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Association & Industry News
 The Workforce Development Committee (WDC) Winter Meeting will be held virtually on Wednesday, January 14, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern time. Participants will help shape the WDC agenda for 2026, with a primary focus on delivering the Annual Compensation Survey, the Mixer Driver Recruitment and Retention Survey, the 2026-2027 Developing Industry Leaders (DIL) program and reactivating the DIL alumni network.
You may attend the meeting virtually through this link or by sending us an e-mail. We hope to see you there.
Ready mixed concrete is evolving and we need to adapt together. NRMCA understands the challenges facing your executive and operations teams today: information overload, rising costs, and the pressure to adapt to technology and labor trends without a clear roadmap. Tackling these pivotal industry challenges in silos leads to hidden costs and missed opportunities. That's why the Business Advancement Committee is excited to launch Ready Mix Roundtables! These are small, exclusive in-person workshops (max 10 non-competing companies) designed for top executives and decision-makers to collectively discuss challenges and ideate actionable solutions. The focus is strictly educational, resulting in peer-vetted solutions you can implement immediately within your business.
Buildings
NRMCA Director, Sustainability Codes and Standards, Tiffany Reed-Villarreal, P.E., recently participated in the Carbon Progress Summit held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The summit convened leaders from the cement, concrete and steel industries along with construction stakeholders to highlight measurable progress in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions reduction and material circularity across the construction materials value chain.
NRMCA will attend the National Institute of Building Sciences' (NIBS) Building for Tomorrow Summit to be held January 28 - 29 in Anaheim, CA. One year after the devastating 2025 Southern California wildfires, the summit will convene federal, state and local agencies along with utilities, industry leaders and researchers to focus on the gaps in our lifeline infrastructure and develop recommendations to strengthen communities nationwide. NRMCA’s Dr. Julian Mills-Beale, director of civil/structural codes and standards, will participate in the summit.
SEO
 NRMCA’s Think First monthly safety initiatives feature different industry-specific safety items relevant to seasons, current topics or industry concerns. They're meant to be shared, used as training tools, printed, posted or distributed, all of which are encouraged. This month’s issue, seen here, is Slips, Trips and Falls. Click here to view this month’s and all previous issues. The staff contact is Kevin Walgenbach.
Learning & Development
 NRMCA’s Plant Manager Certification Course is coming to San Antonio on February 3. Registration is still open for the few seats that remain. We hope to see you there! The plant manager is a vital position in the ready mixed concrete industry, with responsibilities from regulatory compliance to product quality, to safety and profitability. This course helps plant managers, or those who want to become plant managers, build knowledge, skill and confidence with plant safety, environmental regulations, plant operations and ready mixed concrete industry business principles. Instruction occurs across three days and exams are administered on the fourth day. There are five modules in this course:
Those who achieve a passing score on a final exam of multiple choice questions are eligible to earn Plant Operator, Plant Supervisor or Plant Manager certification. Click here for more information. The staff contact is Kevin Walgenbach. 
Promotion
Concrete Council Webinar on Advancing ADA Accessibility Draws Strong Response Across Multiple States
 The Concrete Council staff recently partnered with leadership from the Great Lakes Cement Promotion Council (GLCPC), representing Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Kentucky, to host a webinar that focused on advancing ADA accessibility within public right-of-ways. The webinar highlighted how thoughtful pedestrian design and durable concrete solutions play a critical role in creating public infrastructure that remains accessible, safe and compliant for decades. More than 450 attendees participated in the live broadcast; they explored practical strategies for designing walkways and public spaces that welcome people of all abilities while gaining valuable insight into how material selection influences long-term performance, usability and accessibility. The event reinforced a shared commitment among community leaders across seven states to build inclusive, resilient infrastructure that serves everyone. For more information, contact Oliver "Skip" Dulle at oad@dulleco.com. 
NRMCA Member News
NRMCA Associate member Sysdyne Technologies has acquired Slabstack to "create a unified, cloud-native platform that connects CRM, pricing intelligence, and quoting with real-time production, dispatch, and delivery operations," the company stated in a release. By integrating Slabstack’s pricing and CRM capabilities into Sysdyne Cloud, the combined platform addresses long-standing industry challenges caused by fragmented systems, enabling concrete, aggregates and asphalt producers to improve visibility, streamline workflows and make faster, more profitable decisions from quote to cash. Slabstack will continue to operate under its existing leadership and remain available as a standalone, flexible solution while also strengthening Sysdyne’s broader ecosystem. Together, the companies aim to set a new industry standard by delivering digital quoting, dynamic pricing, centralized customer management and AI-powered commercial insights, backed by unified leadership and strong investor support to help ready mix producers modernize operations and maximize margins across their entire business. The full announcement and video can be viewed here. 
Calendar
*Please click here to access the relevant links for each of the entries listed below along with all course registrations for 2026. February 2 - 6, San Antonio, TX *Sold Out February 3 - 6, San Antonio, TX February 28 - March 2, Las Vegas, NV March 3 - 7, Las Vegas, NV October 15 -18, Gaylord Opryland, Nashville, TN 
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