The National Steering Committee (NSC) for the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program – a business intensive program that awards students with a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Concrete Industry Management – raised more than $800,000 in gross revenue at its tenth annual auction, held in conjunction with the World of Concrete 2015 on Wednesday, Feb. 4.
"The NSC of the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program is pleased to report that the 2015 World of Concrete Auction was, once again, a huge success,” commented Mike Philipps, CIM Auction Committee Chairman. “This auction is a great example of the high value the concrete industry places on the CIM program. We had a record in terms of the value of donated items and attendees at the Auction that helped make this year’s event a tremendous success."
The signature item this year was Mack Granite step forward axel model mounted with a McNeilus 11-cubic-yard Bridgemaster concrete transit mixer, donated by Mack Trucks, Inc. and McNeilus Co., a Division of Oshkosh Truck. The winning bidder of the mixer truck was Ozinga Ready Mix Concrete, Inc.
“In an educational environment dominated by more traditional liberal arts programs, the CIM program is a welcome alternative that equips and empowers students with hands-on management experience that meets the urgent need for professionals in the concrete and construction industry” said Paul Ozinga, co-owner of Ozinga Bros., Inc. and CIM graduate. “As a fourth generation family business, it’s important for us to have a long-term outlook on sustaining our industry. For Ozinga, supporting the CIM program through their annual auction is a solid investment in our future because they are literally raising up the next generation of leaders in our field.”
In addition to the live auction, a silent auction was also held. This year CIM had record proceeds from the silent auction. Auction items included cement, concrete saws, drills, mixers, vibrators, safety equipment, screeds, fiber transport systems, dust collectors, decorative concrete tools, water meters, pumps, generators, training sessions, reference books, advertisements, laptop computers, sports travel packages, and golf and vacation travel packages.
“We were blessed to have the incredible support of the World of Concrete Show Management, Hanley Wood Publications and Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers,” said CIM Marketing Committee Chairman Brian Gallagher. “We thank the many companies such as McNeilus Companies, Inc., Mack Trucks, Inc., Somero Enterprises, and the numerous companies that donated items to the auction to make it a complete success.”
This year, NSC partnered with GiveSmart, a user-friendly bidding technology service providing customized auction and event solutions primarily for non-profit organizations. With GiveSmart, participants were able to register for the auction, sneak preview silent and live auction items, make a donation and bid on their favorite silent auction items immediately. Once again this year, participants who were not able to attend the live auction were able to bid online during the event.
Recognizing the need for people with enhanced technical, communication and management skills, the CIM program was developed in 1996. The individuals graduating from this program will have the skill set necessary to meet the growing demands of the progressively changing concrete industry of the 21st century. It is a business-intensive program, providing solid management skills that can be used in any industry, but has been developed specifically for the concrete industry. The program gives students many advantages including entering the concrete work force with exposure to the industry early in their careers, unlike others coming in with generic business degrees.
The goal of the program is to produce broadly educated, articulate graduates grounded in basic business management, who are knowledgeable of concrete technology and techniques and are able to manage people and systems as well as promote products or services related to the concrete industry. It entails a broad range of courses, from English and history to science and mathematics. A series of required business courses such as finance, marketing, management and business law are also taken throughout the length of the program. The concrete-specific courses teach the fundamentals of concrete, properties and testing, concrete construction and more. All of these courses utilize practical case studies and an internship to make sure the student obtains real-world experience essential to starting a successful career. Additional opportunities for growth include on-campus socials and other organized events providing industry networking and professional development.
Receiving tremendous support from the concrete industry, the CIM program was the first of its kind in the United States – a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Concrete Industry Management. The need for such a program was recognized in 1994 and was put into action by the concrete industry. The end-result was a partnership between the concrete industry and Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) to develop the CIM program, implementing it with its first two students in 1996. Available at MTSU, California State University, Chico, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Texas State University, the program has been successful for both the industry and the graduates.
Seeing the need for concrete industry-specific executive education, the NSC of the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program launched an Executive MBA program. In the fall of 2012, the first class of students in the CIM MBA program at MTSU began. The Executive MBA degree program is the result of many years of close collaboration between MTSU, the NSC and companies in the concrete industry. The program is designed to expand the industry-academic partnership by bringing CIM to the business world through an Executive-type MBA and stand alone in its focused curriculum on the concrete production and concrete construction industries.
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