COMPANY INFORMATION
Greener Cement Products:
Enviromental Policy
CTS Cement Manufacturing Corporation | Rapid Set® is committed to operating in an environmentally responsible manner. We manufacture cement in a conscientious manner to minimize CO2 emissions, protect natural resources, reduce waste, and reduce potential environmental and health hazards. It is our practice to assure the environmental integrity of our processes and facilities. As part of ongoing efforts to sustain the environment, CTS Cement commits to the following initiatives:
Reduction in Wastes
CTS Cement uses as raw materials, wastes from aluminum recycling and by-products from the production of various chemicals, such as synthetic calcium sulfate. By using by-products from the recycling of aluminum, we prevent such wastes from being released into the environment.
Protection of Natural Resources
By being part of the aluminum cycle, CTS Cement helps reduce the need to extract alumina from the ground. Recycling aluminum generates 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution than producing aluminum from bauxite ore. In addition, making aluminum from bauxite requires the production of petroleum coke, soda ash, and lime — all extracted from the ground. It also causes the emission of carbon dioxide and other air pollutants. It also generates wastes such as red mud that require treatment and disposal. The use of synthetic gypsum also decreases the need to extract gypsum from the ground.
Reduced Carbon Emissions
Cement is made by heating limestone with other materials in a kiln. The resulting hard substance, called “clinker”, is ground with a small amount of gypsum to make the cement. Rapid Set® is more environmentally friendly than portland cement for three main reasons:
- Rapid Set® is made at lower temperatures, which means that its processing requires less fossil fuel.
- Rapid Set® requires less limestone per ton, thereby reducing CO2 emissions.
- Rapid Set® has longer lifetime than portland. In pavement tests conducted at the Seattle/Tacoma International Airport by Construction Technology Laboratories, Inc. (CTL), the lifetime of Rapid Set concrete was found to be twice as long as that of Portland concrete.
The amounts of CO2 released into the atmosphere per 50-kg bag of cement are:
- 10.5 kg. CO2 for Rapid Set
- 30 kg for portland
For more information please proceed to these articles:
-- Even Greener Concrete: Rapid Set® Cement Is Friendly to the Environment
-- Rapid Set® Receives Home Depot's Eco Option Seal of Approval
Awards and Honors:
2008: TCA (Tilt-Up Concrete Association) awards O'Connor Residence as Residential/Housing Division winner, Anaheim Hills, CA
2007: PTI (Post-Tensioning Institute) inducts Rice into the Post-Tensioning Institute’s Hall of Fame
2005: WOC (World of Concrete) nominates System-K™ as Top 4 Most Innovative Concrete-Making Materials
2004: TCA (Tilt-Up Concrete Association) awards Mattel Distribution Center as Top 10 Largest Building, San Bernardino, CA
2004: Home Improvement Executive awards OnePass® as Top 25 Hot New Product
2000: ACPA (American Concrete Pavement Association) National Award for Excellence, Interstate 5 Gravelly Lake to Puyallup River Bridge, Tacoma, WA
1999: ACPA National Award for Excellence, Route 10 Long Life Pavement Restoration, Pomona, CA
1998: ICRI (International Concrete Repair Institute) Most Unique Concrete Repair Project, Qualcomm Stadium Renovation, San Diego, CA
1997: Rice elected as Fellow in ACI (American Concrete Institute) for outstanding contributions and service to the Institute and concrete industry
1997: ACPA National Award for Excellence, Airfield Improvement Project SeaTac International Airport, Seattle/Tacoma, WA
1996: ACPA National Award for Excellence, Runway 8/27 Interstate Reconstruction Savannah International Airport, Savannah, GA
1994: C.C. Myers, Inc. Certificate of Appreciation, Contribution to the Timely Reconstruction and Reopening of Highway 10 Santa Monica Freeway (Northridge Earthquake)
1989: Rice elected as Fellow in ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) for outstanding contributions and service to the civil engineering profession and concrete industry
1987: Rice receives a distinguished engineering alumnus award from UC Berkeley
Customer Support:
CTS Cement Manufacturing Corporation is recognized for providing superior service. We offer extensive support, training, and programs to help our customers reach their goals. Sell, use, or specify our products, and gain the following benefits:
- Educational Seminars
- Website Tools
- Technical Support
- Jobsite Support
- Displays and Point-of-Sale Signs
- Brochures and Catalogs
- Joint Sales/Business Calls
- Job Leads
- Store Service
- Vendor Events
- Product Knowledge Classes
Ed Rice:Founder and Visionary for CTS Cement.
Ed Rice is an insightful and energetic entrepreneur, always seeking innovative, new, and improved ways to build efficiency to benefit others. Since the 1950s, he has developed new methods in concrete and building technology, championed efforts to solve problems of urban blight and substandard housing, and has been involved in real estate development. His strong work ethic and desire to make things better have enabled him to achieve virtually anything he sets his mind to.
Education and Academics:
Rice earned his BS and MS degrees from UC Berkeley, accomplished PhD work at UCLA, was a lecturer in the UCLA School of Engineering, and served as an adjunct professor in the Materials Science and Engineering department. He is a generous supporter of the School of Engineering at UCLA.
Business:
Rice gained his first business experience as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, when he and other students formed a construction company to paint houses, fix sidewalks, and other low-cost jobs.
In the early 1950s, Rice co-founded T.Y. Lin & Associates, an engineering consulting firm specializing in pre-stressed concrete, with UC Berkeley professor, T.Y. Lin. He also co-founded Western Concrete Structures, contractors to make and install button head post-tensioning tendons and perform the lifting of slabs for lift slab construction.
In the 1960s, Rice developed a system for rehabilitating New York City tenement housing. With his system, tenants would have to vacate a five-story building for only 48 hours for renovations to be completed.
In the 1960s, Rice established CTS Cement Manufacturing Corporation and continues to be involved in the strategic direction of the company.
Rice is an active voting member in ASTM Committees C1 Cement and C9 Concrete.
Inventions and Patents:
Rice holds 19 patents in concrete and building technology, among them his widely used system for stacking table-like modules to build more efficient and economical structures, as used in the LAX parking structure. He is inventor of the single strand post-tensioning system. His interests in urban development have put him at the forefront of major development projects, including the Los Angeles World Trade Center and Sacramento’s Downtown Plaza.