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RAPID CITY, S.D. (March 7, 2013) - GCC of America, Inc. has presented to the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology two pieces of state-of-the art concrete testing equipment valued at $135,000. The donation was made during the recent 49th annual Concrete Conference, which attracted more than 100 professionals in all phases of the concrete industry.
GCC, which produces cement, concrete and coal products, donated an X-Ray Florescence Spectrometer and an X-Ray Diffractometer, which students and faculty members in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering will use in research and development and in identifying and characterizing substances in concrete, cement and other materials. Recent equipment upgrades in the Quality Control Laboratory at GCC's Rapid City cement plant made this equipment available for donation to the School of Mines.
"We're very pleased to continue our support of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology with this donation. It will help the university continue to be a leader with respect to education and research," said Mark Lukkarila, technical services director for GCC of America, headquartered in Denver.
It was Lukkarila's fifth year at the conference. He was among contractors, concrete suppliers and representatives from testing firms and government agencies who traveled from throughout South Dakota and nearby states to attend the March 1 conference, "Concrete Project Management: Performance, Schedule and Cost."