Masonry Magazine August 2005 Page. 56
News
Bedrugs Now Available for 2005 Toyota Tacoma
Wise Industries, Inc., has announced the availability of its BedRug bedliner for the 2005 Toyota Tacoma.
QUIKRETE Celebrates 65 Years of Success
The QUIKRETE Companies was founded on May 22, 1940, and has since become one of the most recognizable names in concrete. To celebrate this 65th anniversary, QUIKRETE is giving away a week's stay at Detroit Tigers Fantasy Camp in Lakeland, Fla., in January 2006.
By registering on the Sports Illustrated web site (www.si.com) between May 23 and July 29, participants will be entered for a chance to play with and learn from former all-stars on the Detroit Tigers' 1968 and 1984 World Series Championship teams.
The company, headquartered in Atlanta since 1981, began in 1940 in Columbus, Ohio, as Maintenance Products Inc., producing stucco and other packaged products for commercial uses. Anticipating the need for pre-mixed, dry-packaged concrete, founder Gene Winchester created QUIKRETE brand concrete mix in 1952 and changed the name of the company to The QUIKRETE Companies in 1965. Since that time, QUIKRETE has grown to produce over 200 commercial and home improvement products in more than 75 manufacturing facilities, with plants located throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Strong Man Announces New Global Supply Chain Manager
Strong Man Building Products Corp, one of the leaders in weather and debris enclosures, announced the hiring of James J. Carlin to its Fairfield, N.J., office. Carlin will oversee the integration of purchasing goods and tracking their subsequent flow through Strong Man's warehouse to the customers.
Carlin joins Strong Man from Team Logistics in Wayne, N.J., where he served as Executive Vice President for more than four years. Prior to that, he was with Bunker Hill Commercial Warehouse, also in N.J., and has provided supply chain solutions for APL Logistics, AET Plastics, Philips Electronics and Lee & Perrins, as well as Strong Man Building Products.
Since starting his supply chain career 12 years ago, Carlin has enjoyed success in operational and business development roles for third-party logistics companies.
Note: Feeling left out? Send your company's press releases and photos to jen@Wonhrtpub.com.
NCMCA Annual Apprentice Masonry Skills Contest
Twenty-year-old Joshua Morrison of McGee Brothers Company in Monroe is the new North Carolina Masonry Contractors Association (NCMCA) Masonry Apprentice Skills Contest Champion for 2005. Morrison finished first in a field of 31 apprentices from eight NCMCA member firms at the May 21 contest held at Pine Hall Brick in Greensboro.
Morrison lives in Midland, N.C., and is the son of Johnny and Lita Morrison. His interest in masonry began in Concord as a sophomore at Central Cabarrus High School as a student of masonry instructor Todd Hartsell.
Morrison is no stranger to the spotlight. He won first place in the 2003 N.C Department of Labor Annual State Fair Masonry Apprentice Contest. He also competed at the N.C. SkillsUSA Masonry contest at Greensboro in April, winning the right to represent North Carolina in the National Skills USA Post-Secondary Education Masonry Competition in Kansa City this summer.
"I'm very proud of Josh," says Craig Reeder, Morrison's foreman at McGee Brothers Company. "Kids his age usually don't have his work ethic. He's talented and willing to do what's required to reach the goal, whatever it is."
Morrison says he plans to work for McGee Brothers for the rest of his life. "I wish they'd hurry up and give me a crew of my own," he says.
Morrison won what very well may be the toughest apprentice contest in the nation. This year's contestants included Dallas Caudle who won a Silver Medal in the 2004 SkillsUSA National High School Masonry Contest and will compete in that contest again in June as the 2005 North Carolina High School SkillsUSA Champion. Also competing was Cody Alward who is a state and national high school masonry and post-secondary education champion and winner of the 2002 N.C. Department of Labor State Fair Masonry Apprentice Contest.
Rounding out the Top Ten were Dallas Caudle, McGee Brothers; S. Juan Minguel Chaves, Brodie Contractors, Raleigh; Joaquin Castro Lopez, Old North State Masonry, Charlotte, Justin Flinchum, McGee Brothers, Jose Santos, Gates Construction, Mooresville, Grant Hartsell, McGee Brothers, Jesus Ramirez.