The Precast Show 2011 Attendees Sense a Slow Recovery Underway

While an economic recovery in the construction industry may still be several months away, there was a renewed sense of optimism on the trade show floor during The Precast Show 2011 in Charlotte, N.C., Jan. 27-29. Trade show attendance topped 2,600 and both exhibitors and precast plant owners reported rising expectations for increased business during the second half of the year, according to Ty E. Gable, president of the National Precast Concrete Association. NPCA sponsored the trade show with the American Concrete Pipe Association.

“We interviewed many of our exhibitors and also talked with precast owners and executive managers and the prevailing mood was guardedly optimistic,” Gable said. “Most of the equipment manufacturers and precast producers are hopeful that the summer construction season will be better than last year, with a slow upward trend continuing through the year.”

This year’s Precast Show exhibitors filled 44,000 net square feet at the Charlotte Convention Center. That figure should rise significantly next year, Gable said. The Precast Show 2012 will be held March 1-3 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., and will include the addition of the National Concrete Masonry Association as a co-sponsor.

“Although there are many variables that could change the picture, our forecasting right now calls for slow growth to continue through 2012,” Gable said, “so we’re planning to mirror that trend with a trade show that continues to get bigger and better. For additional coverage of The Precast Show 2011 and ongoing updates for The Precast Show 2012, visit www.theprecastshow.org.
In addition to the trade show, NPCA presented its annual awards for creativity, innovation, safety and plant certification at the Salute to Excellence event Jan. 29 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. Here is a summary of the award winners.

PINNACLE AWARD
The Pinnacle Awards competition, sponsored by Spillman Co., is held annually during The Precast Show to spotlight innovations in production, safety and management/marketing within the precast plant. Pinnacle Awards entrants present their projects in an open forum where representatives from NPCA precast plants serve as the judges. The top-scoring entry earns the Pinnacle Award.

The 2011 Pinnacle Award was presented to U.S. Concrete Precast Group – Northern California for the entry “Moose Trowel,” a time-saving invention of one of the plant’s production workers. The Moose Trowel is a cylinder mounted on a drill that significantly decreases the time needed to finish round channels on manhole bases. By using this simple invention, the plant reduced finishing time by about 10 percent per manhole.

SAFETY AWARDS
The annual NPCA Safety Awards program honors plants that make safety a top priority. Safety scores are based on the OSHA 300 log that plants submit with their awards application. This year, 150 plants entered the Safety Awards program, representing more than 10.3 million man-hours of labor. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average incident rate among all precast concrete plants is 5.4, while among NPCA member plants that rate is 4.3 percent, which is a 21 percent improvement on the industry.

Platinum Safety Awards
The Platinum Safety Award is presented to those plants with zero OSHA reportable/recordable injuries and illnesses in 2010. A total of 42 plants earned the platinum award, which represents the highest level of safety achievement.
Category I: 0-60,000 hours
– Concrete Step Units Inc., Scranton, Pa.
– E.C. Babbert Inc. Lancaster Plant, Canal, Winchester, Ohio
– Firebaugh Precast Inc., Dacono, Colo.
– Goldens Bridge Unit Step Co., Carmel, N.Y.
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Mobile, Ala.
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Deland, Fla.
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, LaPlace, La.
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Montgomery, Ala.
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Salem, Va.
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, San Antonio, Texas
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Birmingham, Ala.
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Tualatin, Ore.
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Wauregan, Conn.
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Gretna, Fla.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Tucker, Ga.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Littleton, Colo.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Marianna, Fla.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Medley, Fla.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc. – New England, Avon, Conn.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Newnan, Ga.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., San Antonio, Texas
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Hartford City, Ind.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Pembroke, Ga.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Eastanoellee, Ga.
– Precast Specialties Corp., Abington, Mass.
– Sherman-Dixie Concrete Industries Inc., Dayton, Ohio
– U.S. Concrete Precast Group, Pleasanton Plant, Livermore, Calif.
– Vaughn Concrete Products, Cheyenne, Wyo.
– Wieser Concrete Products Inc., Portage, Wis.
– Wieser Concrete Products Inc., Fond du Lac, Wis.
Category II: 60,001-120,000 hours
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Nampa, Idaho
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Richmond, Va.
– Scituate Precast, Marshfield, Mass.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Topeka, Kan.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Brookshire, Texas
– Gainey’s Concrete Products Inc., Holden, La.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Houston, Texas
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Wilsonville, Ore.
– Wieser Concrete Products Inc., Maiden Rock, Wis.
Category III: 120,001+ hours
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Telford, Pa.

Gold Awards
The Gold Safety Award is presented to the plant posting the best reportable-injury/illness incident rate (IR) in each production-hours category that do not qualify for the Platinum Award.
Category I: 0-60,000 hours
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Concord, N.C.
Category II: 60,001-120,000 hours
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Houston, Texas
Category III: 120,001+  hours
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Auburn, Wash.

Silver Awards
The Silver Safety Award is presented to the plant with the second-best reportable-injury/illness incident rate in each production-hours category.
Category I: 0-60,000 hours
– S & M Precast, Henryville, Ind.
Category II: 60,001-120,000 hours
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Pleasanton, Calif.
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Fredericksburg, Va.
Category III: 120,001+ hours
– Concrete Systems Inc., Hudson, N.H.

Bronze Awards
The Bronze Safety Award is presented to the plant with the third-best reportable-injury/illness incident rate in each production-hours category.
Category I: 0-60,000 hours
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Riverside, Calif.
Category III: 120,001+ hours
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Ogden, Utah

Most Improved Awards
The Most Improved Safety Award is presented to the plant in each production-hours category that records the most  improvement on its reportable-injury/illness incident rate from the previous year’s incident rate.
Category I: 0-60,000 hours
– E.C. Babbert Inc., Canal Winchester, Ohio
Category II: 60,001-120,000 hours
– Hanson Pipe & Precast, Richmond, Va.
Category III: 120,001+ hours
– Oldcastle Precast Inc., Auburn, Wash.

PLANT CERTIFICATION AWARDS
NPCA certified plants earn awards in three categories. The plants that have been continuously certified for five, 10, 15 and 20 years are honored for their long-term commitment to quality production practices. In addition, every year, the plants that earn the top 25 overall scores in the plant certification program are recognized. With nearly 400 plants in the NPCA certification program, the top 25 award, known as the Quality Award of Merit, represents the top 6 percent of all certified plants. The top three overall scores, along with the top prestressed plant score, are presented the Quality Award of Excellence, NPCA’s highest quality award. The Quality Award of Excellence signifies that a plant has placed in the top 1 percent of all NPCA certified plants.

Quality Award of Excellence (top 3, top prestressed)

• J.E. Hill Precast, Leesburg, Fla.
• Oldcastle Precast Inc., Middle Island, N.Y.
• Modern Precast Concrete, Easton, Pa.
• Harper Contracting Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah (top prestressed plant)

Quality Award of Merit (top 25)

• American Concrete Industries Inc., Fort Pierce, Fla.
• American Concrete Products Co., Omaha, Neb.
• Camp Precast Concrete Products Inc., Milton, Vt.
• Coastal Pipeline Products Corp., Calverton, N.Y.
• Concrete Step Units Inc., Scranton, Pa.
• Diamond Concrete Products LLC, Guyton, Ga.
• Firebaugh Precast Inc., Dacono, Colo.
• Gerber Construction Inc., Saint George, Utah
• H2 Pre-Cast Inc., East Wenatchee, Wash.
• Independent Concrete Pipe Co.-Ohio Division,     Sylvania, Ohio
• J.E. Hill Precast, Leesburg, Fla.
• Lee’s Precast Concrete Inc., Aberdeen, Miss.
• Mack Vault of Toledo Inc., Bowling Green, Ohio
• MarCon Precast Inc., Meridian, Idaho
• Modern Precast Concrete, Easton, Pa.
• Oldcastle Precast Inc., Middle Island, N.Y.
• Oldcastle Precast Inc.-Rotondo Precast, Telford, Pa.
• Pro-Cast Products Inc., Highland, Calif.
• S & M Precast Inc., Henryville, Ind.
• Sunnycrest Precast, Auburn, N.Y.
• Techo-Bloc Corp., Pen Argyl, Pa.
• U.S. Concrete Precast Group – San Diego, Calif.
• Utility Concrete Products LLC, Morris, Ill.
• Wieser Concrete Products Inc., Portage, Wis.
• Zeiser Wilbert Vault Inc., Elmira, N.Y.

Plant Certification Anniversaries
20 Years

• Barbour Concrete Co., Independence, Mo.
• Tindall Corporation, Fairforest, S.C.

15 Years

• Atlantic Precast Concrete Inc. Tullytown, Pa.
• Crest Precast Inc., LaCrescent, Minn.
• Kistner Concrete Products Inc. Lockport, N.Y.
• Shea Concrete Products Inc., Wilmington, Mass.
• Wieser Concrete Products Inc., Portage, Wis.

10 Years

• Binghamton Precast and Supply, Binghamton, N.Y.
• Colorado Precast Concrete Inc., Loveland, Colo.
• Cretex Concrete Products West Inc., Casper, Wyo.
• Eagle Concrete Products Co., Somerset, Pa.
• Jensen Precast, Fontana, Calif.
• Mack Industries Inc., Valley city, Ohio
• Mack Vault of Toledo Inc., Bowling Green, Ohio
• Oldcastle Precast Inc., Idaho Falls, Idaho

5 Years

• Aguilars Concrete Products, Evans Colo.
• American Concrete Industries Inc., Fort Pierce, Fla.
• Armtec/Durisol, Mitchell, Ontario
• Boughton’s Precast Inc., Pueblo, Colo.
• C.R. Barger & Sons Inc., Lenoir City, Tenn.
• Cascade Concrete Industries Inc., Burlington, Wash.
• Century Group Inc., Sulphur, La.
• Concrete Safety Systems LLC, Bethel, Pa.
• CONTECH Construction Products Inc., Huber Heights, Ohio
• E & M Ready-Mix & Precast Inc., Gower, Miss.
• Hanson Pipe & Precast, Summerville, S.C.
• Huffcutt Concrete Inc., Chippewa Falls, Wis.
• Husted Concrete Products Inc., New York Mills, N.Y.
• Idaho Precast Concrete, Nampa, Idaho
• Independent Concrete Pipe Co., Maxwell, Ind.
• Mayer Brothers Inc., Elkridge, Md.
• Monarch Precast Concrete Corp., Allentown, Pa.
• Oldcastle Precast Inc., Fredericksburg, Va.
• Oldcastle Precast Inc. – Rotondo Precast, Telford, Pa.
• Poland Concrete Products Inc., Hillsville, Pa.
• PRETECH Corp., Kansas City, Kan.
• Scituate Precast Corp., Marshfield, Mass.
• SEMA Precast Inc., Brighton, Colo.
• Standard Traffic Controls Inc., Spokane, Wash.
• Sunnycrest Precast, Auburn, N.Y.
• Universal Precast, Theodore, Ala.