What’s In Your Wallet?
Another round of Capital One commercials are streaming across every form of my media these days. While I enjoy seeing the newest way to get (or prevent) a point across, it did give me a reason this week to pause and contemplate what it means for our industry. Seriously, what’s in your wallet (if I […]
Putting Sustainability Where Our Mouth Is
Take a poll of constituents in the public domain or even within the concrete construction sector that asks what the top buzz words are today and arguably one of them that will surface at a high percentage is sustainability. Whether forced by regulation or encouraged by intuition, the drive for sustainability in our homes, our […]
This National Association Has Your Back…
I just returned from a week in Chicago where just about every concrete and masonry industry group was represented at combined meetings for the Alliance for Concrete Codes and Standards (ACCS), the Masonry Alliance for Codes and Standards (MACS) and the Concrete And Masonry Related Associations (CAMRA) executive council. These are bodies that I interact […]
Previewing CFA Convention 2016
Spring has sprung and no doubt your company is headed out the door in a frenetic pace. Most of the U.S. residential market is ramping up for a solid 2016 forecast as we have heard from so many of you. While PCA has tempered their projections from the Spring of 2015, all indicators are for […]
Where We Are Headed
All indications at the moment support the concrete industry maintaining a steady climb through the winter, into the heart of 2016 and extending in that same way into the 2020 to 2021 neighborhood. That is five to six years of constant growth, pressure, advancement and yes, change. Is it possible? Is it realistic? Let’s assume for a moment […]
The Value of Recognition
Welcome to autumn. This is perhaps my favorite time of the year for the concrete industry. We have made it through the heat of summer and there is a hurried sense of activity in preparation for winter. Like the typical CFA member, your company is quite probably as busy as you’ve been all 2015 and that is certainly […]
A Year In The Life Of A Concrete Contractor
What is perhaps the most unique part of your company, your business, your professional life? While this question begs you to think of the accomplishments you have made or the challenges you have faced, what I believe it to really be is the isolation you have as a company. The practice of concrete construction at […]
It’s A New Dawn, It’s A New Day…
Turning the calendar to 2015 has ushered in a great deal of excitement and anticipation here at CFA headquarters. First of all, I recognize that those of you reading this are in one of two camps; the many knowledgeable individuals working for CFA members that have relied on Ed Sauter for a great many years; […]
Reflection & Farewell
This month’s letter from the CFA Executive Director: Reflection & Farewell It has been nearly twenty-two years since I took the helm of the Concrete Foundations Association at the suggestion of Larry Clark. We now live in a different world. The country, the industry, and the Association have undergone great change in that period. We […]
Letter from the Director: We’ve Learned Our Lessons – and Now We Are Stronger
This month’s letter from the CFA Executive Director: We’ve Learned Our Lessons – and Now We are Stronger Another winter is on its way but otherwise things are heating up in the residential concrete industry. Growth is slower than we would like to see but the trend is there. Credit is tighter (as it should […]