and understand working with these type mixes in the field.

While these sections were setting up, attendees were treated to a catered lunch sponsored by NRMCA and listened to ACPA Senior Director of Construction and Engineering Sarah Dalton speak on Mix Design and Finishing Best Practices.

"Based on the number of questions and positive comments, those in attendance learned a great deal from the presenters and the opportunity to see for themselves how Type IL mixes behave," Halsted said.

The blending of classroom and field instruction was an excellent avenue to show off concrete placement in action and to educate attendees on the assistance and support available to them through NRMCA, NCC, OCAPA and industry members. The success of this event has already started discussions on hosting similar events around the Northwest, he added.

For more information, contact Greg Halsted at ghalsted@nrmca.org or Patrick Matsche at pmatsche@nrmca.org.