Have you ever wanted to tour a cement, a forms, and an expanded polystyrene manufacturing plants; as well as a quarry and state-of-the-art concrete homes?

If so, the opportunity awaits you. The Concrete Home Building Council, a council within the Building Systems Council of the National Association of Home Builders, has chosen residential concrete systems as the focus of their spring 2005 plant tour program. It will be held from June 26-28 in the Kansas City, Missouri area.

The event kicks off with a golf tournament on Sunday, June 26th. Registration is from 5:00 – 7:30 pm with an introductory reception from 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Monday’s tours include “Hunt Midwest Mining,” the world’s largest SubTropolis, created through the mining of a 270 million-year-old limestone deposit.

The next stop is the Lafarge cement manufacturing plant. Lafarge has North America’s most extensive network of cement distribution terminals and packaged product warehouses. A hands-on demonstration of stamping and staining follows at the Concrete Materials Company. The day’s tours end with hands-on homescaping demos using concrete pavers and segmental retaining walls at Miller Material Company located in Kansas City, Kansas. The day ends with a banquet.

Tuesday’s tours begin with Coutour Products located in Kansas City, Kansas. Contour represents a group of innovative expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam products. The manufacturing process for ICF’s is highlighted. The plant tour is followed by a visit to an ICF subdivision where the process of building ICF homes can be viewed. The third visit is the manufacturing facility of Wall-Ties & Forms. Wall-Ties’ robotic manufacturing systems is demonstrated along with a tour of the plant. Following the plant tour the group visits a subdivision constructed with Western Forms removable, reusable forms. The evening ends with a reception at the concrete home of Ross Worley, a state-of-the-art 6,000 square foot home. Buses have been arranged for all of the tours and each day kicks off with a Concrete Basics Breakfast.

A block of rooms is set aside at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center located at 2345 McGee Street, Kansas City, Missouri. A rate of $125 for a single or double has been negotiated. Make reservations through the Hyatt reservation system at 816-421-1234 or 800-233-1234. Reference the NAHB/Concrete Home Building Council to take advantage of the special rates. The cutoff date for reservations is June 1, 2005. You can register for the event on-line at www.nahb.org/concretetour or via fax or mail (call CFA for registration forms). The cost before March 11 is $275 for NAHB members and $375 for non-members. The prices increase $100 for each category after March 11 and the golf outing is separate ($80.00).