Masonry Magazine January 1975 Page. 47
The Year Ahead
(Continued from page 35)
The small warehouse and industrial building market has been dwindling because of prefabricated metal buildings, yet an inferior product is sold when compared against block structures. The present slack offers an excellent opportunity to go after an old foe, and late in 1974 NCMA initiated this campaign. The customized concrete market is rapidly expanding and will continue to do so since it offers designers and builders two scarce items local availability and customized design service. And engineered loadbearing structures in the five to 15-story height category are still less expensive to build than any other structural material. As engineers and architects understand more about the design and construction of such building, a greater share of the market will be captured.
There will also be entirely new uses for concrete masonry experimented with. All this activity will fight for a share of a declining construction market. It will bring on stream new activity and new uses of concrete block so that when the demand picks up, there will be a dramatic surge in sales. But in the meantime, block plants will be playing Russian roulette with the game of survival and growth.
The present capacity of the 2,500 block machines in operation in the United States, working eight hours a day, five days a week, is five billion block units (8x8x18 equivalents) a year. This production could easily be attained if the demand were present in 1975. Therefore, since 3.2 billion units is forecast, there will be surplus capacity to produce 1.8 billion units or half again as much as anticipated demand for 1975.
There are no raw material problems of any consequence and the manufacture of concrete masonry requires low energy consumption, so there should be no difficulty in making and selling whatever the market demands in 1975.
BRIGHTEN YOUR PROFIT OUTLOOK FOR '75
SEE WHAT'S new FROM BIL-JAX
FOR THE MASON
CONTRACTOR
2
GREAT
NEW ITEMS
TO ADD TO
YOUR SAFETY
AND PROFITS!
MORTAR
BOARD STANDS
Panel-GUARD
SCAFFOLDS Safety Railing
STEEL
SCAFFOLD
BRACKETS
Super-fast Only 4
pieces sets-up 4-sided
enclosures, with gate
access to scaffold work
platform. Pat. pending.
plus
HOIST
ARMS
WELL
WHEELS
Ply-METAL
WALK BOARD
CATWALKS &
METAL STAGES
19" wide,
in popular
platform
lengths.
Enjoy the safety of
a steel frame plus
economy of ply.
wood in a
lightweight,
nearly dam-
age-proof
walk
board.
Grading the Way to CONEΧΡΟ '75
The Construction Equipment & Road Show (CONEXPO)
will be staged in two locations in Chicago-the Amphi-
theatre and McCormick Place in February, 1975. Two
places will be needed to house the huge exposition-
the world's largest such event. More than 150,000
registrants from throughout the free world are ex
pected to attend this international gathering, now in
its 50th year. Like everything else, construction equip-
ment had its crude beginnings. Here's what the J. D.
Adams Company road grader looked like back in 1895.
(Photo courtesy of Wabco Construction & Mining Equip-
ment Group, Peoria, III.)
PEDESTAL
SCAFFOLD
Write or
phone for
literature
and prices.
Bil-Jax
ARCHBOLD, OHIO 43502 PHONE 419-445-2045
Sales and Rental Outlets Throughout
United States and Canada
See these
and more
at the Bil-Jax
Booth Nos. 27-28
MCAA-
Orlando!
masonry
January, 1975
47