The Precast Podcast

Portland cement has been the default binder material in concrete for more than 100 years. The environmental impact of manufacturing portland cement is well understood and documented, and regulators impose strict requirements on all cement producers to monitor and report emissions.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the manufacture of portland cement accounts for 1.25% of U.S. CO2 emissions. The industry has made considerable progress since the 1970’s reducing cement production energy demand by 40%, but recognizes that more must be done. That’s why the Portland Cement Association (PCA), which represents the majority of America’s cement manufacturers, developed the Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality. The Roadmap establishes realistic goals and actions that will be required to achieve carbon neutrality across the entire cement-concrete-construction value chain by 2050—and hopefully sooner.

In this episode of The Precast Podcast, we discuss PCA’s Roadmap, tools available to practitioners today to lower the carbon footprint of concrete, and the opportunities for the precast concrete industry to engage on this exciting journey to carbon neutrality.

Since its emergence in 1990 3D concrete printing capabilities have grown exponentially. Black Buffalo 3D is a leading provider of 3D construction printers and materials offering the only solution in the world to meet ICC-ES AC509 criteria for printing structural walls.

Whether you are 3D printing homes, buildings, hardscapes, or other structures with Black Buffalo 3D’s assistance you will be accomplishing your task with lab verified field tested 3DCP technology. In this episode of The Precast Podcast we speak with Peter Cooperman (CMO) to learn about Black Buffalo 3D technology and where 3D printers fit into the future of concrete construction.

Outside The Box Materials (OTBM) patented continuous production methods make it economically feasible to replace Portland cement in concrete without increasing costs. OTBM is also currently in the final phases in development of new methodologies to sequester both CO2 and hazardous materials into concrete safely and at substantial volume.

The worldwide availability of the upcycled raw materials used by OTBM allow scalability in rapid fashion, making these materials an attractive choice for construction projects around the globe. Join us for Episode 48 of The Precast Podcast as we dig into new technologies that are bringing value to the precast concrete industry.

In this episode of The Precast Podcast, we continue the discussion on sustainability and how industry partners are working to make the concrete industry more environmentally friendly. Carbon Upcycling was founded in Alberta, Canada in 2014 with a vision of creating a world where carbon is a sustainable resource to shape the future of humanity.

Their patented, low-energy, treatment process produces carbon-enhanced material additives from industrial by-products or natural minerals for use in globally relevant industries including concrete, plastics, and consumer products. The technology has scaled 10-million times in size since the first proof-of-concept benchtop reactor, culminating in one of the world’s largest Carbon Capture Utilization (CCU) facilities.

Carbon Upcycling is currently engaged with 3 of the 10 world’s largest cement companies, and has been awarded the Carbon Xprize X-Factor award, and a Solar Impulse Label. Is Carbon Upcycling offering a solution to help move your business in the right direction? To learn more about Carbon Upcycling contact Tiffany Duffy (Director of Business Development) at [email protected].

Concrete is grey… If you love concrete that grey color is a beautiful thing, but can anything be done to make your concrete mix more environmentally friendly?  The green technology movement is growing and with it comes advances to make building and construction products “greener” while not sacrificing quality and long-term durability. 

Can this be done with concrete?  In this episode, we sit down with CarbonCure and learn how some newer technology can teach an old dog some new tricks.  The origins of concrete go back a long way and to continue to be successful in the construction industry advances in concrete technology need to continue.  Where will the future take us?

NPCA’s Master Precaster program helps position precast concrete professionals for continued career advancement.  Offered as part of NPCA’s Precast University, the Master Precaster program includes precast-specific training with comprehensive education courses for production, safety, technical, quality control, and leadership.  

Developed in conjunction with industry experts, producers, departments of transportation, and academia, the Precast University curriculum is a perfect complement to employees new to the industry needing a broad knowledge base and to those employees with precast experience who want to take the next step in their careers.

During this presentation, we will examine the origins of concrete as a building material, and consider the milestones of development that were made to achieve the advanced concrete technology of today. We will learn about careful material selection and the importance of such concepts as water cement ratio by exploring the historic perspective of those who contributed to the progress of the concrete industry. We will examine some examples that emphasize just how durable concrete is, and take a closer look at what effects the durability of such structures.

In this episode of The Precast Podcast we dive into watertight tanks from the walls to the joints to the access risers! The need for holding liquid in an assembled precast concrete structure is an increasingly necessary task. Infiltration can overload an onsite septic system and exfiltration may cause contamination of surrounding soils and possibly a drinking water well.

A lot goes into manufacturing a high-quality precast concrete tank and you do not want to forget about proper field installation and ensuring joints are resilient. We thank Sam Lines for sharing his knowledge and helping us provide quality educational episodes to our industry!

As we start to wrap up 2021, we reflect on the opportunities and challenges that have come our way. Our goal is always to provide industry-leading product quality and service at a fair price and our team of professionals stepped up to deliver this in a challenging environment. 

We are blessed to be having a successful year and cannot thank our employees, partners, and customers enough!  At Shea Concrete Products “Teamwork Makes The Dream Work” and we look forward to another “Bustling” year as we welcome 2022!  Merry Christmas to all and to a safe & productive year ahead!

As the saying goes … “If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far go together”.  We have come a long way with our partners at Recon Wall Systems and the future is bright!

With 2-Million Square Feet of manufactured and installed retaining wall block throughout the New England market we are an industry leader and here to support your project from start to finish.  In this episode of The Precast Podcast we talk all things Recon Wall Systems including a recent milestone accomplishment and how we deliver on making your retaining wall project a reality. 

Our team of experts has you covered from initial site walk-through installation assistance and everything in-between.  At Shea Concrete Products “Teamwork Makes The Dream Work” and we look forward to delivering you industry-leading product quality and service in 2022!