CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION—born of a hard working founder, for a hardworking industry

Source: CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE
Publication date: 2006-09-01

By Kari Moosmann

Many of today's readers of CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION have never heard of Bill Avery—but his ghost hovers over every word we publish, every booth at the World of Concrete, and even lingers on our Web sites. As the founder of CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION magazine, Avery changed the concrete industry in profound ways and helped it become the dynamic force it is today.

After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1933 with an engineering degree and holding various engineering jobs, Avery joined the editorial staff of <i>Pit & Quarry</i> magazine in 1944. In 1954 he left <i>Pit & Quarry</i> to become editor of <i>Concrete</i> magazine. He soon realized that concrete construction, to be done successfully, required a detailed knowledge of the material and the process. He reasoned that concrete constructors needed and wanted more information, despite the prevailing wisdom of the day that contractors wouldn't read a magazine. He took his idea for a magazine on concrete construction to the publishers of both <i>Pit & Quarry</i> and <i>Concrete</i>. Neither thought it was viable.

Bill Avery, founder of CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION magazine.

He disagreed and felt that ready-mixed concrete producers really wanted informed customers. In early 1956, Avery produced a pilot issue of CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION and sent two copies to each member of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association with each company's name imprinted on the cover. His accompanying letter asked recipients to become subscription sponsors and provide this new magazine to their customers—concrete contractors. It was an incredibly successful campaign; 250 said yes. This created a highly predictable revenue stream, since he could invoice the ready mix producers each month and because the invoice was small, around 10 cents for each copy sent to a customer, it was easily absorbed.

In September 1956, CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION officially launched with Avery as editor and publisher and John Engle as his partner (for the first few years). Avery re-mortgaged his home to provide financing for the new company, Concrete Construction Publications Inc. (CCPI), which was housed in a small office in downtown Chicago. His initial investment was $10,000—a lot of money in 1956.

In 1957 CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION moved to a converted bungalow in Elmhurst, Ill., a western suburb of Chicago, where it stayed for 14 years. Dan Anderson, Avery's son-in-law, began working for the company in 1969 as manager of the subscription sponsorship program. The offices were near a quarry so the building shook with every blast. Anderson's office was in the basement, right below the toilet, resulting in him having to cover the mouthpiece of the phone whenever anyone flushed. He also had to be careful not to bang his head on the sewer pipes when he stood up. Not a lofty beginning.

In 1973, the American Society of Concrete Constructors fell on hard times and asked Avery to take over its operations. From the previous director, ASCC had a contract to hold its annual convention in January 1974 at the Playboy Hotel in Miami Beach. Avery was looking for additional responsibilities for his son-in-law, so he put Dan in charge of the ASCC meeting. The turnout was big—they sold out the hotel with 150 to 175 registrants. Rinker was a big subscription sponsor for CC in Florida, so Anderson arranged to use Rinker's parking lot for exhibits, busing people from the hotel to the parking lot. The attendees saw the first demonstration of a riding trowel, ridden by Chicago distributor Dick McCann. The first vibrating screed was also demonstrated at the Miami Beach exhibition. This small meeting was the genesis of what became the World of Concrete.

In 1975 in Houston, CCPI sponsored another exhibition of concrete equipment, now called the World of Concrete. The American Concrete Pumping Association was just starting up, but it signed on to cosponsor the show. ASCC and ACPA remain today as cosponsors of WOC. By the third show, WOC was presenting live demos. It was often trial and error. Anderson was very hands-on at first, insisting even on carting fresh concrete in a wheelbarrow, all the while dressed in his good shoes, shirt, and tie.

By 1981, Bill Avery was ready to slow down a bit, and Mary Hurd replaced him as editor. Mary was considered a rare find with her engineering degree and superb writing ability. Women were a minority in construction then, but Avery and Anderson never considered it an issue. Mary often used only initials in her writing so one wonders how many readers actually knew that M.K. Hurd was a woman.

Hurd was ahead of her time. In special issues in October 1983 and July 1985 she wrote articles advocating concrete for homebuilding, not just for flat-work and basements. Her editorial in July 1985 was “Why Don't We Build More Concrete Houses?” And that issue contained articles on 14 different methods of concrete homebuilding, with two more overflowing into the August issue.

CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION's staff continued to expand and moved into its current home on Westgate Street in Addison, Ill., in 1980. The building had 35,000 square feet of office and warehouse space. The Lombard Company provided exposed aggregate precast panels to upgrade the exterior of the building. Then, a year later a new whitetopping technique was used to convert its deteriorating asphalt parking lot to concrete.

Ward Malisch joined the company in 1981 to direct the World of Concrete seminar program and later became editor of CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION magazine. Ward brought a great deal of technical knowledge to the writing and editing, but his ability to communicate in a clear and interesting way to the contractor audience was most impressive. One of Malisch's loves was writing the Problem Clinic, a department in the magazine started by Avery in the very first issue, and that column remains with CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION today. Malisch would take phone calls from readers and help provide technical information to solve a problem. He would then write about the problem and solution in the magazine.

In 1983 Bill Avery was named an honorary member of the American Concrete Institute. In 1986 he retired at the age of 75 to spend more time with his wife, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, although for another nine years he continued to write his “Concrete Abstractions” column for CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION. Dan Anderson took the helm as president of Concrete Construction Publications.

Concrete Construction Publications changed its name to The Aberdeen Group in 1988, looking for a name that would allow it to expand to other aspects of the construction industry. When Anderson and his family were vacationing in Scotland he saw “Aberdeen” on the map. He liked the name. He felt it had positive connotations, would put the company at the beginning of the alphabet, and wouldn't limit the scope of its operations.

In 1989, The Aberdeen Group added MASONRY CONSTRUCTION magazine and in 1990 the Concrete Trader (now THE CONCRETE PRODUCER).

The Aberdeen Group launched the concrete and masonry industries' first Web site in 1996, the Construction Supernetwork, first as a dial-up connection that went straight to Aberdeen's computers and morphing into a Web site. Anderson's vision was a Web site with news, product information, links to all major associations, and even original technical articles. Unfortunately he was ahead of the times and the technology and the Construction Supernetwork struggled for visitors and advertisers. In 1998 Hanley Wood purchased The Aberdeen Group, continuing the magazine's commitment to the concrete industry and the concrete contractor. Dan Anderson retired in July 1999. Bill Palmer became editor in 2001.

Bill Avery, founder of CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION, passed away in March 1999 at the age of 87. Those who knew him well called him a visionary, a patient teacher, a feminist before his time, and a devotee to the concrete industry. The industry and the concrete contractor would have been poorer without him.

A history intertwined with Bill Avery and his magazine

In Chicago in the 1950s, a group of concrete contractors got together and founded the National Concrete Contractors Association. This association struggled along for many years, with mixed success. In early 1965, following a joint meeting of the NCCA and leaders of various construction firms, including Roger Corbetta, Corbetta Construction, New York, and Mike Lombard, Lombard Construction, Chicago, a new society was formed under the name American Society of Concrete Constructors. According to a news item in the March 1965 issue of CC, the ASCC's objectives were to “support the maintenance of ethics, integrity and responsibility in the industry” and to “assist in establishing criteria for the eventual qualification of competent concrete contractors and seek to foster craftsmanship and high quality in concrete work through sponsorship of local concrete industry boards.”

ASCC's original officers included Gust Newburg, Gust Newburg Construction, Chicago, as chairman of the board and Corbetta as president. In one of the early ASCC meetings, Corbetta announced that CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION magazine was going to be the official magazine of ASCC, thinking that he was doing Avery a favor. Bill felt it would be bad for an independent magazine to be perceived as an association magazine and he corrected Corbetta on the spot. It may have been a “delicate” moment, but he and Corbetta remained lifelong friends.

ASCC was frequently short on membership and funds. In 1969, the board determined that it could no longer afford to pay its executive director, Walter Ricks, so it let him go. When it became clear that things still weren't working out, the board let the assistant go and hired another director who lasted about six months, burning through what little money was left.

In June of 1973, ASCC was essentially bankrupt. It had a meeting in Detroit where it fired its new executive director, asked each board member to lend the association $500, and asked CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION to provide interim management while it got back on its feet. CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION ended up providing management services to ASCC for about 10 years.

During this time, Bill Avery convinced the board to change the name to the American Society for Concrete Construction, using the argument that it was better to be “for” something than to be “of” something. However, the name change didn't do much to increase membership. When CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION disengaged from the arrangement in 1983, ASCC turned to the multi-association management company of Smith, Bucklin & Associates in Chicago for its management needs. A year later, Burr Bennett, a retired industry veteran was establishing his own multi-association management firm in the concrete industry (after a long career with the Portland Cement Association and the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute), and he took the reins of ASCC for a number of years.

Bennett retired (for the second time) in 1992 and ASCC turned to the American Concrete Institute's new association management arm, where Bill Palmer, current CC editor, became executive vice president. During the late 1990s, ASCC again changed its name, although not its initials, to the American Society of Concrete Contractors. ASCC's management remained with ACI until 2001 when its board decided to hire its own staff.

In 2003, Bev Garnant became executive director and moved the operations to St. Louis. Under her management ASCC has started its annual meetings and continued with its other successful programs. The objectives set out in 1965 remain virtually unchanged.

1956 In March Bill Avery publishes pilot issue of CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION; first official issue published in September

1957 CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION moves from Avery's house to a converted bungalow in Elmhurst, Ill.

1970 Dan Anderson begins as director of sponsorship

1973 Bill Avery is asked to serve as executive director of ASCC

1975 World of Concrete debuts in Houston

1980 Avery receives the ACI Turner Medal for his years of service to ACI and the concrete industry. The magazine moves into its current home in Addison

1981 Mary Hurd replaces Avery as editor

1983 Avery is awarded honorary membership in ACI; Ward Malisch becomes editor 1986 Avery retires and Anderson becomes president of Concrete Construction Publications Inc.

1988 Company named changed to The Aberdeen Group; MASONRY CONSTRUCTION magazine launched

1990 The Aberdeen Group purchases The Concrete Trader (now THE CONCRETE PRODUCER)

1993 CEO Forum launched by CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION and ASCC.

1996 The Construction Supernetwork Web site launched

1998 The Aberdeen Group is sold to Hanley Wood

1999 Avery passes away in March; Anderson retires in July

2001 Bill Palmer becomes editor; the first annual CC100 released; CONCRETE & MASONRY CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS launched

2004 RESIDENTIAL CONCRETE launched

2006 CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION celebrates its 50th anniversary.