A publication of the Concrete Foundations Association
Concrete Facts Magazine Online
Feature
Getting Customers Stuck On YOU
Voice mail, email, snail-mail, direct mail, in person calls – there’s never been more possible ways to reach and grow customers. Then why all the sad faces? You know – unreturned calls, emails, direct mailers flushed down the circular file. Are your methods not working like they used to? Buyers are too busy to win […]
Martinson Construction Provides T-MASS System Basement Demo
Energy performance is becoming increasingly important in residential construction. A critical component in this effort is insulation of the basement or foundation. Several systems exist to accomplish this including interior furring with insulation and exterior insulation. The Thermomass Sandwich wall system has been used for nearly twenty years with traditional modular forming systems but this […]
Saving the Environment
CFA MEMBERS NETWORK AS THEY DO THEIR PART TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT Snow Geese have multiplied to a point they are destroying the Arctic breeding grounds for other wildlife. So four CFA members felt it was their obligation to help control the snow goose population by going on a Spring Snow Goose Hunt. Maybe they […]
Building Concrete Homes With Removable Forms
Building homes with removable forms is just one of several concrete wall building systems. But there are advantages to building homes this way. For home builders, removable form construction is fast, saving as much as 30 days on the construction of an average home. In Mexico, which is increasingly using removable form construction, houses can […]
Balmer Brothers Win CFA Basement of the Year Again
Jerry Balmer, President of Balmer Brothers Concrete Works, Inc. in Akron, Pennsylvania, knows what it’s like to build a basement from hell – he’s done it before. In 2000, Balmer Brothers was voted the winner of the Basement of the Year for their 29,000 square foot basement, which was complex as well as mammoth. This […]
Bontrager Concrete Specialties, Inc Named Contractor of the Year
Bontrager Concrete Specialties, Inc. of Nappanee, Indiana was named Contractor of the Year by the Concrete Foundations Association (CFA) based in Mount Vernon, Iowa. The Contractor of the Year Award recognizes an individual or company who exemplifies the ideals, goals, and standards of the CFA, a voluntary nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the […]
Magazine Issues
2011 CFA PROJECTS OF THE YEAR
Summer Convention is just around the corner and with it comes our focus on many of the best CFA features in all regards. One of the most significant and underutilized opportunities is the CFA Projects of the Year program. Each year, as a member of the CFA, you have the opportunity to look back at projects you’ve completed that offered the biggest challenges or were the […]
A Lover of Concrete? Head to Virginia in August!
Over the last few weeks, my travels have taken me to the 4 corners of Virginia. I have to say, I believe this is the most beautiful place to be found anywhere in the USA.The mountains and the valleys, the rivers and the oceans, the parkways and the byways all bear testimony to this. No wonder the state slogan is “Virginia is for […]
Member Exchange Networks
The CFA will set up its # rst Member Exchange Networks (M.E.N.) this summer. If you are not familiar with the concept, it is a practice where non-competing CFA contractors get together twice a year (or more often if the group wants) to exchange information about their businesses. The concept is based on the NAHB “Groups of 20” and the […]
Wintergreen, Virginia — Summer 2011
I’m looking out my window at over a foot of snow thinking I’ve already had enough of winter and its only December 28th. What better way to beat the winter doldrums than to make your reservation for the CFA Summer Convention, 2011. The 2011 Event will be held from August 3rd through August 11th at the Wintergreen Resort […]
MEMBERSHIP IS ABOUT CONNECTION In this day and age of recessed (or depressed) economies, reduced margins and management stress, a new era of connectedness and networking has blossomed in the CFA. When the going was really good, members shared openly and frequently about the great new technologies they had acquired or the new process that they were successfully implementing. These were discussions that offered a lot of promise […]
Bilco Company Celebrates 85 Years
The Bilco Company is pleased to announce that it has marked 85 years of service to the building industry. A third-generation family-owned company, Bilco is widely known for designing and manufacturing high-quality specialty access products for residential and commercial construction markets. What began as a neighborhood iron shop in 1926, when George W. Lyons, Sr. started The Builders Iron Company […]
CFA Loses Member Dana Pelletier
Dana Gerard Pelletier, 62, of 5 Rollingreen Rd. Greenville, SC., died unexpectedly Sunday, February 6, 2011 of natural causes. He was the owner and founder of Action Concrete Contractors Inc. Mr. Pelletier is survived by his loving wife, Libby Childers; his mother-in-law, Lib Childers of Rock Hill, SC; two sons, William Dana and wife Mollie, Dustin Thomas and wife Tabatha; […]
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. What is your company doing to educate key individuals? What steps is your company taking to educate all personnel? World […]
OSHA RULES: A New Normal
by Jim Baty, CFA Technical Director, jbaty@cfawalls.org In an increasing environment of employee protection and conservatism for risk management, OSHA has completed work on two major areas affecting the residential foundation industry. Depending on the scope of your business and the project types you are involved, your company should immediately begin taking the steps necessary to educate and ensure compliance. Your CFA membership can be […]
Voice Over Internet Protocol (Tech Bit 50)
You would think everyone has heard about VoIP, Voice Over Internet Protocol. It is advertised on TV by a number of companies, especially Vonage. But apparently not. If your long distance bill is more than $30, it might be worthwhile to investigate VoIP as a cost saving opportunity. One option in VoIP is a service like Vonage, Broadvoice, etc. Most cable companies also offer […]
CFA Is At Work to Change The Foundation Industry
Spring is finally here, the snow is melting, flowers are blooming and the CFA is growing!! That’s right, thanks to the dedicated efforts of members like Dennis Purinton and Jim Bartley, the CFA already has 10 new members this year. Ten more companies about to discover how the CFA is at work to change the foundation industry. From “raising the bar” with our Certified Contractor […]
Wintergreen, Virginia — Summer 2011
Our goal is to make certain you come away with at least one tip, idea, or contact that will pay for the entire trip – hopefully several times over. In the last “From the Director” I expounded on the beauty of the area and the very reasonable rate for rooms this year ($119 for a single room). We are still working on the budget […]
