Masonry Magazine November 1977 Page. 11
PART II CONCLUSION
STRAPPING
CONCRETE
BLOCK-
A Pro and Con
Discussion
Q.-What percentage of brick is packaged today?
Lunde: One hundred percent.
Dufour: The brick has to be packaged, otherwise it will fall off the truck.
Q.-What about common brick in Chicago?
Lunde: We sold millions and millions, and just dumped them on the ground. We had to dump them because we couldn't keep up with the demand. We thought it would be impossible to package brick. But once we showed them we could package it, well, today bricks are almost completely packaged and even hand-packaged. So we got into packaging because we thought and we still believe it was to help the masonry industry.
Q. Do a lot of your customers insist that the product be packaged?
Lunde: We deliver only packaged material unless it is a special item. These we put on a pallet and charge the customer for the pallet. Just about every type of brick is packaged.
Olson: We make a lot of solar screen block, and those we can't strap, but other than that, 98 percent of our blocks are packaged.
Q.-Has the basic shape of concrete block changed in the last five years?
Lunde: About 75 percent of our production is still standard 8- by 8- by 16-inch units.
Klos: Our production is still about the same as it was five years ago.
Olson: Ours has changed drastically but by choice. About 75 to 80 percent of our production now is 8-by-8-by16-inch units.
Bronson: The majority of block in the Milwaukee market are 10- and 12-inch, and they always have been. We have increased our percent of architectural units in the past three or four years, and you get quite a few different shapes-12 plus 4's. 10 plus 2's, 12 plus 2's, 's, and so on.
Lunde: Architectural units are a minor part of our operation, except for round-faced, which can be classified as a special unit. They have a very smooth face, rather than a contoured face.
On June 29, 1977, the MCAA and the Signode Corporation, Chicago, Ill., co-sponsored a seminar on "Strapping Concrete Block-A Discussion of the Pros and Cons" at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort, Lincolnshire, Ill. Purpose of this educational session was to explore the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing strapped or packaged block for on-site masonry construction operations.
Present at the seminar were representatives from ten mason contracting and block manufacturing firms from Illinois and Wisconsin as well as personnel from Signode and its public relations agency, Burson-Marsteller of Chicago.
The session, which lasted the entire afternoon, was co-moderated by George A. Miller, executive vice president of MCAA, and Bill Blaha, editor of Concrete Products magazine, Chicago.
Representing the mason contractors were: Jerry Dufour, Ma-Con Construction Corp., Germantown, Wis.; Bob Hansen and Ed Smith, Hansen & Hempel, Elmhurst, Ill.; Bob Harrison, G & R Masonry, Mount Prospect, I., and Allan Knuth, Knuth Masonry, Inc., New Berlin, Wis.
Representing the suppliers were: Paul Bronson, Best Block Co., Butler, Wis.; Allan Klos, Wausau Concrete Products, Wausau, Wis.; Norman Lunde and Emil Vandervait, Illinois Brick Co., Broadview, and Hale Olson, Ampress Brick Co., Des Plaines, Ill.
Personnel from the Signode Corporation included: John Fyfe, William Kelly and Herbert Zivkovic, and David DeMala and Richard Huhta from the Burson-Marsteller agency. Also in attendance was Stan Misunas, Masonry magazine, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.