Titan America will build 20 plants in eastern North Carolina area

Titan America announced has acquired sites for more than 20 ready mixed concrete plants to open during the next three years along the Interstate 95 corridor in eastern North Carolina.

Titan Mid-Atlantic Business President Patrick Borders said that Titan Mid-Atlantic current has 54 ready mixed plants; Roanoke Cement; fly ash processor and marketer Separation Technologies; five Virginia and North Carolina cement rail terminals; and a Norfolk import terminal.

"This initiative bolts on very well to our Virginia coastal concrete operations," Borders said. "As these markets have been the most vulnerable to cement imports it will also provide stability to the entire state. We will also consider acquisition opportunities at reasonable values."
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SPS celebrates 30-year anniversary

Structural Preservation Systems (SPS) - a Baltimore-based specialty-contracting firm that delivers services, systems and technologies that build, repair, protect, strengthen and reinforce concrete, steel, masonry, timber and soils - celebrated 30 years in December.

Since 1976, SPS (structural.net) has completed more than 14,000 repair and protection projects for concrete, masonry, wood and steel in the commercial, industrial, energy and public markets. The firm has the expertise and technical competence needed to solve problems requiring surface repair, strengthening, stabilization, waterproofing and protection. SPS offers solutions applicable to the repair of all structures including buildings, high-rise structures, parking structures, airports, bridges, tanks, plaza decks and historic structures.
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Lafarge Group unloads majority of its roofing partnership

PAI partners, a Paris-based private equity firm, will acquire the Lafarge Roofing business. The Lafarge Group board has approved the sale of a 65 percent share of its pitched-roof products business for about $2.45 billion, plus assumption of debt and liabilities. Lafarge will maintain a 35 percent interest.

Lafarge Roofing operates 104 concrete tile, 25 clay tile and 23 chimney system plants in 35 countries. Among its principal franchises is a 13-plant, Irvine, Calif.-based MonierLifetile LLC, a 50/50 partnership with Australia's Boral Ltd.

Lafarge inherited the roof tile business with the 1998 takeover of U.K.-based Redland Plc, more recently adding chimney systems production.
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Life-Deck changes name to Westcoat

Announcing an evolution in concrete specialty coatings, the Life Deck brand of products will now be known as Westcoat Concrete Infusion Coatings. Backed by 25 years of industry experience, Westcoat offers concrete coating products and systems organized within four categories including Waterproof , Epoxy Coat , Surface Coat and Texture Coat .

Westcoat's line of step-by-step coating products "Concrete Infusion Coatings" are engineered by onsite chemist Gary De Boer to provide consistent results for numerous applications..

For more information, contact Westcoat at 800/250-4519 or Kara Ferguson at 619-857-3535.
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Work ready to start on Holcim's Lee Island Cement project in Missouri

Holcim (U.S.) Inc., a subsidiary of Holcim, Ltd. of Jona, Switzerland, awarded a construction management and general contractor contract to Washington Group Alberici for the mammoth Lee Island cement plant, harbor and limestone quarry located at a 3,900-acre site in northern Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri. Washington Group Alberici is a joint venture between engineering and construction firms Washington Group International of Boise, Idaho and Alberici of Saint Louis, Mo.

The company is currently mobilizing onsite and will release bids for construction subcontracts throughout 2007. Site preparation, which began in 2005, is now complete. Construction of the main plant will begin shortly. Excavation of the harbor is also complete.

In addition to the construction management contract, Holcim is awarding other contracts. For example, MC Industrial Inc. of Saint Louis, a subsidiary of McCarthy Building Companies Inc. also of Saint Louis, is currently pouring slip formed concrete silos at the site. Holcim awarded the design-build silo project this fall to MC Industrial and joint venture partner T.E. Ibberson Co. of Minneapolis, Minn. The silo portion will require more than 90,000 cubic yards of concrete and employ 340 trades people who will work two 12-hour shifts during the 18-week slip forming schedule. The silo project is expected to be complete in February 2008.

The Lee Island cement project has tripled in cost since first announced, currently estimated to be in excess of $900 million. When completed by the third quarter of 2009, the plant will include the world's largest cement clinker line, producing more than 4 million tons per year.
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Dynacore acquires International Hollowcore Engineering assets

Dynacore Equipment Ltd, of North Vancouver, B.C. in Canada acquired from ATMI Canada the manufacturing and intellectual property assets for the International Hollowcore Engineering (IHE) line of extruders. The buyer currently provides service and parts supplies to IHE equipment users, and is also developing enhancements to the existing Dynacore systems, including extruder models for 6-inch to 16-inch-deep product.
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Quad-Lock gets Florida certification

Quad-Lock Building Systems Ltd insulating concrete forming (ICF) system is now an approved product for use within Miami-Dade County and by other regions adopting the stringent review and approval process defined by the Miami-Dade County Building Code Compliance Office (BCCO).

The Miami-Dade County Product Control Approval System was established to allow new and innovated ideas to be developed into useful, practical, lasting and safe products. Building components including those which protect the envelope of the building from being breached, must be approved by the BCCO Product Control Division, prior to their use in building construction or rehabilitation.
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Fox Blocks wins Florida certification

Fox Blocks, a division of Airlite Plastics Co. of Omaha, Neb., has received notice of its approval by the Florida Building Code. Fox Blocks insulated concrete forms are now considered approved for residential and commercial applications for building wall systems.

This state specific code approval marks the first of several national and local building code approvals that Fox Blocks expects to receive in the next few months.

The certificate is online at www.floridabuilding.org/ pr/ pr_app_srch.aspx.
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SPS opens a new location serving Baton Rouge, La. area

Structural Preservation Systems (SPS) has opened a SPS Industrial Division Office in the Baton Rouge, La. area.

The Baton Rouge Office will be headed by Jason Dodson who has been promoted to division manager. Dodson most recently served as a project manager in SPS' Houston Branch. Dodson is a graduate of Structural Group's Project Engineer Career Development Program, which he joined after graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in concrete industry management.

"We've been servicing the plants in the Baton Rouge area from our Lake Charles, La. and Houston, Texas offices," said Dodson. ""Now, we will be able to offer a higher level of service to our customers in the area."
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U.K.-based Extec moves to No. 2 in U.S. for crushing equipment

Extec Inc. (www.extecscreens.eu), which has been in existence for 20 years, has announced that the company is now the second largest seller of mobile screening and crushing equipment in the United States. The Great Britian-based company supplies mobile screening and crushing equipment throughout the North America via experienced distributors.

In 2006, the company launched three new products, including the: C12+ tracked primary jaw crusher, I-C13 tracked impact crusher and t X44 SBS tracked cone crusher.
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Blastrac opens new Australian office

Blastrac Global recently marked a new, expanded presence in Australia, New Zealand and surrounding Island Nations with the formation of Blastrac South Pacific. A full line of surface preparation equipment will be in stock and available through Blastrac South Pacific, including grinder-vacs, dust collectors and products for cutting, concrete grinding and polishing, shot blasting, floor scraping and scarifying.
The new Blastrac South Pacific distribution center is located at Unit 1 22 Export Drive, Molendinar, Queensland, AUS 4214. For more information, call +61-7-5577-5972.
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New University of Hawaii dorm will seek Silver LEED certification

American Campus Communities Inc. has begun construction for a $71 million student housing development at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. The new Frear Hall represents the first student housing constructed since the late 1870s.

ACC will perform third-party development and construction management services for the development. The 810-bed Frear Hall is anticipated to open for occupancy at the beginning of the Fall 2008 academic year.

Frear Hall is comprised of two 12-story towers that feature a conference and meeting area, business center, fitness facility, trash and recycling station, recreation and gaming room, and study and social lounges, along with wireless Internet. The community will reflect Hawaiian culture with lush indigenous landscaping and a blend of indoor-outdoor spaces. The project will pursue a LEED silver certification.
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Constructive Communication wins three awards for writing, marketing

Constructive Communication Inc. (constructivecommunication.com), a specialist in public relations and marketing communications for professional service firms and members of a variety of technical industries - recently received three distinguished PR awards.

The first award is for an extensive PR campaign for H.R. Gray of Columbus, Ohio from the Construction Writers Association, a non-profit international organization for journalists, publicists, photographers and marketing communications professionals serving the information needs of the construction industry.

The H.R. Gray campaign also was recognized by the Association of Marketing & Communication Professionals with a Gold Award. Also from this Association, Constructive Communication received a Gold Award for the 2006 Tilt-Up Achievement Awards campaign, conducted on behalf of the Tilt-Up Concrete Association.
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Hendrickson anticipates 35% layoffs at Stratford, Ontario operation

Hendrickson officials will layoffs about 35 percent of its salaried and hourly emplpyees during the first quarter of 2007 at its spring plant in Stratford, Ontario, Canada.

"We have seen some decline in the workforce over the past year due to normal attrition in both the salaried and hourly workforce, which should reduce the overall impact of the layoffs," said a Hendrickson spokesperson. The spokesman said nearly all OEM truck manufacturers and their suppliers in the heavy-duty market are announcing similar layoffs next year as a result an anticipated industry-wide drop in demand for heavy- and medium-duty trucks during the first half of 2007.

Hendrickson, a Boler company, is one of the largest global suppliers of truck and tractor suspensions, trailer suspensions, truck and trailer lift axles, bumpers and trim components and springs to the commercial transportation industry.
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Superior Industries adds plant

Superior Industries (www.superior-ind.com) has opened a new manufacturing facility in Prescott Valley, Ariz. The new 23,500-square-foot manufacturing plant located in the Big Sky Business Park will support the demand of Superior products in the Southwest Region of the United States. Superior's Southwest Division will manufacture portable conveying equipment and offer faster delivery times to their end users in the Southwest markets. CM