Ready Mixed Concrete in the United States: 100 Years Young in 2013

Throughout 2013, NRMCA is helping to celebrate the 100th anniversary of ready mixed concrete in the United States by highlighting our members’ histories along with historical fun facts in each edition of E-NEWS this year. Starting with this issue, NRMCA will feature a few paragraphs highlighting individual member histories, along with a link to that company's respective Web site for more information.

As we begin, we note that the industry took a pronounced turn in 1913 in Baltimore. Before then, materials were brought to a construction site and concrete was mixed where it was placed. But that changed in 1913, when (as urban legend has it) concrete was mixed in a central location and then sent by truck to a construction site in Baltimore, thus starting the ready mixed concrete industry.

And here are three randomly selected member histories. To have your company featured in this space in the coming weeks, please contact NRMCA's Kathleen Carr Smith at kcarrsmith@nrmca.org or 301-587-1400, ext. 1145.

Titan America - In 1902, the Canellopoulos family established the first cement plant in Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean in Elefsina, Greece, a small coastal town about an hour west of Athens. Today, with an annual production capacity of 11 million tons, 6,000 employees worldwide and operations on three continents and in nine countries, Titan Cement Group is the leading cement producer in Greece. The Titan Cement Group expanded its cement manufacturing activities outside of Greece in 1992 with the acquisition of a controlling stake in Roanoke Cement Company in Roanoke, VA. The acquisition of Tarmac America and the remaining stake in Roanoke Cement in the fall of 2000 made Titan a bigger player on the East Coast of the United States. Titan's family in the U.S. grew again with the addition of Separation Technologies in August 2002. U.S. operations, collectively known as Titan America, are conducted by several operating subsidiary companies in the U.S., with Titan America LLC serving as their holding company. Read more.

Holcim (US) - Holcim recently celebrated the centennial anniversary of its parent company, Holcim Ltd. Holcim (US) is one of the nation's leading manufacturers and suppliers of cement and mineral components. Holcim (US) has approximately 1,800 employees and operates 12 manufacturing plants and more than 50 distribution facilities in the U.S. Holcim was founded in Switzerland in 1912 and it became clear that the domestic market could offer only limited opportunities for expansion. In the 1920's, the company began investing in cement businesses in other European countries, quickly followed by investments in Egypt, Lebanon and South Africa.  After World War II, and particularly in the 1950's and 1960's, a network of Group companies began to develop in North and Latin America. Read more.

Erie Strayer - An NRMCA Associate Member and also a member of the Concrete Plant Manufacturers Bureau, Erie Strayer has its roots in the Erie Steel Construction Company, a steel fabrication and erection company started in 1912 in Erie, PA. A nine man crew operated out of a one story brick building and did the steel work for commercial, industrial, and public buildings throughout the Erie area. World War II saw Erie Steel build over 100 overhead electric travelling cranes and thousands of clamshell and dragline buckets for the Army and Navy. Defense related work continued after the war with the building of radar towers throughout the U.S. As business grew, Erie Steel began to design and produce concrete batching equipment, clamshell digging buckets, and storage bins for the construction industry. This was the beginning of today's product line. Read more.