Few organisations in the construction industry have conducted such a rigorous self-examination in recent years as the Ready Mixed Concrete Association - and been prepared to take tough corrective measures to improve its members' lot.

Functioning in a sector of the industry that suffered more than most during the recession, and beset by internal problems, the RMCA has courageously fought its way back by devising a blueprint to ensure greater success for readymix in the construction-materials market.

The RMCA's intentions are aptly summed up by its mission statement: "To achieve increased market share for ready-mixed concrete produced by RMCA members against all competing products." 

The blueprint itself, Concrete 2000, is a self-help programme designed to revitalise the entire readymix sector. It is based on the US's RMC 2000 project, which is achieving a remarkable turnaround of the depressed American industry. RMC 2000 director Gene Martineau has visited New Zealand and RMCA president and full-time Concrete 2000 director Fred Thomas has been to the US to see for himself how an improvement in industry attitudes and efficiency is being engineered with a view to ensuring that concrete becomes the construction material.

With a new sense of direction, with the construction industry on an upswing, and with marketing help from the Cement and Concrete Association, the RMCA is poised to start fulfilling its mission statement.

But the RMCA is not stopping there. While quality assurance has been a buzzword exclusive to the 1990s, the association has long been concerned with the quality of the industry's product and has had a classification committee whose task is to grade members' plants. The RMCA is not satisfied with the committee gaining ISO 9001 certification, but is now taking steps to strengthen the perceived independence and integrity of the committee's workings and to ensure that customers are aware of and value the plant-grading system.

The RMCA's pursuit of increased market share for its members is no idle dream. New Zealand's use of concrete per head of population is very low on the global league table, while the country's use of timber is among the highest internationally. So the gains are there to be made - if RMCA members can see and follow the wisdom of what their organisation is trying to show them. Co-operation and communication will be the keys to success. If readymix producers can banish the enemy within, they will defeat the enemy without.

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