Many of us were exposed to the NPCA when VA Cemeteries started to require NPCA certification to fulfill grave liner contracts. Although plant certification is part of what the NPCA does, it’s by far not the only thing they do, and even if you aren’t interested in plant certification you should take a look at what NPCA offers.
Master Precaster
The NPCA Master Precaster program consists of 6 “Production & Quality School (PQS) courses, and provides an excellent education on precast concrete. It consists of in-person sessions at The Precast Show, as well as webinars. Many of you have been asking about Type 1L cement, and the Master Precaster program is where I learned about it. Not just that it exists, but what it is, and how it can affect your mix designs. Some of the topics covered in the Master Precaster program include batching and mixing, reinforcement, quality control, safety (students must earn an OSHA 10-hour card and OSHA 30-hour Construction Safety card to graduate), Lean Manufacturing, concrete repair and patching, lifting, and leadership. For more information, visit Master Precaster | NPCA. Like many of you, I’ve been making burial vaults since I was a kid, and I was surprised by how much I’ve learned at these courses.
Webinars
Vault plants are busy, and maybe it’s difficult to send an employee for training in February. NPCA has a startling number of webinars available. Some are free, while others cost $89 each. However, for $275, you gain access to all of the NPCA webinars, minus the online PQS courses – nearly 200 hours of education. Is it worth $275 to make better concrete, improve your quality control, develop a culture of safety, learn new ways to market your precast products, add new product lines with minimal disruption, and do a better job of finishing concrete? There are 3 Lean webinars that will no doubt save enough overtime in a year to more than cover the cost of the Webinars. There are 6 Mix Design-specific courses, 11 Sales and Marketing courses, you get the idea – this is a tremendous value, and it doesn’t require you to be an NPCA certified plant to participate.
The Precast Show
This year’s precast show was in Denver, Colorado, and had 120,000 square feet of trade show floor dedicated to vendors in many different categories. While I was there, I sought out exhibitors who have solutions for our industry, but also found opportunities in other product lines. Here are a couple of vendors of note:
Beton Block makes high-quality molds that have a fresh take on bin blocks. First, when compared to your typical bin block mold, you can tell Beton Block molds are designed to make a great precast product, rather than a convenient way to sell waste concrete. You can purchase accessories for their forms enabling you to cast stairs directly into the block. They also have accessories to make bull nose blocks, and even a concrete bench.
Do you have a product with unique concrete placing needs? If they don’t already have a solution that works for you, they can custom build it. My first exposure to EZG was using their Uphill Grout Hog to produce a small concrete product. In this application, the Uphill Grout Hog, which is a hopper with an auger that rises at an angle from the bottom of the hopper, was controlled by a scale, and was accurately dosing 53 pounds of concrete into a small plastic mold. Because the auger was tilted up, you could run SCC concrete without fear of the concrete leaking the way it might when a horizontal auger starts to wear. It was easy to clean and maintain as well. If you’re looking to get into smaller block products and want a way to accurately dose concrete, in a package that is easy to move with a forklift (if you don’t want to connect it to a scale, a forklift with auxiliary hydraulics can take the concrete where you need it and discharge it into the form.
Let’s face it, during the pandemic our forms saw an abnormal amount of use, and unfortunately a lot of forms have some excess concrete building up. Back-Set by RoMix dissolves the cement, leaving wet mud that can be brushed and rinsed off of the form. Back-Set is available via Inside Sales, and samples are available.
It can be difficult to find parts for older mixers, and that includes paddles. Habermann Materials produces polyurethane paddles for mixers, and they have the ability to custom manufacture paddles according to your needs. They also carry paddles for newer mixers, and claim benefits of weight savings, as well as patented guide ribs that move concrete away from wear surfaces. They also carry ‘arm guards’ that protect your paddle arms. Need to re-line your bins? They have polyurethane liners as well, including rounded corners to help material flow better.
Conclusion
NPCA has a lot to offer every Licensee. For a small investment, the education provided can improve your business, and I would absolutely recommend every Licensee who is not currently involved in NPCA to at least take a look at their webinars. And if you are planning on visiting The Precast Show next year in Indianapolis, Indiana from February 5-7, let’s get together.