The American Institute of Steel Construction continues to drill downstream in the supply chain to ramp up e-commerce in the structural-steel sector.

A $44-billion merger between French-based Lafarge and Swiss-based Holcim to create the world's largest cement manufacturer received a shock on March 29 as Holcim's second-largest shareholder objected to the terms of the deal.

Tim Eckert was on a plane to Las Vegas with a goal in mind, and it wasn't about winning at the blackjack table.

Growing job markets, consumer confidence and construction spending will contribute to higher cement consumption in the U.S. this year, rising an annual 8% to 93 million metric tons (MMT), according to the Portland Cement Association.

Image Courtesy NIST This computer rendering shows some of the flow mechanics that were modeled in the NIST study. Related Links: Video of Computer Model of Flow Mechanics Supercomputer Simulations Yield Method for Predicting Behavior of New Concrete Formulas [NIST Tech Beat] "Scaling Laws for the Flow of Generalized Newtonian Suspensions" The Journal of Rheology, Vol. 58 No. 6 In an effort to better understand the behaviors of concrete made with unusual admixtures, the National Institute of Standards and Technology recently released the results of supercomputer modeling of the physical properties of wet concrete.The computer modeling, performed at the Argonne

Despite its associated energy costs and the availability of cheap imports from China and Pakistan, demand for cement in East Africa has continued to rise. The need to increase cement production to feed the region's booming construction industry dominated discussions at a workshop meeting of East African cement producers and German cement-equipment manufacturers in Nairobi, Kenya, on Nov. 20.Annual demand for cement in East Africa is now estimated at 6 million metric tons, with Kenya’s demand alone estimated at some 3.5 million metric tons, according to Kenya's National Construction Authority (NCA).East Africa's cement makers, including subsidiaries of German-based Heidelberg and

French-based building-materials manufacturer Saint-Gobain Group announced plans on Dec. 8 to acquire a controlling interest in Swiss-based construction-chemical maker Sika AG. One of the largest makers of building products in the world, Saint-Gobain arranged the purchase of 16.1% of Sika's shares and 52.4% of its voting rights from the family of the company's founder.Both companies have North American subsidiaries, and the merger is expected to combine their broad portfolios of building products. "The complementary synergies [of the acquisition] also apply to North America," says Susanne Trabitzsch, spokeswoman for Saint-Gobain. "We expect to have a stronger presence in the U.S. that

Related Links: Charles Pankow Foundation Applied Technology Council High-Strength Rebar Market Is Heating Up High-Strength Rebar Called Revolutionary The Charles Pankow Foundation is about to begin a nearly $27- million fund-raising campaign to support unprecedented research in high-strength reinforcing steel. The goal of the five-year research program is to simplify and speed reinforced-concrete construction by easing rebar congestion. The program would provide the scientific basis for the first major overhaul of the concrete building standard in 50 years."This project has the potential to change engineering practice in a significant way," says Jon A. Heintz, director of projects for the Applied

Photo by Tudor Van Hampton for ENR Concrete is the most produced building material and accounts for up to 10% of industrial CO2 emissions annually. Related Links: Concrete Goes To College MIT News: How To Make Stronger, Greener Cement Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found that portland cement can be manipulated to form stronger concrete that also poses less harm to the environment.More than 20 billion tonnes of portland-cement concrete are produced globally each year, and cement production accounts for 5% to 10% of the world's industrial carbon-dioxide emissions.“If we are to produce a better concrete that

Related Links: Hot Commodities: Counterfeit Construction Goods Post Huge Safety Threat Read the CII Report (PDF) Counterfeit construction goods can lurk on construction projects at home or abroad, as safety officials at Fluor recently discovered during a routine audit in Mozambique.While conducting the review last August, auditors found an inventory of fraudulent respirators, according to David Taylor, director of health, safety and environmental for Fluor's procurement unit, AMECO, during a phone interview.Clever labeling on the box evaded purchasers. "On the box is 3N—not 3M," he said, referring to the St. Paul, Minn.-based supplier. The packaging otherwise appeared authentic—it even displayed