A record gathering of more than 350 pipe industry professionals from across North America met this week in Indianapolis for the 2013 ACPA Pipe School. Organized by the American Concrete Pipe Assn. and held prior to the 2013 Precast Show, this year’s Pipe School featured presentations from industry experts, a panel discussion with engineers from six state Departments of Transportation (DOT), tours of local pipe plants and multiple training tracks covering every career discipline in the industry.
The ACPA used the three-day event to launch its “Campaign for Excellence,” which encourages every concrete pipe professional and company to strive for excellence in every aspect of his or her business. In-depth training tracks, with courses led by the foremost experts from within and outside the industry, focus on arming participants for excellence in the areas of production, quality, safety, sales and marketing and engineering design.
“This year’s Pipe School is, without a doubt, our most robust to date,” said Matt Childs, president of the Irving, Texas-based American Concrete Pipe Assn., prior to the event. “We’ve gathered a who’s who of talent from across our industry to train, inform and challenge a record number of attendees to achieve excellence for their companies and themselves. What these men and women learn here will help them throughout their careers.”
Engineers and others seeking industry certification attended the ACPA Quality School, which covers all the fundamentals of concrete pipe, from cementitious materials to mixing, batching, testing and finishing the product. By attending the entire track and passing an end-of-course exam, students become accredited personnel for their QCast plant.
Concrete pipe professionals from nearly every U.S. state, Canada, Mexico and as far away as Guam descended on Indianapolis for the annual Pipe School, which was held Jan. 9 to 12 at the downtown Westin.
Source: American Concrete Pipe Assn.
