OUR SPONSORS
Concrete Block Insulating Systems, Inc.
Lehigh Northeast Cement Company
Santa & the Annual NECMA Holiday Meeting are on the Way!
The Annual NECMA Holiday Meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 14th at the Holiday Inn Boxborough in Boxborough, MA beginning at 11:30 AM. For more information and a registration form click here. You won’t want to miss this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony — believe me!
A Word from the Board
Are we on the cusp of a recovery? Is the building industry seeing a trickle of a return?
First, related building material manufacturers have indicated a noteworthy increase in sales in New England over the same past 90 day period in 2010. In the past few weeks I have seen a number of decent projects in various stages of development/construction in my travels. And in my discussions with members I have heard projects are likely to be moving from the drawing board to field erection in the near future.
Second, in the planning and promotion for the 2nd Annual NECMA Education Day & Tradeshow (see story below), I heard of difficulties some architects and hardscape installers had in attending because ‘they were too busy.”
Finally, a sage voice from one of our long term members recently stated: “… as challenging as things have been we are all still in business!”
We are standing and ready to deliver. Now is the time to remind the design world of the value of durable concrete masonry and hardscape products. Time to give designers the tools and training they need to make designing with our superior products easier and more cost-effective than alternative building materials (see Bentley software webinar story below). Time to, once again, commit to green, durable, long-lasting concrete masonry!
2nd Annual NECMA Education Day & Tradeshow Delivers!
On October 25, 2011 NECMA once again presented possibly the best masonry and hardscape specific-educational event available in New England. This year’s event drew more than 100 and offered an incredibly low registration fee & a variety of high value, AIA-accredited education sessions. Not only did attendees have the opportunity to earn up to 5 AIA credits throughout the day, they also had an opportunity to see, touch and discuss the latest in concrete masonry and hardscape products with the exhibitors and sponsors that produce them. NCMA & ICPI certified hardscape and paver installers also earned education credits valid towards their re-certification requirements.
This year’s program included a variety of educational sessions for architects and landscape designers and contractors as well as a keynote on the Power of Engagement Marketing of interest to many in attendance, including exhibitors. Sessions discussing energy code compliance and the new ASTM C90 block by Maribeth Bradfield of Bradfield Consulting and the ins and outs of specifying mortar by Brian Trimble of the Brick Industry Association proved popular. Interestingly, so did sessions dealing with information technology basics and how to get paid for your work!
Once again, survey results from both attendees and exhibitors/sponsors showed we are on the right track with this effort. Work is already beginning on next year’s event to ensure it meets the high expectations we all have and that it continues to grow. If you are interested in helping to improve this annual event, please consider volunteering to serve on the Conference Committee.
"Thank you for the informative educational seminar series. The information was well presented and the research and organization of the presenters was excellent. It was well worth the time for me and I appreciate the great work you did putting it together." (comments from attendee survey)
We thank the sponsors & exhibitors of our 2nd Annual Education Day & Tradeshow:
A. Jandris & Sons, Inc.
Anchor Concrete Products / Trenwyth
Camosse Masonry Supply, Inc.
Chicopee Mason Supplies, Inc.
Concrete Block Insulating Systems, Inc.
Federal White Cement Company
Hi-Way Concrete Products Co., Inc.
Hohmann & Barnard, Inc.
Hunter Panels, LLC
Ideal Concrete Block Co., Inc.
Lafarge North America
Lehigh Northeast Cement Company
Nicolock Paving Stones
Northeast Solite® Corporation, Inc.
Park Ave. Cement Block Co., Inc.
Plymouth Quarries, Inc.
Quality Masonry Supply
Sika Corporation
Spaulding Brick Co., Inc.
TenCate Geosynthetics
The QUIKRETE Companies
UNILOCK® of New England
United Builders Supply Co. Inc.
VERSA-LOK® of New England
Rashi School Wins Design Award of Excellence
The Rashi School in Dedham, MA was the selected as the winning project for the 2011 Design Awards of Excellence program sponsored by NECMA. Held in conjunction with the National Concrete Masonry Association & the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute, the Design Awards of Excellence program recognizes the creativity and ingenuity of architects, designers and landscape architects focusing on the diversity of design excellence with concrete masonry and hardscape products. The NECMA version of this awards program also recognizes the craftsmanship exhibited by the mason contractor on the project.
Honored at the recent Education Day and Tradeshow were representatives of HMFH Architects, Inc. and Lighthouse Masonry for their exceptional work on this project.
“The physical building … honors the social history and heritage of the school community, evoking a desert landscape with a banded pattern of concrete masonry, precast stone, and glazed block. This variegated masonry pattern also unites the school’s community spaces, which were designed to be as welcoming to adults as children on this intergenerational campus.” (details from the project submission materials)
NECMA would like to thank the following individuals for their efforts in judging this year’s competition:
Dave Collins, President, Massachusetts Trowel Trades Association
Neil Dixon, Partner, Dixon Salo Architects, Inc.
Greg O’Connor, President, Gregory J. O’Connor Associates, Inc.
The front entrance of the Rashi School shown here clearly exhibits the banded pattern of concrete masonry detailed in the project scope.
Melissa Greene of HMFH Architects, Inc. and Michael Bossey of Lighthouse Masonry Inc. were on hand to accept Design Award of Excellence plaques on behalf of their firms.
Golf Outing Returns to Sterling National Country Club on June 19, 2012
Get out your calendar and mark it down NOW! The NECMA Golf Outing will be returning to the Sterling National Country Club on June 19, 2012.
NECMA Promotes Bentley Masonry Design Software Webinar
On November 3, 2011 hundreds of engineers across New England signed up to take part in a webinar hosted by the National Concrete Masonry Association. This national webinar series introduced a new full 2D/3D finite element analysis of loadbearing masonry structures. NCMA, the International Masonry Institute, Ryan Biggs Associates and Bentley Systems teamed up to develop a new, innovative structural software program to efficiently perform a whole building analysis of load bearing masonry buildings. The software uses a whole building approach – not just the analysis of individual components. Webinar participants learned how this approach leads to easier and faster engineering design of masonry buildings including irregular configurations, wall openings, perforated shear-walls, multi-story structures and structural infill panels in structural steel frames and more.
NECMA supported this effort through an email promotion effort to make sure the word got out. It turned out there were many more people interested than the system could handle. So, you say, I missed it! How does this help me? Well, a recording of the webinar is currently available here.
ICON EXPO Joins Precast Show
The National Concrete Masonry Association’s ICON EXPO 2012 will take place at the Orange County Convention Center, March 1-3 in Orlando, Florida and will be held in conjunction with the Precast Show. A Masonry and Hardscape pavilion has been added to the 2012 tradeshow featuring equipment, products and services for this important segment of the design and construction industry. In addition, dozens of educational tracks will cover the latest technical, management and leadership topics. With nearly 100 hours of educational programs, product clinics and plant tours, there are many great opportunities for personnel at all levels of production, management, quality control, sales and marketing.
Plymouth Quarries, Inc. Joins NECMA
Plymouth Quarries was incorporated in 1915 in Hingham, MA, when a group of companies merged, which had been quarrying on the property since 1811. The company still quarry Weymouth Seamface and Splitface Granite and continue to serve customers such as University of Michigan, Yale University and St John’s University that have used our stone for decades. Weymouth Granite is found in almost every town in New England. It is used from Washington DC to Chicago and as far away as Colorado and Hawaii.
While our beginnings were due to the availability of our beautiful, high quality stone, we have diversified significantly. We now stock over 175 natural stone products from around the country and the world at our 20 acre yard. In addition to natural stone, we carry a complete line of masonry products such as brick, cement block, mortar, cement, tools and staples.
Passages
NECMA extends our sympathies to family and friends on the passing of the following individuals:
Ann (Lombari) Pezza mother of Tony Pezza of Park Ave. Cement Block Co., Inc. who passed away August 1, 2011.
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Calendar |
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Event | Location | |
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December 14, 2011 |
NECMA Annual Holiday Meeting | Boxborough, MA | |
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January 23 - 27, 2012 |
World of Concrete / World of Masonry | Las Vegas, NV | |
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February 28 - March 3, 2012 |
ICON EXPO 2012 / Precast Show | Orlando, FL | |
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June 19, 2012 |
NECMA Annual Golf Outing | Sterling, MA | |
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August 22 - 26, 2012 |
Joint NCMA Midyear / ICPI Summer Meeting | Traverse City, MI | |
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January 30 - February 3, 2013 |
ICON EXPO 2013 / Precast Show | Indianapolis, IN | |
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New England Concrete Masonry Association |
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P.O. Box 448 |
Phone 508-476-3466 |
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9 Main Street, Suite 2B-2 |
Fax 508-476-3467 |
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Manchaug, MA 01526 |
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We respect your right to privacy. |
The New England Concrete Masonry Association publishes NECMA ENews for its members and others interested in the concrete masonry and hardscapes industry and the activities of NECMA. If you have questions or information you would like to see included in future editions of NECMA ENews, please contact us at the address shown. Editorial / Production / Photography: David Dimmick © 2011 New England Concrete Masonry Association. |
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