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| From the Editors of Concrete Products | |
| A Primedia Property | |
| September 19, 2005 | |
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Table of Contents SPECIAL STAFF REPORT: Gulf Coast terminals, RM plants assess losses, work to relaunch SPECIAL STAFF REPORT: Precast segment switching expedites Louisiana I-10 reopening plan SPECIAL STAFF REPORT: New, code-compliant masonry walls equal to Katrina PCA: Post-Katrina New Orleans rebuild to require 4 million tons Katrina might spur Feds' action on cement, lumber duties Cement group supports Lumber counterpart on NAFTA challenge Walker Concrete stages job fair for Katrina evacuees ACI convention moved to K.C. from New Orleans Dow Jones Sustainability Index lists Holcim, CRH and Lafarge Transit Mix aims for 22-minute set time on "Two Hour House" demo Front discharge mixer manufacturer emerges from bankruptcy To read about our privacy policy concerning your email address, click here ADVERTISEMENT  Ready to lower your credit card processing
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Concrete According to Craig Duos, executive director, Concrete and Aggregates Association of Louisiana, most ready mixed producers driven out of service due to the hurricane are back in, or nearly ready for, business. The notable exceptions to this are New Orleans multi-plant operator Carlo Ditta Inc. and single-plant Owens & Sons Inc.; plants from both companies remain flooded and without power. At press time, Lafarge North America's New Orleans airport ready mixed plant was still without power, but signs pointed toward a reopening sometime in the next week or so. As of September 19, the company had nine of 15 Louisiana plants in service and anticipates a sizeable number of employees will return to work this week, joining 65 staffers who are already back. All totalled, about 200 mixers, or 20 percent Louisiana's fleet, were taken out of commission as a result of hurricane-related damage, according to Duos, who added that of that number, 140 are back in service. On the precast side, he says that Hanson Pipe and Products, due to power outage, was running its New Orleans operation from a Memphis office for the time being. In Mississippi, Gulf Concrete has resumed production at five of its six ready mixed plants that are closest to the coast. The company is part of state's leading operator, MMC Materials Corp. Powder Holcim, among the fortunate companies to report no missing employees in Katrina's aftermath, cites damage to two cranes at its Theodore, Ala., cement plant. The company rented replacement cranes, which are now installed and operational. Shipments by truck and rail have resumed, and the facility's kiln was restarted and is producing at a limited rate. The company's Artesia, Miss., cement plant, Birmingham, Ala., slag grinding facility, and Quinton, Ala., fly ash operation are all running. Holcim's distribution terminals in Baton Rouge and Westlake, La., and Vicksburg, Miss., are open, as is the Globalplex reserve terminal in Louisiana, after being down for a time due to power loss. According to a company spokesperson, the only limitation to output from the terminals is the limited barge traffic. The company's biggest property hit is its 38,000-metric-ton-capacity New Orleans terminal, which suffered significant damage due to flooding and is not yet scheduled to resume operations. Buzzi Unicem's 522,000-ton-per-year-capacity New Orleans AuCem slag cement plant remains without power, water, phone service and sewer service, and the company expects it will be some weeks or months before these are restored. Two plant managers were able to reach the facility by tugboat accompanied by the Coast Guard in the early part of the month and reported about 75 percent of the plant site was still under 3 feet of water, down from 8 feet immediately following the hurricane. Both the company's 10,000-ton-capacity Burnside, La., and Natchez, Miss., terminals have power back and are loading out cement; the 17,000-ton Brandon, Miss., terminal is still without power. Buzzi Unicem is reporting that ocean ships are now permitted into the Mississippi River and it will unload its next import ship directly into barges, which will then be sent to the company's 44,260-ton Orange, Texas, terminal. SPECIAL STAFF REPORT: Precast segment switching expedites Louisiana I-10 reopening plan Source: U.S., Florida and Louisiana Departments of Transportation With an eye toward repairing a critical portion of Interstate 10, linking New Orleans to Baton Rouge and Texas, Louisiana DOT officials have awarded an emergency contract calling for a shuffling of precast roadway segments along a 5.4-mile twin bridge structure spanning Lake Ponchartrain. The $30.9 million contract requires crews from New Orleans' Boh Bros. Construction -- working on a 24-hour/seven-day schedule -- to use intact segments from the most damaged structure (westbound) as replacements for damaged portions on the more intact eastbound twin. The 300-ton-plus segments combine prestressed concrete I girders with integrally cast decks, all resting on pile bent-type piers. Hurricane Katrina's storm surge damaged or destroyed segments on both structures, leaving I-10 impassable. Most pile bents appear intact but have not been tested. Phased work The first of the contract's three phases entails completion of repair and segment replacement on the eastbound span, which is scheduled to reopen by October 25 and create one lane for each direction of travel. A second phase calls for Boh Bros. crews to consolidate the remaining serviceable segments along one end of the second structure, and complete it with the erection of portable steel bridge panels and trusses from New Jersey-based Acrow Corp. of America. The second structure, scheduled for completion by January, will provide only one lane of traffic due to the portable units' load limits. The final phase will see the contractor handle maintenance for up to three years. Along with the contract awarding on Sept. 9, LaDOT announced plans to solicit bids early next year for a replacement I-10 Lake Ponchartrain twin structure, with three lanes in each direction. Florida experience The method of moving precast roadway segments between twin spans has most recently been deployed by Florida Department of Transportation officials, who sought rapid repair of twin I-10 Escambia Bay structures ravaged last year by Hurricane Ivan. After Katrina hit, FDOT officials assisted their Louisiana counterparts in determining the feasibility of moving segments between the Lake Ponchartrain crossing to restore limited I-10 service, and now are preparing to loan Acrow components sufficient for about 2,000 ft. of the Lake Ponchartrain crossing. FDOT also provided LaDOT shop drawings and contract language for use in preparing the $30.9 million contract as a design-build job. Florida officials chose to issue a contract for the Escambia Bay replacement twin bridge as design-build. That fast track project is scheduled to open by December 2006, with pile driving now under way. The job will incorporate primarily 36-in. diameter prestressed cylinder square concrete piles; precast pile caps; 135-ft. prestressed bulb tee girders; and cast-in-place deck. The precast production is split between Tampa-based Standard Concrete Products and Gulf Coast Pre-Stress (GCP), whose plant is in Pass Christian, Miss., one of the areas hardest hit by Katrina. Clean up from the storm surge, and the restoring of power and water, will likely have GCP re-starting production by the end of September. Mississippi As work proceeds on I-10 in Louisiana and Florida, another key east-west thoroughfare -- U.S. 90 along coastal Mississippi -- will have some portions closed indefinitely. Primarily bridge sections of construction similar to those along Lake Ponchartrain, they sustained more severe damage from the Katrina storm surge. SPECIAL STAFF REPORT: New, code-compliant masonry walls equal to Katrina Sources: National Concrete Masonry Association, Herndon, Va.; The Masonry Society, Denver Masonry structures built to codes tightened for greater wind loading performed well in the face of Hurricane Katrina, concludes a team of National Concrete Masonry Association and The Masonry Society investigators. Arriving in Mississippi three days after Hurricane Katrina struck, the team observed intact, partially damaged, and demolished structures at sites in Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport and other coastal towns. "There is a vast improvement in performance of structures built in the past 10 years compared to ones designed according to older codes," says NCMA's Jason Thompson, structural engineer. Intact masonry structures in Biloxi and Gulfport exhibited wind resistance characteristics that could be expected from structures built according to the IBC 2000 code, he adds. Prominent instances of concrete masonry walls withstanding the hurricane forces were noted at a Gulfport Kmart and Biloxi Wal-Mart store, plus a Harrison County building very near the Biloxi shoreline. Images of those and other projects are posted at www.ncma.org/Katrina, or linked at www.masonrysociety.org Gust factor Thompson notes that the IBC 2000 is among the first codes to stipulate wind load design to a factor known as a "three second gust," which in a concrete masonry wall would require full grouting and vertical rebar of larger diameter than older codes. Leading up to the IBC 2000, wind loading for walls of masonry or other construction subject to high wind loads was based on a "fastest mile" factor that considered only peak gusts. Failures among modern masonry structures in Mississippi suggested that construction was not up to code, team members contend. They observed, for example, demolished block walls with vertical reinforcement but no grout, plus homes or buildings where improper or missing tie-backs led to complete failure of brick veneer, regardless of substrate. First response Assisting the NCMA/TMS team were representatives of Birmingham, Ala.-based Block USA, the Southeast's second largest concrete masonry producer and supplier of much gray and architectural block in coastal Mississippi. Leading the team was the University of Louisville's Terence Weigel, Ph.D., who notes, "When catastrophic events like hurricanes damage structures, it is important to conduct an investigation as quickly as possible before clean-up efforts are begun to collect forensic data and determine how well the structures performed. Quick-response field studies conducted following major disasters are vital to identify knowledge gaps where further research and building code revisions are most needed. Such investigations also offer opportunities to make recommendations regarding mitigation measures, disaster preparedness, and emergency responses for better preparing communities for future disasters." TMS sponsored the investigation with the Council for Masonry Research. The Society's Coordinator for their Investigating Disasters Program, Art Schultz (University of Minnesota), and President Max Porter (University of Iowa) requested that authorities in the Gulf States region grant the team access to disaster areas and share information with the team members. "These scientific investigations are part of a comprehensive disaster hazard-reduction effort underway and cooperation from local officials enhances the team's effectiveness in carrying out their critical task," Schultz says, adding that a report of findings is expected to be available from TMS in the near future. PCA: Post-Katrina New Orleans rebuild to require 4 million tons Source: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill. Rebuilding the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina stands to push cement consumption even higher than current record levels. Experts estimate that rebuilding New Orleans will require at least 4 million tons of cement during the next four to five years. However, disruption to the cement supply due to port closures in New Orleans is expected to have a minimal effect. "Normally hurricanes cause excessive wind damage, blowing off roofs, for example," Ed Sullivan, PCA chief economist says. "However, water is responsible for most of the structural harm in New Orleans. Because of this 'bottom-up' damage, high-concrete intensity building sections like foundations will need replacement. In addition, more nonresidential buildings than normal were damaged by the floodwater and will need replacement." Preliminary estimates put property damage in excess of $125 billion, making Katrina the most devastating natural disaster in U.S. history. According to Sullivan, an increase in demand for cement in the Gulf Coast region will not occur until clean up is completed, which will take at least two to four months in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, and in the case of New Orleans, five to nine months. Once the clean up is done, cement will be needed not only for rebuilding, but to complete the jobs started before the hurricane. The port of New Orleans is the nation's second largest import terminal for cement, processing nearly 10 percent of all cement imports. However, the short-term decrease of imports caused by the port's closure after the hurricane will be off-set by the region's decrease in cement demand as projects have been postponed during clean-up. "This disruption is temporary and cement cargo ships already have been reassigned to ports in Texas and Florida," Sullivan says. Katrina might spur Feds' action on cement, lumber duties Sources: CP staff; Martin Cruttsinger, Associated Press By coincidence, the Southern Tier Cement Committee's move to support the Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports' challenge of North American Free Trade Agreement provisions (see companion item below) took place the day after U.S. Treasury Department officials indicated the potential for easing duties on imported cement and lumber if price spikes arise from product demand tied to Hurricane Katrina rebuilding. A Sept. 12 AP report noted that a Treasury Department spokesman, Tony Fratto, said the federal government could adjust duties or tariffs in an emergency, but would not make a determination on lumber or cement until it had more information on pricing effects. Discussion of the tariffs was raised as Treasury Secretary John Snow, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez visited with state and local officials, hurricane victims and relief workers in the Gulf Coast. Secretary Gutierrez is no stranger to the matter of cement duties. Amid tight supply conditions created by record powder demand in many markets this year, he has received requests from the Associated General Contractors of America, Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, and Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah governors to review antidumping duty orders that have applied to Mexican cement imports since 1990. Cement group supports Lumber counterpart on NAFTA challenge Sources: King & Spalding LLC and National Association of Home Builders, Washington, D.C. The Southern Tier Cement Committee, which has pressed the U.S. Department of Commerce to enforce antidumping duty orders imposed on powder imports from Mexico, announced support lumber group's challenge to the North American Free Trade Agreement appeals process. In a Sept. 13 complaint filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports seeks to have NAFTA Chapter 19 declared unconstitutional. The complaint contends that the chapter allows appeals of Commerce determinations involving imports from Mexico or Canada to be heard by ad hoc panels of individuals from the two countries involved in a case versus national courts. The Coalition had a 30-day window to file the complaint, driven by a mid-August NAFTA Extraordinary Challenge Committee ruling that appeared to ease antidumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber imports. The National Association of Home Builders praised the decision, noting that it paved the way for "elimination of a hidden tax that has cost American home buyers and consumers more than $4 billion." "The binational panel dispute settlement system set up by Chapter 19 is contrary to the U.S. Constitution," says King & Spalding's Joe Dorn, STCC counsel. "It was intended to provide a process for timely appeals of agency decisions in antidumping and countervailing duty cases based on fairly applying the same law and standard of review as a national court. Instead, Chapter 19 is being manipulated in a biased manner, and U.S. producers have no real recourse. Thus, we support the coalition's action." The STCC, he adds, is among the most experienced parties in NAFTA cases, because its Mexican opponents have consistently chosen to appeal to NAFTA panels, rather than the U.S. Court of International Trade, a Federal court with impartial judges established under Article III of the U.S. Constitution. Walker Concrete stages job fair for Katrina evacuees Source: CP staff Influx of an estimated 3,000 Gulf Coast residents into communities southeast of Atlanta prompted management of Stockbridge, Ga.-based ready mixed producer Walker Concrete to organize a Sept. 12-13 job fair in cooperation with Henry County. Based at a conference center in Stockbridge, the event drew nearly 350 applicants for positions in construction and other businesses. Notes Walker Vice President of Risk Management Jim Simpson, "We began organizing the event on Labor Day and word spread quickly among employers and job candidates. Everyone we called to lend a hand or participate delivered or showed up." Nine-plant Walker Concrete and three-site sister company, Walker Construction Materials, hired four drivers at the fair. Other industry employers at the event included Augusta Ready Mix, Fowler-Flemister Concrete, Lafarge North America, and Tucker Concrete, plus independent and refuse haulers and a recycling company. Walker Concrete and Henry County officials figure the event, which drew 54 companies, yielded temporary or longer term employment for more than 100 Hurricane Katrina evacuees from Louisiana and Mississippi. Response to the fair, coupled with the county's rapid growth, has the organizers planning similar monthly events. ACI convention moved to K.C. from New Orleans Source: American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich. The American Concrete Institute will hold its fall convention at the Marriott Kansas City Hotel and Kansas City Convention Center, Nov. 6-10. Institute officials plan to stage most events, including more than 300 meetings and technical sessions, that had been scheduled over the same dates in New Orleans. ACI management worked quickly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to relocate the convention, originally to have been based at the New Orleans Marriott. Also on the Kansas City agenda are the FRPRCS-7 symposium; a celebratory dinner marking the ACI certification program's 25th anniversary; Structural Concrete in the Americas workshop; and, the concrete cube student competition. The pre-registration cutoff date has been extended until October 7; for those who have already registered, ACI has transferred all registrations from New Orleans to Kansas City. -- www.concrete.org; 248/848-3800 Additionally, the Strategic Development Council and American Shotcrete Association meetings will be held in Kansas City on November 4-5. The International Concrete Repair Institute Convention will likewise be at the Kansas City Marriott, Nov. 2-5. Dow Jones Sustainability Index lists Holcim, CRH and Lafarge Source: Holcim Ltd., Jona, Switzerland Dow Jones has selected Holcim Ltd. for this year's Sustainability Index, recognizing the company as a "leader of the industry" within that grouping. Holcim officials attribute the recognition to "continuous and consistent efforts in sustainable development," adding that the long-term success of their business depends on value creation and an ability to integrate a sustainability strategy into core management. Holcim has addressed sustainability through such measures as emissions reduction in cement milling, plus marketing of portland cement alternative products like slag-based GranCem, which is promoted throughout St. Lawrence, Holcim (US) and Apasco operations in North America. The company has also launched the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction, with entries drawn from three regions. North American region recipients will be named in a Sept. 29 ceremony in Boston. Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index is reportedly the first global index tracking the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. It covers the top 10 percent of the biggest 2,500 companies in the Dow Jones World Index in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. Other heavy building materials operators listed in this year's DJSI, which was announced earlier this month, are Oldcastle parent company CRH Plc; Lafarge North America; and Lafarge Group. Transit Mix aims for 22-minute set time on "Two Hour House" demo Source: Degussa Admixtures, Cleveland Transit Mix Concrete and Materials is donating ready mixed loads and staff resources to two teams each seeking to complete a 1,650-sq.-ft. home -- with a total of 2,160 sq. ft. of slab on grade -- in under two and half hours. The competition will take place Oct. 1 in the Wellington Place subdivision of Tyler, Texas, about an hour east of Dallas. Volunteers in the "Two Hour House" demonstration, organized by the Tyler Area Builders Association, will finish the slabs and furnish the three-bedroom, two-bath homes. Afterward, the homes will be put on the market with proceeds going to area causes. Transit Mix turned to Degussa Admixtures for assistance in formulating a suitable mix. "Our challenge is to design and produce a concrete mix that will reach initial set in 22 minutes," notes Transit Mix's Dick Schilhab, vice president, East Texas. As most residential concrete has a four to five-hour set time, he adds, the company is borrowing from Degussa's 4x4 Concrete technology. Earmarked for rapid setting pavement repair, 4x4 uses one of the company's Glenium polycarboxylate admixtures, plus Pozzolith and Delvo agents, to yield a mix developing a vehicular-load ready 400 psi flexural strength in four hours. The "Two Hour" project's ambitious completion target is set against previous home-building benchmarks exceeding three hours. -- www.tylerareabuilders.com; www.transitmixconcrete.com Front discharge mixer manufacturer emerges from bankruptcy Source: Indiana Phoenix Inc., Avilla, Ind. Indiana Phoenix has announced confirmation of a bankruptcy reorganization plan from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, enabling a Sept. 13 exit from Chapter 11. Notes company president Dan Biberstine, "The speedy approval can be attributed to the overwhelming support given by our creditors who voted in favor of the plan. We are grateful to our suppliers who have supported us through this difficult year." As a result of the approved plan, he adds, "Indiana Phoenix is emerging as a better and stronger company. Our employees have united and created a team spirit that did not exist before. We have eliminated outsourcing which was causing major quality, delivery and pricing problems, and have made tremendous improvements in product quality and customer service." Indiana Phoenix purchased the assets of Phoenix Industries, Inc. in October 2000, relocating from a site near Ft. Wayne to a 59,000 sq. ft. plant in nearby Avilla. ADVERTISEMENT The 2005 North American Cement Directory is currently available for ordering exclusively from Cement Americas. Also available for ordering is the all-new companion 2005 U.S. and Canadian Portland Cement Map. Order your fully updated new editions today! Both can be purchased from the Primedia Business Book Department: Phone: 888-254-4552 or (+1) 913-967-1719 Fax: 800-633-6219 or (+1) 913-967-1901 e-mail: bookorders@primediabusiness.com Also, for information about advertising in the 2006 North American Cement Directory, please contact David Pistello at (+1) 312-840-8471 or e-mail: dpistello@primediabusiness.com Item ID: MCNACD05 |
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