Masonry Magazine August 1980 Page. 25
Mason Contractor News
Pittsburgh Corning Corp. will continue to manufacture its line of glass block products and will embark on a major capital investment program to modernize its glass block manufacturing plant at Port Allegany. Pa., company president John L. Baldwin has announced. The firm had previously announced plans to discontinue glass block production.
Baldwin said the decision to continue making glass block stemmed from increased demand for the products by architects and building owners coupled with today's emphasis on specifying energy-efficient building materials. The company will reintroduce its popular Solar Reflective Glass Block, he said.
The Brick Institute of America has announced the elevation of Alan H. Yorkdale from director of engineering & research to vice president of engineering & research. In this capacity, Yorkdale will be responsible for all of the Institute's technical and research activities.
Yorkdale, a registered professional engineer, joined BIA in 1960 as a staff engineer. Subsequently he served as construction engineer, assistant and then acting director of engineering, deputy director of engineering & research, and director of engineering & research.
General Portland. Inc., Dallas, Tex., has announced improved results from continuing operations for the second quarter of 1980. For the three months ended June 30, 1980, sales were $80.4 million, compared with $71.9 million in the same quarter last year.
The Canadian Masonry Contractors Association recently paid tribute to a long-time labor leader, Thomas F. Murphy, Washington, D.C., former president of the International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen, by presenting to him the CMCA 1980 Outstanding Achievement Award. Each year the association recognizes a person deemed to have made a significant contribution to the masonry industry in Canada. Murphy (right) is shown receiving a handsome trowel-emblazoned plaque from Dino Maniago, president of the Canadian Masonry Contractors Association.
The Metropolitan Chicago Masonry Council will present its annual Architecture/Engineering Seminar on October 1 and 2 in Chicago and suburban Oak Brook, III. Both sessions will be identical.
The main topics to be presented are "Corrosion Considerations of Metallic Components in Curtain Wall Construction" by Dr. Lewis W. Gleekman, P.E., president, Materials & Corrosion Engineering Services, and "Energy-conscious Design for Chicago" by Dr. Jay L. McGrew, president, Applied Science & Engineering Co.
Mara Smith, designer/sculptress, will present slides of the design, execution and construction of her carved brick murals on the exterior walls of the Loews Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas.
For more information call the Council at (312) 694-2737.
The Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. will be the site of the first World Congress on Concrete Block scheduled for November 16-23, 1980. The event is being sponsored by the International Concrete Block Commission of the Bureau International Du Beton Manufacture (BIBM).
For details contact the National Concrete Masonry Association, P.O. Box 781, Herndon, VA 22070, (703) 435-4900.
Paul H. Rosensteel, executive director of the Arizona Masonry Guild and a long-time leader in the effort to establish standards for mortar testing in the field, has recently introduced the latest field testing methods to national and local mason contractor groups.
Rosensteel made a presentation in February at the MCAA 1980 Conference in Dallas and again to Phoenix area mason contractors in May. He points out that Arizona took an early lead in mortar testing programs. Problems resulting from lack of a unified testing standard for mortar were primary reasons for the founding of the Arizona Masonry Guild in 1958, he said.