NEWS SCOPE PRECAST Call for SCC 2013 Conference papers
Organizers of SCC 2013, Fifth North Amer- ican Conference on the Design and Use of Self-Consolidating Concrete, envision a program for their May 13–15 gathering in Chicago around a) demonstrating out- comes of recent self-consolidating con- crete research and practice; b) upholding a platform to further address strategies advancing SCC use; and, c) promoting greater interactions between interna- tional SCC researchers and users.
gregate; chemical admixtures; mix design methodologies and procedures; rheology and workability; engineering properties and durability; formwork pressure, cast- ing and construction issues; production, quality control, and specifications; struc- tural performance and design; architec- tural and precast concrete; and, emerging technologies (fiber-reinforced SCC, super- workable concrete/grout). SCC 2013 will be based at the Westin
With representatives from the concrete
and cement industries, plus academia, the SCC 2013 committee is reviewing through June 30 abstracts of papers addressing the conference's "The New Normal—Innova- tion, Application, and Production" theme. All abstracts must be submitted via the conference website, www.intrans.iastate. edu/events/scc2013/abstract/. Suggested topics for candidate papers
include fundamental and materials sci- ence aspects; powdered materials and ag-
Hotel on Michigan Ave., also known as Chicago's Magnificent Mile. Lead organizers are the American Concrete Institute; Center for Advanced Cement Based Materials at Northwestern University; Iowa State Uni- versity Institute for Transportation; Port- land Cement Association; and, RILEM. Additional information on the program can be obtained from Iowa State's Kejin Wang, 515/294-2152, kejinw@iastate.edu; or, Northwestern University's Surendra Shah, 847/491-7878, s-shah@northwestern.edu.
ROCLA GREENFIELD PLANT ON TRACK FOR 750K RAIL ROAD TIE OUTPUT
Prestressed concrete railroad tie market leader Rocla Concrete Tie, Inc. will vacate its Denver site for a plant under way in Pueblo, Colo. Scheduled for completion in fourth quarter 2012 on a St. Charles Indus- trial Park plot, the operation will have a payroll in excess of 100 at full capacity. It will be the company's largest plant, joining Amarillo, Texas, and Baer, Del., sites. Rocla President Peter Urquhart credited cooperation from Pueblo Economic Devel- opment Corp. and the city of Pueblo
among site selection reasons, also noting how the move was prompted by the Den- ver light rail transit system's planned ex- pansion. Rail tie fabrication technology to be used at the Pueblo plant has evolved during the company's 25-year history, he affirms, during which it has delivered more than 20 million ties to Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific Railroad, plus light rail/transit, high-speed, and industrial rail lines throughout the country.
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