KBC Asset Management NV, a Brussels-based private investment manager, filed a lawsuit on Dec. 27 against Vulcan Materials Co. for not acting on a hostile takeover bid earlier in the month by rival Martin Marietta Materials Inc. that would have created the world's largest rock and gravel supplier."The exchange offer provides significant bird-in-hand value to Vulcan's shareholders in light of Vulcan's poor performance over the recent periods," says KBC's lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Ala. The Belgian firm owns over 44,000 shares of Vulcan, which has lost money three of the last four quarters. Martin Marietta stock,
A simple request from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the construction of its 102,000-sq-ft, $27.5-million La Bahn Arena presented an engineering challenge for the contractor."They wanted as much open space as they could get in the men's and women's hockey locker rooms," says Dave Beck-Engel, executive vice president, J.H. Findorff & Son, the project's principal contractor. "But with a traditional concrete slab, it got pretty thick, [and the] low ceilings got in the way."After considering its options, the project team chose to use BubbleDeck, a nontraditional concrete slab system which uses evenly spaced plastic bubbles to reduce the amount of
Construction of new cement plants is under way in Africa. At least nine new cement plants are under way in Africa, where leading producers are expanding capacities to meet growing construction demands on the continent. The work will cost billions of dollars and take several years to complete, but political instability poses risks.All eyes are on North Africa, where cement demand is expected to boom once new governments review construction sector policies in Egypt, Algeria and Libya.The rebuilding of Libya is at the top of the regional agenda. However, the region's leading cement firms report sluggish performance—especially in Egypt—due to
Photo Courtesy of Portadam LAST LINE OF DEFENSE Flood control products such as Portadam were deployed on short notice at the Fitzgerald Casino in Tunica, Miss., to provide protection from the rising waters of the Mississippi River. As cities and municipalities in the Midwest deal with seasonal floods, a new crop of flood barrier products have emerged in recent years.When Mark Bittner, city engineer for Fargo, N.D., planned for this year's floods, he had a budget in hand. While many towns and cities must wait for federal and state aid, Fargo has a dedicated half-cent sales tax for flood control.When
High-strength rebar reduces overall building costs compared to traditional steel reinforcement, according to a new study from the Construction Industry Institute.
Photo by Tudor Van Hampton Building a cement plant is key to survival, local firm says. Rendering courtesy Ozinga Bros. Inc. Ozinga filed an Illinois permit application for its proposed plant under a new business unit, Universal Cement, in December 2008. It expects a decision later this year. Related Links: U.S. Cement Production Flat Following 2009's Big Decline A fourth-generation, family-owned concrete company in Chicago wants to build its own cement plant so it can become more vertically integrated.Ozinga Bros Inc., founded in 1928, has proposed building the 1-million-ton-per-year plant on a 50-acre parcel it owns on Chicago's South Side.
Photo courtesy of Blue World Crete Green concrete startup has developed a cement that forms at low temperatures. MaterialsA Florida company's new geopolymer binder, which promises to enable eco-friendly materials that compete with portland cement, is undergoing testing in the U.S. and the Middle East.Blue World Crete, whose eponymously named firm is based in Pompano Beach, Fla., is one of many ongoing efforts to lower concrete's carbon footprint. Even so, experts are skeptical it can offer an alternative to the world's most popular building material: portland cement.The startup claims to have developed a synthetic alternative to traditional cement. Inorganic chemicals
Photo: Cary Kopczynski & Co High-strength rebar is costly but cuts down weight, reducing overall costs, a new study says. Related Links: High-Strength Rebar Market Is Heating Up New materials and methods available to concrete construction crews in the past decade present a financial dilemma:A flashy material may offer advantages despite its upfront cost, but how do you know you aren’t sending your overall project into the red?A research team took a stab at this problem and released their findings this morning to the Construction Industry Institute’s annual conference in Chicago. In some cases, the team found overall cost savings.
Photo By Tudor Van Hampton/ENR Related Links: Rebuilding Chicago's Wacker Drive: Giant concrete pour meets milestone The rebuild of Chicago’s historic Wacker Drive—this time, the double-decker road’s nearly 60-year-old north-south section—is in full swing. On May 10, Chicago-based contractor James McHugh Construction Co. reached a major milestone on the $300-million project when it poured 1,500 cu yd of concrete over a 10-hour period to complete a section of mainline deck. Composed of 13 in. of reinforced post-tensioned, high-performance concrete with a 2-in. latex overlay, the deck sits on a rebuilt concrete structure that is designed to last 100 years. Local