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PACA News

Business News

Gov. Shapiro Sets Guidelines for Project Labor Agreements

Governor Shapiro released a letter following a March 27, 2024 press conference event in Butler County outlining the following:

  • PLAs consideration to start on April 1, 2024
  • PLAs to be considered by all state agencies
  • State agencies can consider PLAs if the projects are: urgent in nature, complex projects & are in locations where there is a lack of a qualified workforce

The letter is available here.

Questions should be forwarded to Peter Vlahos.

Final Code Cycle Public Hearing is Today

The third and final public hearing is being held, today, March 28, 2024. This will be our last chance to voice our concerns regarding the proposed changes for the upcoming code cycle.

PACA wishes to thank Justin Bryan (Bryan Materials Group), Wade Armstrong (Delaware Valley Concrete), Andrew Wittle (York Building Products), Mark Moyer (New Enterprise Stone and Lime Company) and Andy Lawrence (DuBrook Ready Miix) for their testimony at this final hearing.

Sponsor Spotlight

About Our March Sponsor

At Burch Materials & Supplies, the company exists to build lasting relationships, not simply conduct transactions. With over 45 years of trusted expertise in providing equipment and supplies for the aggregate, mining, industrial, and material processing industry, their journey has been driven by a commitment to exceptional customer service and superior products.

From their humble beginnings as a pioneer in innovative wear products and screen media, harnessing advanced materials and technology, Burch has grown into a comprehensive distributor offering capital equipment sales for over 20 years. Throughout their evolution, the company's core values of outstanding service and top-quality solutions have remained unwavering.

Burch Materials & Supplies prioritizes the relationships they cultivate with their customers and suppliers, recognizing that mutual success is built on open communication, trust, and shared values. By staying abreast of the latest industry trends and innovations, Burch ensures that the company can deliver reliable solutions tailored to your specific needs.

With a relentless pursuit of excellence, unwavering integrity, and personalized service, Burch Materials & Supplies aims to surpass your expectations and become a trusted partner in your success. Discover the Burch Materials & Supplies difference and experience firsthand the power of a relationship-driven approach in our industry.

Upcoming Events

More Ways to Stand Out!

You've asked - we've listened!

How can you stand out in the PACA crowd if you can't be a Corporate Sponsor?

Join us for a zoom meeting on Thursday, April 4th at 9 AM to find out!

PACA is offering additional sponsorship opportunities - a brand new pilot program for 2024 - and we will be holding a 30-minute zoom meeting to outline the new plan to companies interested.

These sponsorships are exclusive to PACA Associate Business Partner members only.

Read more about the program here.

To participate, REGISTER HERE.

Next PACA Members Forum Meeting - April

DATE: Thursday, April 11, 2024

TIME: 11:00 AM

SPONSOR: Cleveland Brothers Equipment Co., Inc.

FEATURED SPEAKER: Joe Robinson, Chief Materials Engineer, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

REGISTER HERE

Coming Soon - Market Engagement Community Meetings

Coming soon: Market Engagement Community Quarterly Meeting tentatively scheduled as follows:

Central Region - April 17

East Region - April 18

West Region - April 19

Stay tuned for more information.

PACA Townhall Meeting Schedule of Events

Announcing! The full Schedule of Events and topics/speakers for the April Townhall Meeting in State College.

VIEW SCHEDULE HERE

Registration options are:

  • Register for just the reception/dinner on the 24th
  • Register for just the Townhall Meeting on the 25th
  • Register for just the Golf Outing on the 25th
  • Or, register for a combination of all of the above

REGISTER HERE

PACA Spring Environmental Community Meeting

For PACA members only, the Spring Environmental Community Meeting will be held May 22nd at Toftrees Resort in State College.

REGISTER HERE to attend.

Should you have any questions, please contact Josie Gaskey or Kallie Kline.

Summer Summit Details Are Coming Together!

We are in the process of finalizing all of the details for this year's Summer Summit in Cambridge, MD (June 22-25).

We are back once again for our final year at the Hyatt Chesapeake Bay. While Saturday's activities pertain just to PACA Board members, Sunday's activities begin with our annual Golf Outing at noon. Lunch will be available for all arriving prior to the outing.

Monday will feature two general sessions, our annual Sporting Clays Tournament, and we are bringing back the popular Fishing Charter excursion.

Tuesday will conclude with our Keynote Speaker. This year's Keynote Speaker is Chris Stirewalt from American Enterprise Institute and his presentation is entitled Spin-Free News of the Day from a 'Simple Country Pundit.' You can read more about Chris and his presentation in the quick schedule link below.

Registration is not yet open, but is coming soon. This year, the rate structure will be slightly different than in past years as we will be utilizing tiered rates for spouses and children. More to come on this.

HOWEVER - the link to book your sleeping room is now available on our website and we encourage you to BOOK EARLY! Don't wait. Our room block is limited and rooms outside the block may not be available. Once the block closes (or fills) on May 28th, both availability and discounted rates are no longer guaranteed.

See you in Cambridge!

VIEW THE QUICK SCHEDULE HERE

BOOK YOUR ROOM HERE

Market Engagement - Promotion News

Low Carbon Concrete for the Design Community

PACA, NRMCA and Nudura will be hosting a day of learning May 15, 2024 at Toftrees in State College. Presentations will include information on EPD’s, Type IL Cement, use of NRMCA Carbon Calculator, and a discussion on Low Carbon Concrete projects, with input from both a concrete producer and a contractor. Look for more information regarding this event in the near future.

Staff Attends NEC Airports Conference

Susan Armstrong, PACA's Director of Specifications & Sustainability, had the opportunity to attend the 2024 NEC Airports Conference held in Hershey, PA.

Over 120 engineers were present, with over 390 total participants in the event. Topics included Pavement Design & Specification Writing, Concrete Mix Design - Current Practice, Random Sampling and PWLs, and Quality Assurance and Acceptance Testing.

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PACA Brings NRMCA EFW Finisher Certification to Thaddeus Stevens School of Technology

On March 18th and 19th, PACA staff members Jim Casilio and Ken Crank took the NRMCA’s Exterior Flatwork Finisher certification to students at the Thaddeus Stevens School of Technology.

Day one saw students in the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Civil Engineering program review how changing material and weather considerations can impact finishing concrete. The review was followed by a written examination.

On day two, those students got to experience those conditions by placing and finishing concrete at the Allan Myers Inc. training center at its Talmage quarry.

It was a little brisk, but the energy and enthusiasm the students brought with them was outstanding!

Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association (PACA) loved being part of the experience. Our thanks go out to Mitch Kauffman and Mike Gardener for allowing us to participate and to Rohrer's Quarry Inc. for providing the concrete.

Regulatory News

PA Game Commission Annual Report

By law, the PA Game Commission is required to prepare and submit to the PA legislature an Annual Report. This year's report can be found here.

Of note:

-- In fiscal year 2022-23, revenues were $448,291,892. This represents an increase of $181,759,584 (68.19%) from the prior year’s revenues of $266,532,308.

-- Revenues from gas and oil lease royalties were $306,864,414 this year, up $134,964,955 from the prior year revenue amount of $171,899,459.

-- Revenues from gas and oil lease ground rentals increased $6,528,466.

-- Salaries and wages and state share employee benefits increased $15,159,563.

-- In 2023, the Game Commission graduated 18 new game wardens.

-- With respect to Endangered Species Bats:

--2 new habitats in the Poconos supporting northern long-eared bats. --18 new maternity colonies of little brown bats supporting over 1,200 adult females, and a -- 25% increase in known reproductive female little brown bats.

2022 Top Ten Noncoal Producing Counties

Do you know the Top Ten Noncoal Producing Counties in Pennsylvania according to PA DEP?

1. Berks

2. Fayette

3. Lancaster

4. Northhampton

5. Bucks

6. Adams

7. Centre

8. York

9. Lawrence

10. Chester

PA DEP Annual Production Reports can be found here for the exact numbers and more information.

Workforce Development News

Students Learn More About the Concrete Industry - Workforce Development Initiatives Continue

Pittsburgh Chapter – ACI - March 20, 2024 saw a wonderful networking experience between students from Penn State University and Pennsylvania College of Technology meeting with members of industry.

Organized by Pennsylvania College of Technology Instructor Joe Dibucci, the meeting began with a “speed dating” format where the students had the opportunity to ask questions about our industry and allow industry individuals to ask questions of them.

Dinner was followed by a Concrete Trivia game, which was a refresher for many of us. The Pittsburgh ACI Chapter is hoping to make this an annual event, with more participation from both academia and industry.

Members in the News

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PACA Members in Full Force at This Week's NSSGA Annual Meeting & AGG1

Article by Conveyor Editor, Kallie Kline

"It was a pleasure to see a strong Pennsylvania delegation at this week's NSSGA Annual Meeting and at the AGG1 show," stated PACA's President/CEO, Peter Vlahos.

Vlahos also mentioned the strong force shown by PACA's Associate Business Partners who supported the tradeshow held in conjunction with AGG1.

Attendees at the pleasure of catching up with colleagues from across the country and also got to enjoy the city of Nashville, TN, for which the person writing this article is a little jealous and hopes to get invited to feature NSSGA Annual Meetings. :)

PACA wishes to thank all of our members who supported our national partner, National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.

U.S. DOE Selects Heidelberg Materials’ New Cement Plant in Mitchell, Indiana for Industrial Demonstrations Program Funding
  • Project will advance full scale implementation of integrated carbon capture, transport and storage at the Mitchell, Indiana, cement plant site
  • Total potential funding of up to $500M from the U.S. Department of Energy
  • Key step in advancing and scaling deployment of carbon capture at North America’s newest state-of-the-art cement production facility
  • CCUS at cement plants to play a key role in the company’s ambitious journey to achieving net-zero

Heidelberg Materials North America is pleased to announce it has been selected for award negotiation to receive up to $500 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) Industrial Demonstrations Program (IDP). The purpose of this project is to advance the integration of full-scale carbon capture, transport, and storage at the new state-of-the-art cement plant in Mitchell, Indiana. The funding will build on prior funding that has been awarded by the DOE toward successfully completing the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) work necessary to verify the project’s technical feasibility.

The application was submitted in 2023, and Heidelberg Materials will participate in substantial cost share that will leverage up to $500M in DOE project funding. The selection is part of the DOE’s Industrial Demonstrations Program to provide up to a total of $6 billion in funding to demonstrate commercial-scale decarbonization solutions needed to move energy-intensive industries toward net-zero across the U.S. and is one of 33 projects selected across 20 states as part of this program.

The new Mitchell cement plant, recently modernized to produce more than triple its previous capacity, incorporates features to minimize energy consumption and enable the use of alternative fuels and raw materials to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed project for this funding award will capture, treat and prepare for storage or use approximately 2 million tons of CO2 each year from the cement plant.

“This substantial federal funding will help create the first full-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage on a cement plant in the U.S.,” said Chris Ward, President and CEO of Heidelberg Materials North America.

“Through this project at the Mitchell facility, Heidelberg Materials is investing in leading the development and application of CCUS in our industry, and successful implementation of this technology at scale will play a critical role in achieving our goal of decarbonization,” continued Ward.

“Spurring on the next generation of decarbonization technologies in key industries like steel, paper, concrete, and glass will keep America the most competitive nation on Earth,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to President Biden’s industrial strategy, DOE is making the largest investment in industrial decarbonization in the history of the United States. These investments will slash emissions from these difficult-to-decarbonize sectors and ensure American businesses and American workers remain at the forefront of the global economy.”

Heidelberg Materials is committed to leading the cement industry in developing viable carbon capture projects, which are essential to achieving the company’s ambitious sustainability goals.

For Members Only

Monthly Members Meeting Recording Access - March

VIEW THE LATEST PACA MEMBERS FORUM MEETING BELOW:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sh...

Passcode: BZw1p&PL
Speaker Contact Information - March

Michele Stanley

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association

Executive Vice President & Chief Advocacy Officer

[email protected]

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