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Association & Industry News
Save the date for the NRMCA 2024 Annual Convention to be held March 18 - 21 at the JW Marriott Water Street in Tampa, FL. Whether you’re looking to gain valuable industry insights or network with colleagues, the Annual Convention promises to deliver a memorable experience. Keep an eye on your inbox, the NRMCA website and future E-NEWS issues for updates, registration details and more. Contact Jessica Walgenbach for more information. NRMCA’s Member2Member (M2M) benefit program continues to grow and provide better services and more value to all members, with Slabstack being the newest Associate member to join the expanding list of M2M providers. Slabstack describes itself as building the first sales and business management solution for the ready mix industry. By collaborating with leading dispatch solution providers like Sysdyne and Command Alkon, Slabstack ensures users enjoy a seamless experience. The company helps concrete producers operate more efficiently, in a simple and reliable way, to optimize their supply chain while meeting a continuously increasing demand. NRMCA members will receive one month free service. Visit NRMCA dedicated services through the updated M2M webpage where you can explore the offerings. For more information, contact Jacques Jenkins at jjenkins@nrmca.org or Heather Houck at hhouck@nrmca.org. NRMCA is looking for individuals to serve on the Board of Directors. While serving on the Board requires both commitment and energy, it is a rewarding opportunity to give back to the industry. The Nominating Committee encourages nominations from diverse backgrounds to ensure the Board is reflective of the Association’s membership. The basic requirements, in addition to a willingness to be an active and engaged participant, stipulate that each candidate must be committed to promoting NRMCA programs and working in the best interest of its membership and the industry as a whole while operating in accordance with NRMCA’s Strategic Plan and Vision 2030 objectives. The Board provides strategic direction, fiduciary oversight and governance of the organization’s operations. Employees of NRMCA Producer members in good standing are eligible to serve. Click here to review the NRMCA Board Job Description. To nominate a candidate, please complete and submit this form to Heather Houck at hhouck@nrmca.org. Self-nominations are accepted. The deadline for nominations is Friday, July 28. 
Buildings
NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Frank Mruk, FAIA, attended the May 11 American Institute of Architects' Connecticut chapter (AIA CT) meeting titled The 2022 Connecticut State Building Codes: Updates, Challenges, and Management. Opening remarks were delivered by AIA CT President Paolo Campos and Executive Director Gin Calabro. Speakers included Bill Abbot, state fire marshal; John Carrier, residential building official; Omar Vasquez, state building inspector and Darren Hobbs, deputy commissioner. The NRMCA Design Assistance Program video was shown at the event, with Mruk responding to a number of questions. He said more than 90 architects (some shown here) attended the event which was held at the New Haven Lawn Tennis Club. The Build With Strength program is a leader in supporting architects at the cutting edge of practice. For more information, contact Frank Mruk at fmruk@nrmca.org.
NRMCA and Build With Strength Senior Director, Building Innovations, Patrick Matsche and Liz LaFevers, quality control specialist at NRMCA Associate member Heidelberg Materials (seen here) recently discussed Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) before the Oregon chapter of the American Concrete Institute. Their topic, Environmental Product Declarations: How to Get Them and How They’re Used, was held in Portland on April 13 before a gathering of structural engineers, architects and contractors along with ready mix concrete and cement producers. The timely presentation focused on NRMCA’s efforts to educate the design build community on concrete’s commitment to the SE2050 Net Zero Challenge. SE2050 is prioritizing the reduction of embodied carbon, through the use of less impactful structural materials as part of working toward net zero embodied carbon structural systems by 2050. “The Pacific Northwest is leading the charge in lowering concrete’s carbon footprint," said Matsche. "It is great to work with and support a very committed group of member producers.” For more information, contact Patrick Matsche at pmatsche@nrmca.org or 415-672-5275. NRMCA Spotlight
Earlier this month, NRMCA and Producer member Cemstone Products hosted representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Smart Sectors Program at Cemstone’s Umore plant in Rosemount, MN. The very successful tour focused on highlighting the ready mixed concrete industry; how concrete is manufactured; the specific processes associated with the industry and product; environmental regulatory compliance and concrete decarbonization efforts. EPA’s visit included a comprehensive tour of the facility and a post-tour conference to discuss industry issues. For more information, contact either Kevin Walgenbach or Gary Mullings.
The next Concrete Innovations session will focus on concrete mix optimization through proven approaches, existing materials, new technologies and advanced systems such as artificial intelligence (AI) to improve concrete performance while reducing carbon footprint. Register now for Concrete Innovations Learning Session 12: Wednesday, June 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time.
Visit www.concreteinnovations.com for upcoming sessions. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org or 847-922-7995.
SEO
NRMCA’s Commitment to Environmental Excellence Awards competition offers producers national recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment and maintaining sound management practices in their operations. The program salutes companies that have not only met, but surpassed, governmental compliance measures and demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence through plant and staff investment. NRMCA member companies producing ready mixed concrete from a fixed plant location in the U.S., its territories or Canada are eligible to enter. Awards will be determined upon individual plant merits. Winning entrants will be honored at the awards ceremony at NRMCA‘s ConcreteWorks this October in Aurora, CO. Winners will also be featured in a 2023 edition of NRMCA’s Concrete InFocus magazine as well as Concrete Products magazine. Entries and photos must be e-mailed to gmullings@nrmca.org by Friday, July 21, 2023. Click here for more information and to download the entry form. Staff contacts are Gary Mullings or Kevin Walgenbach. Registration for NRMCA’s Fall Safety Course scheduled for October 11 - 13 in Denver is still open. This 2.5-day course teaches participants about OSHA safety compliance, beginning with why safety is so important and details the reasons why an effective safety program actually saves money through loss prevention and control. Participants learn about the new silica rule, electrical safety, machine guarding, fall protection, hazard communication, confined spaces, personal protective equipment, emergency action plans, maintenance shop safety, chute handling, fleet safety, pre-trip inspections and much, much more. Click here for location details and registration information. You may also contact Gary Mullings or Kevin Walgenbach. Last week, the General Services Administration (GSA) published low-carbon requirements for several different building materials, including concrete and cement and announced it would pilot the new specifications on 11 different projects over the next six months. The Inflation Reduction Act directed the Environmental Protection Agency, among other agencies, to establish low-carbon standards for construction materials with substantially lower embodied carbon for use in certain federally-funded projects. The requirements for concrete are listed for strength classes ranging from 2500 psi to over 7000 psi.
Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct registration links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's website. June 6 - 8, Orlando, FL June 20 - 22, Manchester, NH September 29 - October 3, Nashville, TN October 11 - 13, Centennial, CO November 7 - 9, Charlotte, NC *Low Capacity November 14 - 16, Dallas November 28 - 30, Orlando, FL December 12 - 15, Orlando, FL 
Pavement
Due to a growing number of requests for printed copies, NRMCA will conduct a second printing of the Guide to Concrete Overlays of Existing Asphalt Parking Lots – Second Edition. Based on the number of copies ordered, the cost per copy is estimated to be $6.50 per copy, plus shipping. “Our first printing was 1,200 copies,” said Senior Vice President, Local Paving, Phil Kresge. “By my calculations, and through discussions with those who were part of that initial run, most of those copies have been distributed to our partners in the design and contracting communities. It continues to be an extremely popular and welcomed publication.” The Guide to Concrete Overlays of Asphalt Parking Lots has been one of the most successful and impactful industry publications to come from the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center. Funded by the Concrete Advancement Foundation (formerly the RMC Research & Education Foundation), the guide has resulted in the conversion of nearly 140,000 cubic yards at a value to the ready mixed concrete industry of $18.4M. If you would like to order printed copies of the guide or for more information, contact Phil Kresge at pkresge@nrmca.org. 
Business Advancement
Thirty-five attendees participated the last week's NRMCA Plant Manager Certification class held at the Knife River Training Center in Albany, OR. The fourth, and final class in 2023, will be held December 12 - 15 in Orlando, FL. (Click here to register; 40% of the seats remain.) Following the practice of rotating the class throughout the U.S., the 2024 locations will be Los Angeles in January, Philadelphia in February, Indianapolis in April and Charleston,SC, in December. Details will follow this fall. Plant Manager Certification Course runs four days. It is industry specific and concentrates on issues that challenge plant managers all across the county. The intense learning course includes the latest on product knowledge and technical standards, safety culture and OSHA-based regulations, operational and maintenance skills, current environmental issues and regulations from EPA as well as labor law issues and the challenges of supervision and training of industry personnel. The NRMCA Plant Manager Certification is required on all Army Corps of Engineer jobs and is considered the industry gold standard of training for all ready mixed concrete plant managers. For more information, contact Eileen Dickson at edickson@nrmca.org. Engineering
The Spring 2023 newsletter of the National Concrete Consortium includes following items: • Climate Change, Resilience, and Concrete Pavements - The Spring 2023 NC² Moving Advancements into Practice (MAP) Brief from the NC² Resource Library examines how concrete pavements can be a resilient solution. 
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