ASSI relocates corporate headquarters to aid in SureDome East Coast operations
Advanced Surface Systems LLC (ASSI), the makers of SureDome cement-based ADA-compliant detectable warning tiles, has moved its corporate headquarters to Knoxville, Tenn., which a company spokesman said will allow the company to offer more affordable and efficient production, sales and distribution to the Eastern United States.

Plans to move ASSI to Knoxville were facilitated by relocating West Coast sales and production to ADA Tactile Systems LLC in Phoenix, Ariz. The Knoxville location will offer SureDome, which meets or exceeds the ADA and ASTM standards for both DWTs and cement-based products, for the Eastern United States.

"The opening of ASSI's new Knoxville office and manufacturing facility is an important step towards realizing our goal to make SureDome affordable and readily available for all areas of the country, said Karen "KC" Hemry, president.

"This move will be the first of many important changes for the company in 2009 and 2010. ASSI is currently negotiating locations for additional manufacturing facilities in other parts of the United States in order to provide quality cement-based, ADA-compliant detectable warning at affordable prices."

Oldcastle Materials acquires Texas Concrete Materials Ltd
Austin-based Texas Concrete Materials Ltd., a six-plant ready mixed producer, and sister Wheeler Cos. asphalt businesses covering the capital and San Antonio markets, has been acquired by Oldcastle for its APAC/Texas group.

Jack Wheeler, former principal in the acquired properties, will remain at the helm. He founded Wheeler Cos. in 1982 and purchased of four ready mixed and four asphalt plants from San Antonio-based Capitol Aggregates.

ACT celebrates 20th anniversary
Advanced Concrete Technologies (ACT), a North America provider of turn-key concrete mixing and batching plant equipment, celebrated its 20th Anniversary in December of 2009.

In their early days, ACT (ConcreteBiz.com) introduced some of the first fully automated concrete production systems available outside of Europe. Now they are industry heavy hitters working with the full spectrum of concrete manufacturers - producers of precast, pipe, block, paver and architectural products.

"The past 20 years have been an incredibly exciting time for ACT," President Max Hoene said. "Evolving innovations in construction techniques and the introduction of new types of high performance concrete have required increased precision and automation in mixing and batching systems. ACT has been on the forefront of that movement."

ACT couples advanced German-engineered mixing and batching technology with local ingenuity and service to deliver state-of-the-art concrete production solutions. Over the years ACT has pioneered and refined several technologies that today deliver productivity, improved plant performance and the flexibility to produce value added products to increase profits.

In 2007, ACT's growing success in the North American market led to the construction of a new corporate headquarters in Greenland, N.H.. This new facility serves as the North American hub for all customer service, online technical support, parts warehousing, ACT's industry-first P3 operator training school, as well as corporate offices for key management, administrative and sales staff.

Hanson Pipe & Precast's Grand Prairie, Texas, plant passes QCast certification
Hanson Pipe & Precast's Grand Prairie, Texas, facility recently passed the Quality Cast (QCast) Certification Program, a 124-point externally audited inspection program to improve the overall quality of all concrete pipe products administered by the American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA). Grand Prairie is the first of Hanson Pipe & Precast's nine Texas concrete pipe plants (HansonPipeandPrecast.com) to earn this honor.

"The QCast Certification program is a responsible and necessary measure to validate the quality and efficiency of concrete products," said Matt Childs, president, ACPA.

The QCast program covers the inspection of materials, finished products and handling/storage procedures, as well as performance testing and quality control documentation. The Grand Prairie facility is QCast certified to provide storm sewer and culvert pipe.

"The QCast Certification program is important to Hanson because it is our responsibility, as a leader in this industry, to ensure our products, operations and performance are none other than exceptional, and set the precedent for a sustainable infrastructure," said Richard Manning, president of Hanson Building Products, parent division of Hanson Pipe & Precast.

Builder's Concrete using RCC mixer designed by Sicoma, Stephens
Fishers, Ind.-based Builder's Concrete & Supply is using a portable roller compacted concrete mixer designed by Sicoma Strength and Stephens Mfg. Built around a horizontal twin shaft mixer, the 35-foot-long unit affords the flexibility of producing the material at one of Builder's three satellite transit mixed plants.

Based on a tandem axle and 17.75-inch frame rail, the Sicoma MAO 6000 mixer has a charge height just higher than13 feet. It feeds a conveyor with 42-inch-wide by 50-foot-long belt. At a 20-degree angle, the conveyor provides a 12-foot clearance for dump trucks, transferring mixes through a .75-yard hopper and 48-inch double clamshell gate. The mixer's 6-yard capacity equates to a two-batch cycle for projects served by conventional dumps.

Builder's Concrete is among Indiana ready mixed producers promoting RCC as an alternative to asphalt for base layers or full-depth pavements in light- and heavy-duty parking, shoulders, truck service applications, municipal streets and scrap yards.