Northeast Concrete Products Association, Inc.

P.O. Box 688
Pembroke, MA 02358
Tel: (863) 607-9361
Fax: (863) 709-1870
Email: info@ncpaonline.org

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NCPA 4^th Annual Winter Meeting 2004!

Our 4th Annual Winter Meeting, judging from the response of those who attended, was a great success.  The meeting was held on Tuesday January 13, 2003 at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth, NH.  A great turnout of over 75 individuals attending our Production and Management Courses.

We were able to bring in three "top notch" trainers, who instruct on the national level.  Carl Buchman, NPCA's Senior Technical Consultant who instructed on Concrete Materials, Concrete Mixes, and Rebar Placement.  Bob Menard, Consultant, entrepreneur, professional speaker from Dallas, Texas who spoke on Communicating for Profitability.  Lastly, Patrick Closson  an attorney with McLane, Graf, Raulerson, & Middletown who spoke about contracts, collection techniques, and legal language designed to help you receive what you are owed. (See course format below)

17 Associate member companies also set up booth space and talked about the various items they represented.  

Thanks to our associates who sponsored various items at the meeting:  D.C. Bates, International Precast Supply, M.A. Industries, Polylok.

Format included two course areas - Management Track (3 sessions) or Production Track (3 sessions).  Followed by the General meeting after lunch.    

Production Track Included 

Concrete Materials: Review the basic components of concrete: importance of each, including quality and proportioning. Great for beginners and experts alike. 

Concrete Mixes: Teaches the importance of quality concrete, water/cement ratios, air content, significance of proper proportioning. Dramatically increase the quality and appearance of your product! 

Rebar Placement:  Explains the importance of rebar placement, effects of improper placement. Typical rebar placements will be reviewed.

 Instructor:  Carl Buchman, NPCA Senior Technical Consultant Carl brought more than 40 years of industry precast experience including design engineer, production manager, and VP + general manager. Carl has built plants from the ground up, and speaks with enthusiasm about concrete, a subject he loves. He currently serves as a technical consultant to NPCA, Oldcastle Precast, PCANY, (where he is the Executive Director) and the Spancrete Manufacturers Association.

 Management Track Included 

Communicating for Profitability:   In this age of information, are we communicating effectively? Employees want to know more, customers want to know more– vendors want more information as well! 

Instructor:   Bob Menard, Consultant, entrepreneur, professional speaker.  Bob is renown for his expertise in purchasing and negotiation and rare presentation skills. His track record includes over 1200 seminars and workshops to industry groups and private clienteles. His clients range from Fortune 100 firms to NASDAQ startups, as well as public and non-profit firms. All of Bob’s presentations are custom tailored to his particular audience. In addition to his speaking activities, Bob has published numerous articles, and is just finishing up a book on Negotiation. 

Contracts:  Taught by a New England attorney, course will discuss contract language and how proper verbiage will help you stay out of legal problems later. 

Instructor:  Patrick Closson, JD, Graf, Raulerson, & Middletown A graduate of Boston College law School, Patrick is a member of the firms Corporate Dept., with an emphasis on M&A, Securities law, business formation and investment advisor regulation. Atty. Closson provides advise to clients in mfg., high tech., financial services energy and wholesale foods. Pat has lectured on a variety of general corporate law topics relating to business formation and limited liability companies. In addition, he has represented clients in stock and asset acquisitions and sales, mergers, splitoffs, and leveraged employee stock ownership transactions. He is a member of the ABA, NHBA, and serves on the NHBA Professional Committee.

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