Masonry Magazine September 2008 Page. 56
Industry News
Model 800S telescoping boom lifts to add to their rental fleet. While purchasing the 80-foot tall machines was nothing new, PeCoy and company had the machines painted a special pink color at the JLG factory and added custom decals to the boom with their company's "REACH HIGH FOR THE CURE slogan along with other decals promoting Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists. Mid Country Machinery also signed an agreement with the Des Moines chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure to donate 10 percent of all income derived from the rental of the machines for the next 54 months, which is expected to total between $25,000 and $30,000.
Natural Stone Council
Supports Granite as Safe
The Natural Stone Council (NSC) is supporting granite as a safe, natural material for use indoors based on prior research and, most recently, both an independent study funded by the Marble Institute of America, and newly issued U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) statements reaffirming that granite poses no health risk.
The NSC does not refute that some types of granite do emit radon gas, but studies have shown that the majority of stones tested generate either unmeasurable or insignificant emissions that are well below the levels requiring EPA-recom-mended remediation. The EPA has repeat-edly stated it has never found any evidence that granite countertops contribute signif icant amounts of radon to a home.
New CFO at Carolina
Tractor
Robert Russell has joined Carolina Tractor as CFO and VP of finance. Prior to joining Carolina Tractor, Russell was the CFO/finance director for Barloworld, a multina-tional equipment dealer with U.S. operations focused on material handling and the Caterpillar dealer for South Africa. He works at the corporate headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.
New Holland Names
Sales and Marketing VP
John J. Stevenson has been named VP, sales and marketing, for New Hol-land Agriculture in North America. Stevenson will maintain his office at New Holland Agriculture North American headquarters in New Holland, Pa.
Mirant to Supply
Synthetic Gypsum to
Lafarge
Lafarge and Mirant Corp. have signed a long-term agreement under which Mirant, beginning in 2010, will supply synthetic gypsum to Lafarge's gypsum drywall manufacturing facility in Buchanan, N.Y. With the addition of the Buchanan plant, nearly all of the gypsum board manufactured by Lafarge in North America will be made with 100 percent recycled paper and recycled gypsum. Synthetic gypsum is a by-product creat-ed from the sulfur dioxide removal tech-nology currently being constructed at Mirant's Maryland power plants as part of the company's $1.6 billion investment in air pollution control technologies.