Construction industry leaders, labor representatives, mental health advocates, and workers came together during Mental Health Awareness Month for AGC of California and Teichert Construction’s 2026 Mental Health in Construction Standdown on Friday, May 22, at the Placer Parkway Project near the Whitney Ranch Parkway overcrossing at Highway 65 in Placer County. For one hour, construction activity paused as crews and industry leaders shifted their focus to mental health as a critical component of jobsite safety and worker wellbeing.

AGC of California members across the state hosted mental health safety stand-downs throughout May as part of Mental Health Awareness Month. The stand-downs encouraged employers and crews to pause work, discuss mental health openly, share available resources, and reinforce the value companies place on the wellbeing of their teams.

“Safety in construction goes beyond hard hats, safety glasses, and fall protection. It also includes the mental and emotional wellbeing of the people behind the work,” said Mary Teichert, president and chief executive officer of Teichert Inc. “The men and women building our roads, bridges, schools, and communities every single day also carry stress, fatigue, injuries, and personal struggles that too often go unseen.”

“Construction zones demand constant awareness, communication, and teamwork. When workers are distracted or struggling silently, it can impact not only the individual, but everyone around them. That’s why creating a culture where people feel supported is so important to overall jobsite safety,” said Jeremy Peterson-Self, deputy division chief of construction at the California Department of Transportation. “Open conversations around mental health can make a real difference.”

“While these projects are built with concrete and steel, they’re powered by people with families, responsibilities, stress, and struggles that often go unseen,” said Shanti Landon, chair of the Placer County Board of Supervisors.

Mental Health Construction Standdown is part of AGC of California’s ongoing initiative to help the construction industry create supportive work environments by providing tools, training, and access to mental health resources. 

By spotlighting these resources during Mental Health Awareness Month, the association aims to encourage more open conversations across jobsites and reinforce the connection between mental wellbeing and overall safety.

“Changing the culture around mental health starts with conversations like these,” said Darla Macomber, chief operating officer of AGC of California. “By continuing to bring awareness, resources, and support to jobsites across California, we can help build a safer and stronger industry for everyone.”

AGC of California’s Mental Health Initiative continues to engage contractors, workers, and jobsite leaders in proactive efforts to build a stronger culture of care throughout the industry. Resources and tools are available at AGC of California Mental Health Initiative.

Stansteel Hotmix Parts & Service, Louisville, Kentucky, launched the Vortex™ burner during CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026. The total air burner design with direct drive impeller system offers a lower blower motor horsepower compared to other models, according to the manufacturer, with a new Vortex fan system.

The modulating fuel lance offers precise commissioning and setup with any fuel type including oil, LPG, Bio LPG, LNG, natural gas and rDME. It’s designed to burn multiple fuels concurrently and has a water injection system for ultra-low NOx capability.

It offers a dynamic rotational burner section for left- and right-handed site applications and is compatible with short- and long-nose applications on counterflow drum mixers. The burner is installed on a multi-track system to facilitate easy access for inspection and routine maintenance. The split section construction allows quick and easy servicing.

The double skin combustion box offers air cooling capability to reduce thermal stress and prevent overheating, thus improving combustion stability.

The ACCU-Fire™ burner control offers remote access and is capable of delivering performance data for real-time optimization, including remote access to fuel meters.

For more information, visit www.stansteel.com.

Eagle Crusher unveiled its new Talon™ line of heavy-duty crushing and stockpiling equipment for recycling applications at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026. The new TalonTrax™ mobile crushing plant and the new TalonStack™ mobile stockpiling conveyor were on display.

At the heart of the TalonTrax, is Eagle Crusher’s new TalonMax™ (TM-15) impactor, featuring an open-rotor design that reduces weight while still providing the same crushing capabilities for which Eagle Crusher equipment is known. The impactor also features a new, thicker blow bar design to increase overall wear life. Its rotor is 44 by 41 inches with a feed opening of 42 by 32 inches. It requires 150-200 horsepower. The impactor’s approximate weight is 23,000 pounds; the rotor’s weight is 6,200 pounds. The proven three-bar design handles aggregates, recycled asphalt, and concrete with rebar and other steel contaminants.

The TalonTrax plant is a dual power plant that can be powered by the onboard diesel engine or switched to external power from a genset or line power. The plant also features a dual-motor, under-crusher pan feeder with discharge clearance in excess of 23 inches. TalonTrax comes equipped with a cross-belt, permanent magnet that removes steel contaminants from crushed material. The magnet is reversible to allow steel discharge from either side and stays on for transport. The heavy-duty hopper is sized for feeding with a loader or excavator and the grizzly bypass chute and cross conveyor with flop gate allow for either removal of the material that passes through the grizzly deck for stockpiling or blending back with the crushed material.

The new TalonStack self-propelled, radial stockpiling conveyor has been designed to improve productivity and mobility while minimizing operator costs. The TalonStack 65 was on display, with Eagle Crusher offering a wide range of TalonStack sizes.

For more information, visit https://EagleCrusher.com.

In the Webster Combustion aggregate dryer burner family, the company offers the HDRA Low NOx burner series—rotary drying. The model HDRA-RF is a register-style total air burner that allows producers to shape the flame by automatically controlling the register vanes to optimally fit their dryer and combustion zone. This flame-shaping capability means the flame will not impinge on material or flights, and CO can be maintained at much lower levels. In addition, NOx levels for the HDRA-RF are significantly lower than typically seen in asphalt applications, according to the manufacturer. It is designed for firing rates from 50 million up to 200 million Btu/hour. Its turndown rates are up to 10 to 1 on gas firing; up to 8 to 1 on oil firing, according to the manufacturer.

ProStack®, a Terex brand, announced the appointment of Sync Aggregate (Sync) as the distributor for its complete product range throughout Utah. Based in Springville, Utah, Sync is a supplier of rock crushing equipment, parts, and field service to the state’s aggregates and material processing sectors. Under the new agreement, Sync will represent ProStack’s full portfolio of material handling solutions including tracked conveyors, tracked feeders, telescopic conveyors, hoppers and bulk reception feeders. This will provide customers in Utah with local access to ProStack’s bulk material handling equipment, parts and service through factory-trained technicians.

The announcement follows ProStack’s renewed focus on the North American market, enhanced by recent product launches such as the TW 36-150 telescopic conveyor. This 150-foot radial telescopic conveyor is built in Mt. Vernon, Missouri, and has been specifically designed for the North American market.

Astec Industries, Chattanooga, launched its Signal Connectivity Suite from Astec Digital during CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026. The platform allows communication and monitoring across all plant and mobile assets, letting the owner stay connected, gain actionable insights, and optimize operations. It provides:

• System Integrations
• Predictive Maintenance
• Machine Learning & AI
• Robotics
• Advanced Simulation
• Extended Reality
• Digital Twins
• Cloud Computing
• Internet of Things

Specifically, Signal includes an asset map, machine overview, plant overview, LiveJob (live tracker), and paver tracker screens. Let’s break down what those highlights provide.

When on the Asset Map screen, you have a visual, location-based view of all assets, allowing you to check key statuses like fuel level and engine hours. This offers you access to your entire fleet for easy navigation and lets you spot assets needing attention.

When on the Machine Overview screen, you have a comprehensive, real-time snapshot of a specific piece of equipment. This shows you “live” machine status indicators for fuel, faults, location, live schematics, and so on, letting you identify any issues with real-time diagnostics and historical data views.

When on the Plant Overview screen, you have a real-time, high-level snapshot in one dashboard of all the plant operations, from production rates and energy use to historical trends. This offers instant visibility into top-level plant performance with production and energy metrics and drill-down views into the individual details like mix information, silo inventory, tank inventory, alarm information, and so on.

When on the LiveJob screen, you have a real-time, live dashboard of ticketed material output and job progress. This gives you visibility into tons loaded and job progress with detailed breakdowns by job, customer, mix and truck rotations.

When on the Paver Tracker screen, you have real-time location and activity tracking of the asphalt paver. This screen provides insight into job activity such as total runtime, distance paved, average feet per minute, idle events and reasons, and it integrates with Astec Digital’s telematics ecosystem for unified data and alerts.

Attendees at CONEXPO-CON/AGG could see live demos of the Signal Connectivity Suite, and you can run through a quick tour at the company’s website. For more information, visit https://www.astecdigital.com/en/digital-solutions/plant-telematics/signal-marketing.html

Among the many products on display, Astec included its well-known Double Barrel® dryer/drum mixer with high RAP capability. At the core of the design is a proprietary two-chamber configuration consisting of an inner drying drum and an outer mixing drum. This configuration ensures virgin aggregate is fully dried in an extended drying zone before entering a flame-free mixing environment, where RAP, liquid asphalt cement, and fines are introduced in a controlled, sequential manner. This process promotes temperature uniformity, thorough coating, and reduced oxidation, supporting clean, efficient operation at high RAP percentages.

The Double Barrel’s sequential, flame-free mixing process is designed to support mix quality even at elevated RAP rates, helping producers reduce virgin material consumption while maintaining performance. The unit on display at CONEXPO-CON/AGG featured these key design improvements, based on customer feedback:

• Enhanced trunnion adjustment design for simplified maintenance;
• Increased drum tire width on portable units for improved load distribution;
• Reinforced suspension designs to extend working life of drum support components;
• Optional bar-spoke suspension configuration for added durability;
• High-wear mixing tips included as standard for extended service life;
• Reversing/interstitial mixing tips designed to increase material dwell time and improve mix quality;
• Improved access and service features including upgraded door hardware, mounting systems, and service platforms; and
• Portable-unit enhancements that simplify setup, teardown, and cable management.

For more information, visit www.astecindustries.com.