Masonry Magazine February 1969 Page. 13
Mason Contractor News...
L/B Seminar Held
The Western Michigan Chapter of the Mason Contractors Association of America held a Load Bearing Seminar on December 3rd. Featured speaker for the meeting was Thomas Sirine, Concrete Products Association. Engineers and architects in Grand Rapids, Michigan and vicinity were guests of the Association for cocktails and dinner. Program Chairman Albert Hazewinkel reports that 75 persons were in attendance and this endeavor is part of program designed to promote the Masonry Industry in Western Michigan.
Sales Record Set
General Portland Cement Company achieved in 1968 a record level of sales and earnings higher than each of the past four years, President L. James Wade, Jr. announced today.
"Net sales increased 12 percent for the year reaching $82,522,000 compared to $73,936,000 in 1967."
"Net income in 1968 increased to $7,011,000, or $1.34 per share, compared to $4,762,000, or $.91 per share for 1967. Two unusual and partially offsetting factors had the combined effect of increasing 1968 earnings by $.10 per share: depreciation practices were revised in 1968 which increased earnings $.19 per share, and the new Federal income tax surcharge reduced earnings $.09 per share.
Looking to 1969, Wade said he anticipated "further increases in volume of cement and concrete product shipments and improvements in prices received for these products. However, these favorable factors will be offset partially by increases in costs and labor wage rates."
SCP! Case Study
A thin-walled loadbearing brick building now under construction in Michigan will have all the luxuries its owners and architects wanted. Reason: successful bid for the project came in $100,000 below budget.
The story is documented in a Case Study released by the Structural Clay Products Institute. The project: an 11-story retirement apartment in Muskegon, Mich. "It typifies why modern (Continued on page 24)
Canadians Display Skills
MASONRY
At the Construction and Public Works Show held recently in Toronto, Canada, the Canadian Masonry Contractors Association and the Metropolitan Industrial & Commercial Masonry Contractors, Inc. sponsored an attractive masonry display which effectively illustrated the high degree of skill that apprentices in the trade possess. The display was one of 11 made available to various construction trades by the Ontario Department of Labor. The Masonry display is pictured above while the photo on the left shows government officials viewing the craftsmanship.
Growth of 'Ready Mix'
Annual use of ready mixed concrete will more than double by the end of this century, it was predicted here today by Harry N. Huntzicker, president of the Portland Cement Association, Skokie, III.
Dr. Huntzicker told the annual convention of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association that he expects annual ready mix production to grow from the 1968 level of 178 million cubic yards to 380 million cubic yards by the year 2000-an increase of 113 percent.
He called the estimates "conservative" and said they assume a continuation of the present proportion of about 60 percent of cement shipments going into ready mix.
"Today the emphasis is on the city (Continued on page 26)
Koehring Earnings Up
Earnings of Koehring Company in the fiscal year ended November 30, 1968, totaled $9,917,000, equal to $3.36 per share of common stock, on sales of $221,504,000. Earnings for 1967, restated to include companies acquired in poolings of interests, totaled $9,376,000, or $3.19 per share of common stock on sales of $205,569,000.
Koehring president Orville R. Mertz said that the company had entered fiscal 1968 with incoming orders continuing at good levels. Koehring's unfilled order backlog totaled $59.9 million at year end, compared to $54.5 million at the end of 1967.
When a man says he has a clear conscience, it often means he has a bad memory.