Dream Once Again
And “there was a man named Jabez…” In 1916 Anheuser Busch produced over more than one million barrels of beer. Production was up and the market bursting. But storm clouds were on the horizon. The Temperance movement was gaining political clout; World War I brought rationing and anti-German sentiment, which sent production downward drastically. By 1919, sales had dropped to 218,000 barrels. Then came prohibition. Events […]
CFA Moves On Insurance Captive
The CFA Board of Directors voted at the summer board meeting to take the next step in the CFA self-insurance program. Business may be slow but if you are doing business, you are still buying insurance. The CFA program will be modeled after the highly successful CSDA (Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association) insurance captive. That program, which suffered a setback […]
WHEN WILL IT END?
We are still suffering through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. While there is some good news trickling in there is also plenty of bad news to go around. A small increase in housing starts sound great until you realize that the small increase is on a figure that already off well over 50% over the past two […]
A ‘ FIXED’ FIGHT: A PEEK INSIDE ONE CONSRUCTION
Expert’s Campaign to Make Fixed-Price Contracts and Cost Containment the Industry’s New Normal Huge cost overruns and missed deadlines have long been the accepted norm for construction project operations. But as the economy struggles to fully recover, construction expert Barry LePatner stresses that these precepts can no longer define the nation’s most inefficient industry. He provides a proposal for hardwiring construction […]
WE NEED CFA
As we start the New Year I would like to make the case of how important your membership in the Concrete Foundation Association is. CFA is the only organization that represents our interest in the poured wall business and has for 34 years. Throughout CFA’s long history it has seen growth in membership and became a nationally recognized trade association. […]
THE UN-COMFORT ZONE
This month we feature another article by the talented author, Robert Wilson. Writer of The Un-comfort Zone, Mr. Wilson is always able to convey a message of focus, growth and sensibility that can be applied to each of our businesses. We are beginning to start a new year. What moves did your company make to […]
Codes & Standards Corner
This issue we offer you an update on the codes and standards that continue to evolve in and around the residential and foundation industries. Codes and Standards comprise a significant portion of the energy this Association puts forth and a considerable amount of the sta$ time that is allocated on behalf of the membership. There are three primary areas […]
Sharing of Ideas
We had a great fall board meeting in Chicago last October. We choose Chicago because it is easy to fly to and the airfare is reasonable. Most people arrived and left the same day. Thank you to Hanley Wood for the generous use for their conference room, with the economy CFA is very grateful for the cost savings. The […]
Joint Sustainability Initiative (JSI)
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. It is used for foundations, roads, walks, beams, columns, pipe, and a host of other critical applications to provide for mankind’s needs. Because it is so widely used, the industries that manufacture and use the concrete are very diverse in nature. Therein lies a critical problem with the industry. Everyone is “out there” doing their […]
Summer Meeting Recap At Amelia Island
Thank you to all that attended the CFA Summer Meeting at Amelia Island. Although our meetings and activities were scaled back to save cost for both CFA and the attendees I believe it was a successful and educational meeting, plus we had ample time for networking which is the most important aspect of CFA and the meetings. The education was excellent and covered topics from […]
