Masonry Magazine August 2010 Page. 41
Lowe's has made a $10 million commitment through 2014. The multi-year commitment was made at SkillsUSA's National Student Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Mo. This unprecedented grant represents Lowe's investment in SkillsUSA and its students. It will further the SkillsUSA program in communities, provide awareness of technical careers and training opportunities, and highlight SkillsUSA's benefits to the community.
Lowe's and its vendor partners are working to solve the impending skilled worker shortage by investing in trades education today. Through its support of SkillsUSA, Lowe's commitment is helping to fill the skills gap with technical, professional, managerial, leadership, customer service and communication skills. SkillsUSA will use the grant to enhance its instructional programs and provide the funding its chapters need to embrace community service and school improvement projects.
2030 Challenge
Architecture 2030's "2030 Challenge" is fundamentally transforming the U.S. Building Sector. The annual Design Futures Council "2010 Sustainable Design Survey" of 240 design industry leaders in the U.S. ranked Architecture 2030 among the top three most effective organizations forwarding green building design and construction in the U.S. today. Architecture 2030 ranked ?rst among industry leaders in "leadership and resource deployment" to move sustainability issues forward in the U.S. Providing leadership and valuable resources are two key objectives of Architecture 2030, so we were particularly pleased to be recognized for our contributions in these areas. Finally, industry leaders identifed Edward Mazria, founder and CEO of Architecture 2030, second among the nation's leading "role models" for green and sustainable design.
2nd Annual BrickStainable Competition
Teams of architects, engineers, material scientists, landscape architects, ecologists, students and others have another opportunity to design an sustainable building using clay brick as the primary material for BrickStainable Design Competition. Thanks to the success of the inaugural BrickStainable 2009 competition, Potomac Valley Brick will hold the competition once again this year. BrickStainable competition is held in pursuit of design solutions that exploit the unique properties of brick masonry construction as well as seek new ideas in the development of this age old building material. Once again, this year's competition has two categories. For more information, visit www.BrickStainable.com.
Caterpillar Emissions Solutions Acquires CleanAIR Systems
Caterpillar Emissions Solutions has agreed to acquire CleanAIR Systems Inc. Upon completion of the transaction, CleanAIR Systems will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. within the Customer Services Support Division.
Brooklyn and Staten Island, N.Y., Contractors Fined $90K by OSHA
OSHA has proposed a total of $90,000 in fines against four New York contractors as the result of a Dec. 15, 2009, balcony collapse at a five-story residential building under construction at 701 Union St. in Brooklyn. Cited are steel erection contractor N&C Iron Works Inc. of Brooklyn and three Staten Island contractors, project general contractor NNF Enterprises Inc. doing business as FDM Construction, masonry subcontractor IVM General Construction Inc. and carpentry subcontractor Barbaria Construction. An employee of N&C Iron Works fell 20 feet when the second floor balcony he was standing on collapsed as he was attempting to jack up the third floor balcony. OSHA's inspection found that the second floor balcony was overloaded, improperly constructed and incapable of supporting its weight load. The scaffold on which employees were performing steel erection work was improperly constructed and employees lacked fall protection. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call 800-321-6742.
Wacker Neuson SE and Caterpillar Inc. Sign Alliance
Wacker Neuson SE and Caterpillar Inc. have signed an agreement regarding the design, manufacture, distribu-
Midwest Block and Brick Completes Pre-cast Plant
Midwest Block and Brick completed a new pre-cast plant facility in Jefferson City, Mo., which opened for business in May. The company invested about $2 million for equipment, site work and modifications to the existing 19,000-square-foot building. The plant building is surrounded by MagnumStone, Rosetta outcropping and VERSA-LOK retaining wall. Jeremy Winegar has been named manager of the new Midwest Block and Brick Pre-Cast Plant. The addition of the new manufacturing plant facility created 17 new jobs for the Jefferson City-based company. IMAS