April 17, 2024 – Komatsu hosted Demo Days, a customer/dealer and media event at its Cartersville, Ga., Customer Center. The event, which I attended, showcased Komatsu’s equipment and solutions for the aggregates and construction industries. I was able to spend a fair amount of time one-on-one discussing the company’s WA500-8 and WA600-8 loaders, Montabert attachments, HM-400-5 articulated hauler, PC490LCI-11 excavator…
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Mental Health Resources
April 12, 2024 – There is a clear need for mental health resources in the construction and aggregates industries – and at all levels. Mental health is connected to physical health and should be approached the same way we tackle physical safety concerns. Fortunately, there are people in the industry who are passionate about helping others. There are several programs that…
Read MoreA Breedon Apart
The news was not totally unexpected, it had been rumored for a while, but it just got real real: Breedon has entered the U.S. construction materials market. Breedon Group plc, in case you are not aware, is a leading vertically integrated construction materials group in Great Britain and Ireland. Breedon holds “1 billion tonnes of mineral reserves and resources with…
Read MoreCalling All Women in Aggregates
March 15, 2024 – Women in Aggregates (WIA) invites you to an important panel discussion at AGG1, the premier aggregates event in North America. Mark your calendars for Monday, March 25 from 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM CST and be part of the conversation shaping the future of women in this dynamic industry. Attendees can add the panel to their…
Read MoreAASHTO Warns Congress on Potential Highway Funding Lapse
March 4, 2024 – The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials sent a letter to Congressional leaders on Feb. 26 requesting action to prevent a “potential lapse of critical highway funds” provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA at the end of the current fiscal year. AASHTO said the lapse risk is driven by the unprecedented growth of…
Read MoreCoal-Based Product Could Replace Sand in Concrete
A study by Rice University researchers found that graphene derived from metallurgical coke, a coal-based product, could serve not only as a reinforcing additive in cement but also as a replacement for sand in concrete. “This could have a major impact on one of the biggest industries in the world,” said James Tour, Rice’s T. T. and W. F. Chao…
Read MoreAwash in Success
EIW Sand Plants Have Served Silvi Materials Well Over The Past 25 Years. By Mark S. Kuhar Silvi Materials is a construction-materials supplier with 25 different locations across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The family-owned business was founded in 1947 by Laurence Silvi to help companies, contractors and homeowners build a better future. Today, with sons John Silvi and Laurence Silvi…
Read MoreDon’t Settle for Settling Ponds
Water Clarifiers And Specially Formulated Polymer Flocculants Can Eliminate The Need For Settling Ponds At Aggregate Plants. Edited by Mark S. Kuhar Sophisticated water clarifiers and specially formulated polymer flocculants can eliminate the need for settling ponds at aggregate plants by providing clarified water and easy-to-handle solids. For quarries that process crushed rock, sand, aggregate or dimensional stone, or mines…
Read MorePrice Management
Rock Products interviews Ksenia Yemelyanova of Price Bee About Analytics, The Market, Customers And Price Strategies. By Mark S. Kuhar Price management has become necessary in our industry, especially after the last few years of high inflation. How did you come to specialize in this area and what particular roles have you had that qualify you as an expert in…
Read MoreWaste to Go
EZA Recycling Solutions Wants Your Waste – And Will Pay You For It. By Mark S. Kuhar When EZA Recycling Solutions founder Ezekiel Setne was nine years old, he tagged along with his parents to return some of the family’s empty aluminum soda cans. It wasn’t long before he was raking in $10 per month by rounding up and bagging…
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