Masonry Magazine February 1970 Page. 8
MCAA's Lead Man Award
MCAA's Lead Man Award was presented by President Donald Bidwell to the following at the opening session of the convention. Top row-left to right are: Lester Dietrich, St. Louis, Mo.; John William Chapman, Jr., Deputy Administrator, General Service Administration, Washington, D.C. and Stephen D. Raimo, Syosset, N.Y.; Second row-Harold W. Peterson, Chicago, Ill.; James Lonie, Dayton, Ohio and Thomas F. Murphy, President, B.M.&P.I.U., Washington, D.C. Lower left-John Taheny, Chicago.
Annual Convention Report
(Continued from page 6) research in new construction techniques; rising interest on the part of owners, architects and builders in rapid construction; the desire for systems that permit closer estimates of final job costs; the development of load-bearing brick panels, and the increasing acceptance of prefabrication in markets throughout the United States and Europe.
Glen-Gery Corp., through Kurtz-Kery Corp., a firm jointly owned by Glen-Gery and Kurtz Precast Corp., is presently producing 4" thick brick bearing wall panels that are 47%" wide by 9' 11½" high, he said. These panels are constructed with modular brick 7%" long using a " mortar joint. Panels are being produced without the use of conventional bricklaying tools, and patents now are being sought to cover production techniques.
Three houses in the Reading, Pa., area have been constructed using these brick bearing wall panels and many commitments for spring starts have been made, Miller said. "The first houses erected have confirmed that if the foundation is prepared, erection of the brick panels, window and door panels and roof trusses covered with plywood can be accomplished in one normal working day by four men," he said. "To date our efforts have been directed at single-family dwellings. However, we will be building a prototype six-unit townhouse soon, using six-inch thick brick panels as the bearing and party walls. This will be two-story construction. We also will use eight-foot wide panels in this effort. The concept should work with apartments."
The panels are priced at $2.75 per square foot erected within a 100-mile radius of the plant. This figure breaks down to approximately $2.25 per square foot F.O.B. (Continued on page 11).
masonry February, 1970