December 2, 2013 – FMI’s 2013 Fourth Quarter Nonresidential Construction Index (NRCI) shows a 2.9 point drop in to 57.4. However, the score is still ahead of fourth quarter 2012 by 1.9 points. An NRCI of more than 50 indicates growth therefore the fourth quarter score still indicates modest improvement in the industry.
Read MoreCategory: Blog
Congressional Fellowship
November 24, 2013 – Want to go shake up Congress? Someone has to. The Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) has established a Congressional Fellowship for mining for the 2014-2015 legislative session in Washington, D.C. The application process opens Dec. 1 and closes Dec. 31, 2013. The successful candidate will begin work in Washington Sept. 1, 2014, and conclude…
Read MoreQuarry Academy Day Two
November 12, 2013 – The second day of Sandvik’s Quarry Academy here in San Antonio was highlighted by a seminar series focused on big-picture mine planning and blasting.
Read MoreQuarry Academy
November 11, 2013 – I am blogging live this week in San Antonio as I attend Sandvik’s Quarry Academy, an annual event staged with Dyno Nobel.
Read MoreVulcan Looking Up
November 4, 2013 – Vulcan Materials had a very good third quarter. The company is reporting that its net sales increased $88 million, or 13 percent, versus the prior year’s third quarter. Gross profit improved $32 million, or 25 percent, from the prior year.
Read More‘I Make America’ Expands Identity
October 28, 2013 – The Association of Equipment Manufacturers(AEM) announced all domestic policy advocacy efforts on behalf of the equipment manufacturing industry will now be integrated under the I Make America banner. I Make America began as a national grassroots campaign and now has nearly 30,000 supporters across the country that advocate to dramatically increase jobs for America’s equipment manufacturers.
Read MoreTerex Corp. May Hire 1,500 Employees
October 21, 2013 – Hiring is always a good sign. Terex Corp. plans to invest about $40 million to upgrade its Oklahoma City facility after selling several product lines that had been built here. The company will add new machinery and other equipment at its local manufacturing plant, where it could add as many as 1,500 new jobs by 2017.
Read MoreMaking a Case in Tomahawk
October 17, 2013 – Case Construction Equipment, at a special media event in Tomahawk, Wis., introduced a new M Series line of dozers. One of the new machines – the 2050M – is a 214-hp machine targeted to the aggregates market for ripping overburden, working on haul roads, building berms and cleaning up muck piles.
Read MoreAmerica’s Infrastructure Is Crumbling
October 14, 2013 – A new editorial piece on Slate, entitled, “America’s Infrastructure Is Crumbling” notes that the golden age of American infrastructure was during the post-World War II era. But now far fewer resources are dedicated to repairing, updating, and replacing the country’s infrastructure. Like any system, it needs care to keep up with the demands placed on it.
Read MoreEdwards Honored by NSSGA
October 8, 2013 – There is nobody like Gus. At a reception and dinner at the NSSGA Fall Board Meeting in Amelia Island, Fla., many friendly and familiar faces paid tribute to retiring NSSGA President and CEO Emeritus Gus Edwards for his nearly 17 years with the association.
Read More