New MCA Chairman Looks Ahead

Brad Brigham is the new chairman of the Board of Directors for the Michigan Concrete Association (MCA). His term began in March and runs through February 2007. He is also the president of Ken's Redi-Mix, where he oversees all facets of the company's operations.

What are your objectives

for the association in the upcoming year?

Unlike most new MCA chairmen, I don't have any new objectives or pet projects that I want to promote during my tenure in office. Instead, I would like to keep those programs that the MCA has already initiated moving ahead. One program that I feel very strongly about is the Six Star Driveway Program, which the MCA developed to ensure Michigan homebuilders and homeowners of the highest quality materials and workmanship for their residential driveways. Developed three years ago, the Six Star program has helped to minimize the need for driveway callbacks and replacements by raising the standards for material and workmanship. Although some MCA members have been disappointed with the number of warranties issued under the program, they are failing to see the big picture. We need to look at the number of concrete contractors who have been through the American Concrete Institute's (ACI) flatwork programs as a result of the Six Star program, and who are now putting in much better products. While these contractors may not sell the Six Star warranty, they know how to properly install concrete. And this has made concrete a much better product.

A national home builder has expressed renewed interest in supporting the Six Star program, which should help us promote the program more widely throughout the state. If this builder should begin requiring Six Star certification for contractors working on their developments, then I expect a dramatic jump in program participation and enrollments in our ACI flatwork certification classes.

The MCA technical education and certification classes have been growing dramatically over the last several years, with greater enrollments and a wider range of subjects. We regard our education programs as a key part of our promotional efforts for concrete. The programs also have grown to become a major source of revenue for the association. In response to a growing consumer demand for decorative concrete, MCA introduced a new Decorative Concrete Training Seminar and certification program two years ago tailored for the concrete professional. Response to this program was so strong that we expanded the number of training classes offered in 2005.

The addition of a flatwork finishing certification requirement in ACI 301 "Standard Specifications for Structural Concrete" last spring prompted many concrete contractors to enroll their finishing crews in our certification programs. We added five flatwork finisher certification classes this past winter, but we may have to add additional classes as the word gets out on the new ACI 301 standard. The flatwork finisher's program had a record enrollment in 2005 and we expect this trend to continue in 2006.

Another MCA program that I want to see completed during my term is the repaving of the MCA headquarters parking lot with pervious concrete. We don't want the first thing that visitors see to be an asphalt parking lot. When we purchased this building six years ago, it came with an asphalt parking lot. Plans have been formulated over several years to repave the lot with concrete. That planning will see completion this spring when we will repave the parking lot with concrete. Since this will be one of the first pervious projects in the state, we plan to actively promote the project by inviting the media and leading members of the construction industry to view the actual concrete placement.

One entire section of the MCA parking lot will be paved with pervious concrete, a form of concrete new to Michigan. Pervious concrete is a structural concrete pavement with a large volume (15 to 35 percent) of interconnected voids. Like conventional concrete, it's made from a mixture of cement, coarse aggregates and water. However, it contains little or no sand, which results in a porous open-cell structure that water passes through readily. Unlike traditional concrete or asphalt, pervious pavements provide improved filtration and an enormous amount of surface area to catch oils and chemical pollutants. Certain types of porous pavement can pass 3 to 5 gallons of water per minute, which is far greater than most conceivable rain events and highly effective in controlling storm water drainage.

What changes do you foresee for the Michigan ready-mix industry in the year ahead?

Our industry will continue to experience the effects of changes, both economic and structural, that have been under way for several years. On the economic front, commodity prices, such as diesel fuel and cement, will most likely remain at the higher end of their pricing range. These cost pressures and continued competitive pricing will probably lead smaller producers to sell out to the larger corporate operations, continuing the consolidation trend that we have seen over the past 10 years.

A majority of our members expect 2006 construction activity in Michigan to decrease in most economic sectors. There is a general consensus among the participants in our annual member survey that revenues for 2006 will decline in most construction categories, with residential and industrial construction showing the biggest drops. Given their pessimism regarding future revenues, it should come as no surprise that a vast majority of our members plan to maintain or reduce current staffing levels in 2006. The overriding concern today among our members, according to our survey, is a slowdown in overall 2006 construction activity in Michigan followed closely by continued increases in raw material and fuel prices.

As a member of the third generation of a family in the concrete industry, I have personally seen this industry undergo dramatic change. What was once a handshake family business is now becoming a more impersonal corporate operation. Many of the family businesses have disappeared as part of the industry's continuing consolidation. The ready-mix industry is becoming a part of the corporate world, whether we like it or not. Our industry is changing fast and we either have to be willing to change with it or risk being left in the dust.