ARM staffer, Larry Koenig, is back from his Florida hiatus and is ready and eager to help ARM members promote the use of concrete in parking lots and local streets around Minnesota.  Please call the ARM office at 952-707-1250 to schedule a meeting with Larry to find out what he can do to help you.

ARM has announced plans to hold regional meetings across Minnesota in May and July.  Join ARM Executive Director Fred Corrigan and ARM Promotions Director - Local Streets and Parking Lots Larry Koenig for a dinner meeting and roundtable discussion of issues pertaining to ARM members.  This is your opportunity to be heard!

On May 19, there will be a meeting at the Holiday Inn in Austin beginning at 4:00 pm.  The special guest speakers will be Nelrae Succio who is the MnDOT District 6 District Engineer and Steven Kirsch who is the MnDOT District 6 Assistant District Engineer - State Aid.

On May 26, the meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn in New Ulm beginning at 4:00 pm.  The special guest speakers will be Jim Swanson who is the MnDOT District 7 District Engineer and Doug Haeder who is the MnDOT District 7 Assistant District Engineer - State-Aid/Planning.

The regional meeting that will be held July 12 at The Inn on Lake Superior in Duluth will be paired with an ARM Board of Directors Meeting that will be followed by a dinner cruise aboard the Vista Star.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE MAY MEETINGS REGISTRATION FORM

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE JULY MEETING REGISTRATION FORM

June 7^th, 2005 marks the date for the 10^th Annual Concrete Open.  This year’s golf outing will be held at The Legends Club in Prior Lake.  Cost per player is $135 which is the same as last year.  For added convenience, ARM will now accept credit card payment for golf sponsorships and registrations (Visa and Master Card only).

Hole sponsors are needed.  Hole-in-one sponsorships are once again $650 and regular sponsorships are $300.

CLICK HERE FOR FOURSOME REGISTRATION FORM

CLICK HERE FOR SPONSORSHIP FORM

During the KSTP Channel 5 (ABC) 10:00 pm news on Thursday, April 21, a spot aired featuring ICF Safe Rooms.  The week of April 18 – 22 marked the annual Tornado Awareness Week.  ARM’s ICF Committee prepared and released a statement regarding the storm resistance benefits of ICF safe rooms and residential construction.  Special thanks goes to Jeff Rutz and Polysteel for spearheading this effort and for concentrating their energy on the television news media.

The National Account Program Status Report is now available for NRMCA members on NRMCA's website. This report covers the leading National Account relationships and will be updated monthly. Enhancements will be added to the report in coming months, including the addition of leading prospects targeted under the program. The report can also be accessed through the National Accounts Program page under the "Applications & Promotion" main menu selection on the homepage. This members-only report requires log-in – most members that receive E-NEWS can gain access by following the directions on the log-in page that will appear.

For help in gaining access to the National Account Status Report, please contact NRMCA’s Kimberly Pittmon at 1-888-846-7622, ext. 1146 or by e-mail, kpittmon@nrmca.org

Source: 4.25.05 NRMCA E-News Bulletin

Key decision makers with the City of Denver recently hosted a promotion team of NRMCA western field promoter Dan Huffman, Joe Rottman (Colorado Ready Mixed Concrete Assn.) and Dale Fisher (PCI Systems) where Huffman gave a presentation on pervious concrete with substantial commentary assistance by Rottman and Fisher. The City of Denver was interested in expanding its already established support of the technology by better understanding the broad array of applications and major projects across the nation, which was the focus of Huffman’s presentation. PCI Systems, among the growing list of national pervious concrete contractors, also was directly contracted by the city for a small parking lot project in addition to other projects it has in the area.

For more information on NRMCA’s promotion of pervious concrete, contact Michelle Barringer at 1-888-846-7622, ext. 1143 or by e-mail, mbarringer@nrmca.org

Source: 4.25.05 NRMCA E-News Bulletin

The PCA's Residential Strategic Task Force met in Chicago last week to develop/refine the organization's 5-year residential promotion plan.   Holcim's Jason Kruger, ARM ICF Committee Co-Chair and an attending member of the PCA task force, reports that ARM and its members were singled out at this meeting for their proactive stance on the promotion of above-grade concrete homes.   Numerous task force members were suprised after reviewing the ICFA's annual consumption report identifying Minnesota as having the highest usage of ICF forms in the U.S.  Joe Lyman, ICFA's Executive Director and presenter at the Chicago meeting, was especially excited about ARM's Concrete Home Specialist program and the potential national ramifications.

The Insulating Concrete Form Association (ICFA) achieved success recently in both the national and state model building codes, making progress in code advancements one of the Association’s highest priorities.

There were several different ICF issues brought before the International Code Council’s Building & Energy Committee code hearing in early March, none more serious than view ports in ICFs.

John Rashid, an architect from Minnesota, proposed (RB 129) in the International Residential Code (IRC) to mandate the use of view ports in ICFs.  The ICFA, its members and ICFA’s allies the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) and Aggregate & Ready Mix Association of Minnesota (ARM) successfully defeated the same proposed rule change he submitted to the Minnesota Residential Code in March of 2004.

The proposal called for the mandatory use of two “view ports,” a piece of PVC pipe with a glass or plastic lens on the lens, to be field installed on every 4-foot section of ICF block and panel.  Marketed at the cost of $3 each, mandatory use of view ports would increase the cost of ICFs and job site labor dramatically.

Source:  ICFA Dialog – Spring 2005

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Capable of reducing stormwater runoff because of its porosity, pervious concrete has been used in other parts of the country for years, but it remains a question mark in cold-weather places like Minnesota.

A special type of “green” concrete may be coming soon to a parking lot near you. Or a bike path, sidewalk or pool deck for that matter.

Pervious concrete, which is designed to allow rainwater to pass through to the ground instead of running off to wetlands and sewer systems, is getting a closer look in Minnesota and other Midwestern states. 

Used in some parts of the country for decades, pervious concrete is still new to the Midwest. It’s designed to protect lakes, streams and rivers from rainwater that picks up pollutants from streets, driveways and other hard surfaces.

The technology has been a hot topic at trade shows and conventions as builders, developers and cities look for low-cost ways to meet increasingly stringent federal requirements for reducing stormwater “runoff.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE >

ARM Executive Director, Fred Corrigan gave a presentation on the Concrete Home Specialist program at PCA’s Professional Promoters Workshop last week.  Corrigan, along with ARM’s Promotions Director – Local Streets and Parking Lots, Larry Koenig, attended the workshop that was geared toward generating ideas about how to successfully promote the use of cement-based products.