QUIKRETE, Charah Dry Mix partner
to produce bottom ash cement products
The QUIKRETE Companies (quikrete.com) have entered a joint venture with Charah Dry Mix LLC (charah.com) to manufacture and distribute selected products under the QUIKRETE brand. Charah Dry Mix LLC is a recent spin-off from Charah Inc., an ash management provider for the coal-fired electric utility industry based in Louisville, Ky. Terms of the Joint Venture were not disclosed.

Charah Dry Mix LLC produces a patent-pending concrete mix made with bottom ash, a material produced by coal-burning utilities that is recycled as a concrete aggregate.

"The joint venture with QUIKRETE will leverage Charah's innovation in bottom ash recycling," said Charles Price, president and CEO of Charah. "We are fortunate to find such a strong partner as QUIKRETE to share our vision of conserving our natural resources through recycling."

The QUIKRETE Companies will package all bottom ash products with Charah's patent- pending two-handled plastic bag, making the products easy to lift and carry.

Hanson Pipe building largest
automated pipe and precast plant
Hanson Pipe is building the largest automated pipe and precast plant in the United States on 91 acres in Winter Haven, Fla. The operation should begin production next August, and production output is forecast at about 120 trucks a day.

The 171,000-square-foot $45 million plant will feature robotics and touch-screen controls managed by about 50 employees.

The facility will become the production leader of Hanson Pipe & Precast Southeast, and will be managed from the company's Green Cove Springs plant in Jacksoncille, Fla. by Joan Blecha.

CTS begins renovation of Mexico, Mo.
for cement packaging, distribution
Cement producer CTS Cement Manufacturing Corp. in Cypress, Calif. is renovating and outfitting a former firebrick refractory manufacturing plant in Mexico, Mo. up to $50 million over the next five years in order to expand cement packaging and distribution operations to Midwest U.S.
markets. The 233-acre site was formerly owned and operated by National Refractories and Minerals Corp., which went bankrupt in 2002 and closed the 640,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in March of 2003.

The company is getting the first phase of construction underway, which involves adding bagging and packaging operations and a rail spur.

The company will initially do packaging and distribution for its line specialty fast-setting hydraulic calcium aluminate cement products. A second phase could include the addition of a small rotary kiln to enable the manufacturing of cement. CTS Cement currently gets its cement from a plant in Juarez, Mexico.

Home Depot Supply adds Fort Worth
concrete supplier to its network
Home Depot Inc. has acquired Texas Contractors Supply L.P. of Fort Worth, which distributes concrete formwork, treatments and finishing equipment to be part of the contractor and industrial market-geared Home Depot Supply.
Texas Contractors Supply L.P. carries such brands as Dayton/Richmond, Kraft Tool, Meadow Burke, Multiquip, Sika, Soff-Cutt, Sonoco and Wacker.

Lehigh to upgrade and use
port of Everett, Wash.
Lehigh Northwest has signed a 20-year agreement with the Port of Everett, Wash. to upgrade and use existing shipping facilities for handling cement imports. The company will start renovations so that it may receive bulk shipments by spring of next year.

The new terminal will include a 60,000-ton storage dome, docking facilities, conveying equipment, and loading bays for both truck and rail service.

With the improvements, Lehigh predicts the terminal will see an annual throughput of about 500,000 tons, with higher capacities possible in future years.

Lehigh already operates 10 other terminals in the Pacific Northwest: three in Washington, three in Oregon and four in British Columbia.

AltusGroup adds licensee for
carbon fiber precast production
AltusGroup has extended the availability of its lightweight, CarbonCast precast panel technology to the Pacific Coast with the addition of Morse Bros. Prestressed Group of Harrisburg, Ore. as a licensee. The company fabricates architectural, structural and transportation products, servicing Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and California from its plant in the Willamette Valley. Morse Bros. joins Virginia's Shockey Precast Group, Connecticut's Blakeslee Precast and Texas' Heldenfelds Enterprises as producers that have joined AltusGroup during the past year.

CarbonCast is a precast technology that uses C-Grid — a noncorrosive, high-strength carbon fiber grid - as secondary reinforcing in architectural panels and as sheer reinforcing in insulated wall panels. Depending on the application, C-Grid allows thinner precast sections and can reduce the weight of architectural panels by up to 66 percent, the manufacturer notes, while offering significantly improved corrosion resistance, durability and insulation value. CarbonCast technology is also available in pretopped double tees and residential wall and foundation applications.

Salt River Materials Group
adopts sustainability initiative
The Salt River Materials Group (srmaterials.com) has approved a resolution establishing a sustainability initiative that creates a sustainability working group to coordinate the company's existing and future efforts to measure, optimize, and communicate sustainable performance.

From energy efficiency to environmental stewardship, the initiative is intended to produce measurable benefits by meeting or exceeding performance benchmarks.

"We intend to make a major positive impact on our two greatest resources: our people and our environment," President and CEO Roger Smith said.

Blastrac sets SPARC classes
Blastrac's Surface Preparation Academic Resource Center (SPARC) class dates for the remainder of 2006 were recently announced and are: Sept. 19-21, Oct. 17-19 and Nov. 14-17. SPARC is a surface preparation training program taught by factory experts skilled in Blastrac equipment and Sawtec hand tools.

For more information, e-mail or see blastrac.com.

LBX adding parts, distribution unit
to new headquarters' Kentucky site
LBX Co., makers of Link-Belt earthmoving and material handling equipment, has started construction of a 50,000-square-foot service parts distribution center to be located at its recently completed corporate headquarters in Lexington, Ky.

The center will be operational in the first quarter of 2007, and will handle private label packaging, inventory warehousing and management, inspection and reworking of returned products, and service parts distribution services to support LBX's parts dealers throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Hardwire gets DARPA, Army program
to develop lighter, safer armor systems
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), in conjunction with the U.S. Army, has awarded a Phase II program valued at approximately $15 million to Hardwire LLC (hardwirellc.com) to further develop Hardwire's proprietary HD Armor systems for various critical military applications.

Hardwire has been awarded an agreement to develop and scale improved vehicle protection that is lighter weight than existing armor systems. Work will be performed in Pocomoke City, Md., and will be completed by December 2007. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is the contracting agency.

The DARPA Phase II effort is at the core of Hardwire's broader armor and structural reinforcement efforts. Spin-off products from the DARPA Phase I program are being used by the Army Corps to protect large military building assets in Iraq. Additionally, Hardwire HD Armor is being used in a variety of Homeland Security applications to protect critical infrastructure in high-profile metropolitan areas.

TXI observed Riverside Cement
Centennial on Aug. 23
TXI announced the 100 year anniversary of Riverside Cement. Incorporated Aug. 23, 1906 as the Southern California Cement Co., the company changed its name to Riverside Cement Co. in the late 1920s. After years of various owners, Riverside Cement was most recently purchased by TXI in 1998.

TXI Riverside Cement began its next hundred years with completion of its 2.2-million-ton plant expansion and modernization at Oro Grande, Calif.

Cemstone to build new 14th
plant, Contractor Supply Store
Cemstone Products Co. of Mendota Heights, Minn has announced it will build a transit mixed plant and Contractor Supply store in East Bethel, Minn. along the Minnesota Highway 65. The seven-acre facility will be called North Metro, and will display tilt-up wall panels, conventional and pervious pavements, decorative exterior and interior flatwork, and concrete countertops.

The facility has galvanized steel components to reduce short- and long-term maintenance; smart chute and overhead door controls to contain dust during rear or front discharge mixer loading; low wattage lighting at routine batch plant and conveyor checkpoints; and, plumbing for four types of batch water, including gray water from a four-stage settling and containment structure.

Equipped by Con-E-Co, the enclosed batch plant features 220 tons of overhead aggregate storage and a square, 400-ton cement silo. A conventional 212-ton cement silo rests at ground level on the adjacent exterior.

East Bethel will be the 14th Cemstone property combining ready mixed production and a Contractor Supply store, with tools, surface treatments and insulating concrete forms.

Simpson Strong-Tie wins
David Weekley Homes award
In recognition of its commitment to provide the highest product quality and level of service, Simpson Strong-Tie was once again honored with a Partners of Choice Award. David Weekley Homes, the nation s third largest privately held homebuilder, recently announced the recipients of their annual supplier award program.

Simpson Strong-Tie was one of nine companies to qualify for the award.