California Concrete Pumpers Alliance

The year was 2006 and things seemed to be warming up in California. We had a real live movie star acting as governor; he fit right in with the rest of the state government players, who are mostly actors themselves

Soon an action drama was needed to prove how much smarter and forward looking we are. Schazaam! How about an official act, AB 32 aka “The Global Warming Solutions Act”. It started out with boffo reviews and much hoopla.

Here is the latest information you should know about your role on the CARB regulations. You should check to see if you are a small fleet as per their rules. I have the instructions below on how to get the information.

First go to CARB web site www.arb.ca.gov, look for yellow box upper right hand corner "Truck & Bus Reporting", click Left side of page under "Program Links" Fact Sheet, click

As a member of either the California Concrete Pumpers Alliance (CCPA) or the California Construction Trucking Association (CCTA), you have a great advantage--the benefit of timely knowledge relating to many rules and regulations and how they apply to your operation. Few would argue that the constantly changing regulations and government policies are overwhelming for any one person, and if you are reading this, I’m assuming that you ‘re probably a member and will be able to reap the rewards earned through the work of a number of people who devote a great many hours to decoding and focusing on how rules and regulations will be applied to you as a business owner.

Helps small businesses upgrade diesels for cleaner California air.

SACRAMENTO - The California Air Resources Board is now offering a lease-to-own financing opportunity that encourages small business owners to replace their older diesel trucks with clean new equipment.

The objective of this program is to encourage early compliance with ARB’s on-road diesel vehicle and tractor-trailer greenhouse gas regulations.

“This is a program that benefits small fleets and owner-operators,” said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. “It provides them with an additional way to pay for a cleaner truck, even if their credit isn’t stellar.”

When I was a child my grandmother employed a Chinese cook, who became a member of the family and lived in her home for over 40 years. I was the youngest and enjoyed spending time with him and he even took me to “Chinatown” in Oakland and San Francisco. I was really impressed and enjoyed getting behind the “Curtain.” I don’t think I was more than 10 years old. I got firecrackers and all the stuff I wasn’t supposed to have. I also learned to say, “Gung Hay Fat Choy” which we greeted each other with during Chinese New Year. It translates into “May you be prosperous” in Chinese, actually a Cantonese dialect. Who knew it would come in handy years later.

There was big news at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas held last week.

Sany Heavy Industry of China will acquire Putzmeister Holding GmbH. The deal is believed to be the largest Chinese- German acquisition so far. Both parties are reported to be pleased and will form the largest concrete pump manufacturer in the world. Terms and price have not been disclosed. I am sure more details will come out as the integration proceeds.

Schwing was reported to have sold a stake in the company to Chinese equipment manufacturer XCMG. The details of the deal have yet to be made public. XCMG is China’s largest equipment manufacturer, but currently does not produce concrete pumping equipment.

Both Chinese companies are excited about establishing a worldwide presence with established pump makers.

The coming months will be interesting for everyone invested in the concrete pumping industry.

Stay Tuned,

Hank

Here we are at the start of a new year, and there is much to consider for our state as to what awaits us.

Many of you may have heard of a fellow named Jon Corzine, 64, who was a big shot at Goldman Sachs on Wall Street, then became a federal Senator from New Jersey, and was ultimately elected as governor of that state. His last job was CEO of a company called M.F. Global Holdings Ltd., a long-established and respected bond-focused investment firm on Wall Street. The firm was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of October; it listed debt of $39.7 billion and assets of $41 billion. At one point, $1-2 billion was missing from customer accounts. This is money from investors’ accounts that was not to be touched by the firm. When confronted about the missing money, Mr. Corzine said,” I simply don’t know where the money is.” Not a very good answer and one that is not likely to exonerate him anytime soon.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently issued two notable revisions to its rules for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.