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Association & Industry News
NRMCA represents a broad range of ready mixed concrete companies across the United States and our success is a direct result of the skills and expertise of our professional staff working in conjunction with our Board of Directors. Director nominees must be committed to promoting NRMCA programs and working in the best interest of its membership and the industry at large. The Board provides strategic direction, fiduciary oversight and governance of the organization’s operations while operating in accordance with NRMCA’s Strategic Plan and Vision 2030 objectives. Employees of NRMCA Producer members in good standing are eligible to serve. Click here to review the NRMCA Board Job Description and here for the form to nominate a candidate. The form must be submitted to Heather Houck at hhouck@nrmca.org by Friday, July 28. Self-nominations are accepted. The MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub will host a webinar tomorrow, June 29, at 11 a.m. Eastern time to discuss the initial findings of the research project titled Transforming the Role of the Concrete Delivery Professional. This research was funded by the Concrete Advancement Foundation and a final research report will be issued later this year. According to the 2022 NRMCA Mixer Driver Recruitment and Retention Survey, 70% of producers stated that they lost business because they did not have enough CDPs to deliver concrete. The MIT CSHub, in collaboration with MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, has explored how innovations in technology and operations could change driver recruitment, retention and productivity. The webinar will cover issues like driver scheduling, management-to-driver engagement and reducing the physical challenges of the job. Novel solutions will be discussed, including using digital systems and gamification to increase driver engagement, equipment automation and augmented reality. Analytical results suggest that increases in hiring costs, including implementing new solutions, are far outweighed by reductions in lost sales (due to lack of drivers). The research has also shown that only 12 minutes of lost time per load could eliminate the driver shortage for many firms. Click here to register. 
Buildings
The next session of the Concrete Innovations series, Measuring and Reducing Environmental Impacts, is scheduled for Wednesday, July 12 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time. The building industry is under pressure to reduce environmental impacts. Green building standards such as LEED started the movement, but more recent public policies have elevated the drive to low carbon building materials for both buildings and pavements. This session will present certification programs to help concrete producers measure and demonstrate lower environmental impacts. Register now for Concrete Innovations Learning Session 13 featuring:
Visit www.concreteinnovations.com for upcoming sessions. For more information, contact Lionel Lemay at llemay@nrmca.org or 847-922-7995.
NRMCA Producer member Chaney Enterprises, a large, multi-state ready mixed concrete, sand and aggregates company based in Gambrills, MD, held its first Race Night Recruitment event at Dominion Raceway (seen here) in Spotsylvania, VA, on Saturday, June 17, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Frank Gordon who attended the event. CDL Program applicants were provided free tickets to the races which featured Chaney’s own pickup pace car that was well received by race fans since it carried Chaney CFO Daniel Kurek around the track. Gordon and his colleague Malachy Joyce assisted Chaney Marketing Manager Erica Magdelinskas to produce and promote the event while Joyce also filmed and produced media footage for NRMCA's Deliver Your Future nationwide mixer driver recruitment campaign.
NRMCA participated in the 2023 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Technical Meeting in Las Vegas on June 22, reports Senior Vice President, Codes and Standards, Shamim Rashid-Sumar. The meeting serves as the culmination of the NFPA code development cycle for the Fall 2022 and Annual 2023 revision cycles and includes in-person debate and consideration of certified amending motions for standards presented.
Government Affairs
This year, NRMCA will partner with the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association and the National Asphalt Pavement Association for the Legislative and Policy Forum 2023 to be held in Washington, DC, September 25 - 27. This is an opportunity for NRMCA members to travel to Washington to hear from national leaders and meet with their Members of Congress and key congressional staff in order to build and develop relationships with policy makers who represent ready mixed concrete constituencies. There are a number of critical issues facing our industry in Washington, including continued infrastructure funding, resilient construction, workforce policies and the implementation of the industry’s materials exclusion from expanded Buy America procurement requirements. Click here for more information and to register. NRMCA members can register under the NRMCA or NAPA Hill Day rates. The staff contact is Andrew Tyrrell.
SEO
NRMCA’s Commitment to Environmental Excellence Awards competition offers producers national recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment and maintaining sound management practice 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 Nashville, TN. 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. Click here for more information and to download the entry form. Staff contacts are Gary Mullings and Kevin Walgenbach. Does your facility need to report to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program? Have you run the calculations to determine if your facility does? Do you know what the requirements are and/or how to report if necessary? Now’s the time to obtain answers to these questions. Remember, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) TRI Program “tracks the management of more than 650 toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment.“ Specifically, “U.S. facilities in certain industry sectors must report annually how much of each chemical is released to the environment and/or managed through recycling, energy recovery and treatment.” This information is then submitted annually to EPA and compiled in the TRI. Facilities that handle toxic chemicals, including ready mixed concrete plants, are required to calculate the quantities that were handled and, if any quantity is over an allowable threshold, that chemical and amount need to be reported under the program. The reporting deadline is Saturday, July 1. Click here for more information from the EPA website. The NRMCA staff contacts are Gary Mullings and Kevin Walgenbach.
NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Frank Mruk, FAIA, attended the June 20 Massachusetts Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association's (MaCAPA) 5th Annual Cape Cod Fishing Tournament where he was in a boat with MaCAPA Executive Director Craig Dauphinais (shown here with the boat's largest catch) and Ryan McCormack of NRMCA Producer member Aggregate Industries. The event featured five boats with three to five MaCAPA members per boat. Prizes were given for biggest fish (length) and total average fish length per boat. The Build With Strength program supports concrete and aggregate producers throughout Massachusetts and the U.S. For more information, contact Frank Mruk at fmruk@nrmca.org. 
Calendar
Please note that e-mail and direct registration links to each event listed below can be accessed from NRMCA's website. July 12, Free Online Webinar July 19 - 20, Harrisburg, PA August 16, Free Online Webinar September 11 - 15, Maryland September 13, Free Online Webinar September 29 - October 3, Nashville, TN October 11 - 13, Centennial, CO October 17 - 20, Denver October 18, Online Course November 7 - 9, Charlotte, NC *Low Capacity November 14 - 16, Dallas November 15, Free Online Webinar November 28 - 30 Orlando, FL December 12 - 15, Orlando, FL December 12 - 14, Denver December 13, Online Course 
Registration for NRMCA’s Fall Safety Course is still open. It takes place October 11 - 13 in metro Denver. 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 more. Click here for location details and registration information. You may also contact either Gary Mullings or Kevin Walgenbach. ConcreteWorks
Discover the perfect platform to showcase your products and services and maximize your reach by connecting with potential customers at NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks 2023. Reserve your spot by this Friday, June 30, to be included in the first round of booth assignments. The Exhibitor Prospectus for this year’s event is available online. The application process utilizes a priority point formula for the assignment of exhibit space. Applications and payment received before June 30 will be part of the priority assignment process. Past exhibitors in NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks will be assigned first by priority number; new exhibitors will then be assigned in the order in which they were received. Applications received on or after June 30 will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis by exhibition management. Exhibit space costs can be found on the event website. Reserve your space in the expo hall by completing the Exhibitor Application and returning it to NRMCA along with the required payment. NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks 2023 will take place in person September 29 - October 3 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, TN. For more information, please contact Senior Director of Meetings Jessica Walgenbach at jwalgenbach@nrmca.org. All relevant links to information referenced above can be found here. 
Business Advancement
Each module of NRMCA's Certified Concrete Sales Professional (CCSP) series will be held in Denver this year, a “center of the country” location, beginning in October and ending in March 2024. A discounted fee is extended for those who register for all four classes. The schedule is as follows: • Module 1: Concrete 101, October 17 - 20 Each class stands alone so it does NOT have to be taken consecutively or collectively. The well-respected, updated content is a valid way to refresh sales skills that emphasize the industry’s aggressive stance toward winning business. Additionally, these are the required courses in the STEPS® Sales and Promotion certification program where those in the field earn the industry's most prestigious capstone. For more information, and to receive the class discount when registering for all four in the series, contact Jeff Bowers at jbowers@nrmca.org or 703-706-4835. Registration closes soon for NRMCA’s financial performance education course, Think Like an Owner, being held in Harrisburg, PA, July 19 - 20. This course is intended to empower participants to understand the drivers of financial performance and improve their management with an eye to profitability of their business center. Participants will learn how to read financial statements, measure performance, examine elements of profit and loss, and think in terms of economic profit. This course is a must-attend for industry participants, from plant managers to company presidents, who want to run their operations profitably. Click here for more information and link to register. The staff contact is Andrew Tyrrell. Engineering
Earlier this month, NRMCA’s Karthik Obla was invited to represent the ready mixed concrete industry in a Federal Highway Administration workshop on tremie concrete. (Obla was also recently nominated to the Executive Subcommittee of the ASTM C09 Concrete and Aggregates Committee for a three-year term starting after the December 2023 ASTM meeting.) The workshop was attended by FHWA staff, contractors, engineers, consultants, researchers and ingredient material suppliers. Participants were divided into multiple groups to discuss policy improvements and research needs for tremie concrete. Specific discussions pertained to ready mixed concrete quality, slump flow/stability requirements, certification and testing requirements, and information dissemination. Reference was made to the EFFC/DFI Guide to Tremie Concrete for Deep Foundations. For more information, please contact Karthik Obla. 
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