The National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA) will stick to its Preferred Future game plan as it grows in 2008 and launches a new trade show in 2009. "NPCA has laid out its strategic goals, which have been guiding us for the past six years," says 2008 NPCA Chairman Philip Burkhart, who is vice president and general manager of Utility Concrete Products LLC, Morris, Ill. "Our visionary leaders set out a path, and we will follow it."

Burkhart was installed at NPCA's 42nd Annual Convention Oct. 23–27 at the Grand Wailea Hotel in Maui, Hawaii. Also installed as NPCA officerswere Randy Lindsay-Brisbin, Firebaugh Precast Inc., chairman-elect; and, J. Kirby O'Malley, Garden State Precast Inc., secretary/treasurer.

In addition, four new board members were elected: Kurt Burkhart, Arrow Concrete Products; Mimi Coles, Permatile Concrete Products Co.; Larry Ebert, Elk River Machine Co.; and, Eric Wheeler, Hanson Pipe & Precast.

EXPANDING QA CERTIFICATION

Among initiatives set out in NPCA's plan was an ambitious quality assurance (QA) program that has grown steadily as more plants take up the challengeand, according to Burkhart, is now expanding into prestressed product certification. NPCA's Plant Certification Program sets high standards for plant facilities, production operations, and quality controlprocedures. Through random annual inspectionsby an independent nationally accredited engineering firm, plants are graded against these standards in the evaluation of critical plant operationaspects, including safety, materials, mixing and batching, and quality control.

As part of its mission to continually raise industryquality standards, NPCA recently released the sixth edition of its Quality Control Manual for Precastand Prestressed Concrete Plants, also known as the NPCA QC Manual. Requirements stipulated in the manual's sixth edition—effective Jan. 1—will be used for all 2008 plant inspections.

NPCA's Prestressed Plant Certification Programis detailed in Chapter 7 of the QC Manual. An expansion of the already mature Precast Plant CertificationProgram, the prestressed component was approved by NPCA's Quality Assurance and TechnicalCommittees in October 2007. Because quality is a primary aim of the association, NPCA offers the manual as a free download at its web site, www.precast.org/manual.

"I have been associated with the NPCA Plant Certification Program since its inception in 1987," Burkhart tells Concrete Products. "Our company, Utility Concrete Products, along with many other NPCA producers, chose to be certified long before any customers required it. At that time, our NPCA leaders saw that if precast concrete was to take a position of prominence and continueto gain market share, then we had to promote and ensure its quality. And, this meant introducingthings that we normally might not have had to do otherwise,including allocating manpower,tasks, and reviews for the certification process. That investmentin the future is now recognizedand required by a growing number of DOTs and specifiers. Those users of our products demand and deserve quality and now trust the NPCA plant certification program to deliver it."

To support the program, NPCA is working to establish in all 50 states requirements for precast supplied only by certified plants. By October 2007, greater than half of state DOTs required precast suppliers to operate NPCA-certified facilities—and, more are on the way.

MAJOR GOAL: MARKETING PRECAST

Another area of prospective growth for NPCA is enhanced marketing of precast, founded on quality-assured products. A major fundraising effort now under way for NPCA's Educational Foundation aims to further advance the marketing initiative. "We want to make sure those who will be specifiers throughout their careers are introduced to the superiorityof precast from their earliest association with the construction industry," Burkhart affirms. "Then, precast concrete will be their design preference."

"It's an aggressive program to create eye-catching,attractive messages that emphasize the benefitsof precast as a versatile, high-tech building material," Burkhart asserts. "Visionary leaders before me said we had to step up and do more than we were doing, creating an impact with ‘punch'. We've developed a whole new take this year, aimed at reaching specifiers and helping them understand the benefits of precast, plus tools that will allow individual producers to market their own companies to a targeted list of customers."

Like the move to QA certification, or creating the original Manufactured Concrete Products Expo (MCPX) trade show, risks were involved in ramping up NPCA's marketing outreach. "Many years ago, when NPCA leaders proposed the QA program or even the trade show, there were big risks for the association at the time. Today, if we look back, we easily can see they were the right thing to do. Those programs are at the core of what we do as an association,"Burkhart observes. "Now, as we look forwardto expanding the Educational Foundation and our government advocacy program, those initiatives,too, will one day be at the heart of our work as an association that contributes to the growth of the precast concrete industry. Part of my message is to thank our members for the support they have given in the past to these programs, and to ask for their continued support now and in the future."

NEW TRADE SHOW IN 2009

A key marketing initiative in 2008 will be the creation of an innovative brand for NPCA's new convention and exhibition, The Precast Show, debuting in February 2009 in Houston. Targeting precast and concrete pipe producers, NPCA's new trade show will feature the latestequipment, products, and services throughout an expansive exhibition area, plus technical education programming, networking events, and much more. The show will replace the existing MCPX.

"We're trying to better serve both our producer members and our associate members with the new show," Burkhart says. "Our particular vision of how a show can provide the best experience and opportunitiesfor producers and associate members is driving the new show and will grow it."

Cosponsored as well by the American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA), The Precast Show will be staged Feb. 20-22, 2009, at Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center. Future shows are scheduledfor Phoenix in 2010; Charlotte, N.C., in 2011; and, Orlando in 2012. In conjunction with the trade show, NPCA and ACPA will hold a variety of additionalmeetings, special events, plant tours, and training for their members. More information can be obtained by contacting NPCA's Brenda Ibitz, tel.: 317/582.5109; or, e-mail: bibitz@precast.org.

SCC DRIVES NEW FACILITY

Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is the wave of the future, Philip Burkhart maintains, and Utility Concrete's new plant was designed to take advantageof the mix technology. Constructed four years ago, the ultramodern "greenfield" facility employs the most advanced production equipment.

"One reason we went to the new technology was to make products out of self-consolidating concrete," Burkhart tells Concrete Products. "The equipment we had was inadequate to do that in a consistent fashion. We could have upgraded, but we really wanted to do it right. We needed new, dependable capacity. Our new location and plant let us take advantage of arising opportunities."

A major change from conventional production is the nature of the SCC mix, Burkhart reports. "The precision of the mix is the primary difference, along with the automation," he explains. "We try to minimize handling of raw materials, to the point where it is not handled from delivery by truck to the mix." While SCC is still more expensive than conventional concrete, Burkhart says, the cost premium is declining.

JUST IN TIME

Just-in-time delivery to construction projects requires just-in-time production in the plant, Burkhart emphasizes. "As a subcontractor, we recently produced Super-Slab precast pavement panels [on behalf of] The Fort Miller Co., Inc., for the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority," he says. "There is more to success than making a consistent, quality piece of concrete. You have to get it to the job site exactly at the time it has to be there. The purpose of precast slabs is to be able to repair a road overnight. The Authority has determined it will get longer service life out of a conventional mix than high-early strength concrete, which might be poured in place to quickly open a pavement to traffic."

NPCA's trade shows have been a boon to Burkhart as Utility Concrete reconfigured production equipmentfor its new plant. "Certainly, through MCPX—soon to be The Precast Show—we were able to view the newest equipment, and we also could see it in operation through NPCA plant tours," Burkhart attests. "NPCA is very much an association that's open, through which members network and share what they know works well, what equipment is dependable, and how to get it installed in a timelyfashion. As a result, we knew who the players were, and they invited us to see their installations throughout the Midwest. We toured those locations and determined what was best for us."