2010 CFA Media Coverage

Marketing Energy Efficient Concrete - New!
While the country seems to be in the midst of a "green revolution," embracing everything from hybrid cars to reusable shopping bags, the average American just wants to save some money. Home trends surveys show consumers are considering a home's green features more than they did in the past, but energy efficiency is even more attractive. The 2010 Next Home Survey, which asks homeowners about their next home purchases, revealed 87 percent of respondents plan to have high-efficiency heating and cooling systems in their next home, and 76 percent of respondents said today's housing market and economic turmoil have made energy-efficient heating and cooling systems a higher priority when considering their next home.

Taking Advantage of a Bad Situation - New!
CFA MEMBER: In the mid-1980s, Tim Parrish, a college psychology graduate turned bricklayer, started noticing poured concrete walls entering Virginia. He looked into the system, saw promise for a business focused around this type of construction and secured a $100,000 business start-up loan from a local bank before ever pouring his first wall. With a set of aluminum forms and a couple basic trucks, Parrish started Cornerstone Foundations, Harrisonburg, Va., in 1988. "From the beginning, I wanted to focus on difficult jobs; I didn't want to say 'no' to anybody," Parrish says. "Saying 'yes' to jobs we didn't exactly know how to do meant occasionally losing money, but that became part of our education."

Solid Process, Solid Results - New!
CFA MEMBER: Rob Larsen and Chad Kane, proprietors of Northern Concrete of Denmark, Wis., started their business in 1996 in the residential flatwork market. Larsen's background was in concrete construction while Kane's background was with a concrete producer; neither had experience in the business of concrete. The two borrowed a skid steer from Larsen's father by day and repaid the debt by night in the currency of farm chores. "The concrete business is sort of like farming," Larsen says. "You know when work starts in the morning but you never know when you'll be done at night."

Basements and Beyond - New!
CFA MEMBER: Basement Contractors of Oklahoma built a basement market in an area of the country where lower-level living was unheard of. On the eve of its 500th basement project, the company continues to offer quality engineered basements while showing off its talents above ground in energy efficient residential and light commercial structures.

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