The leading voice for the crushed stone, ready mixed concrete, sand and gravel, and cement industries' community.
PELA is a 10-month hybrid program with online and in-person educational sessions and networking opportunities.
Careers in the Aggregates, Concrete & Cement Industries
The Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association (PACA) is the industry’s unified voice, representing more than 200 member companies across the state.
Creating a unified and strong voice for our industry.
PACA monitors and analyzes local, state and federal regulations and advocates for a balanced approach by the regulators.
PACA builds a bridge between our members and our partners at PennDOT, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission along with Pennsylvania’s construction industry to further the use of our materials to the benefit of the commonwealth.
One of the most effective tools in government relations for an industry is a robust advocacy/grassroots strategy.
In the last legislative session, we contributed over $275,000 to our political champions.
November 2025 at Hotel Hershey in Hershey, PA (PACA members only event).
PACA offers comprehensive concrete certification programs for ACI, NRMCA, and PennDOT in the central Pennsylvania area.
Membership has its privileges - most of PACA's events are open to PACA members only.
PACA conducts numerous education and training events during the year.
Choose concrete for your next parking lot project.
Streets built with concrete are built to last, consider concrete for your next project.
Concrete's strong, resilient and the choice for your next building or bridge.
PACA works with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) to convert your parking lot or building project to concrete without hurting your bottom line.
PACA drives a member-approved strategic plan to increase market share and engages specifiers and owners on the value of concrete in their projects.
This program provides free continuing education to the design and specifying communities. There are currently four courses available, ranging from 30 minutes to 60 minutes focused on the cement, aggregates and concrete industries. You'll receive a certificate of completion once you pass a quiz. The bookmarking feature allows you to leave the course and resume where you left off when you return.
February 23, 2023
Heavy industry accounts for about a quarter of CO2 emissions worldwide. Burning fossil fuels to generate industrial process heat is a key factor. Heating steel blast furnaces to about 1000° C is one example. Heating cement kilns to about 1400° C is another.
February 16, 2023
The production of energetically modified cement (EMC) requires an intensive grinding process. The term "energetically modified" comes from the mechanochemical process used to produce this type of lower-carbon cement.
February 02, 2023
Cement production is responsible for approximately six to eight percent of global carbon emissions. Much of this occurs in countries that make more of it, and/or less sustainably. Differences are substantial. For example, the #1 producer, China, releases six times more CO2 than #2 India. By comparison, cement accounts for 1.25% of carbon emissions in the United States.
January 26, 2023
Emissions are a major concern when cement kilns are fired with fossil fuels. One potential alternative is green hydrogen. However, for hydrogen to be “green,” it must be produced using renewable energy.
December 29, 2022
In the 20th century, the question “Can machines think?” captured the imagination of some of the planet’s greatest thinkers. One was Alan Turing, the young British polymath who dared to answer “Yes!” His 1950 paper, “Computing Machinery and Intelligence,” suggested that machines, like humans, could learn to reason and solve problems. In certain ways, what he theorized seven decades ago is now a reality. Artificial intelligence (AI) impacts every major industry, and concrete is no exception.
December 22, 2022
In six decades, atmospheric CO2 increased from 320 to 420 ppm. That 25% increase warmed the atmosphere one full degree Centigrade (1.8° F). Now, there’s a global effort to limit the increase by 2050 to a 0.5° C maximum. In two centuries, the acidity of the oceans is up 30%.
December 01, 2022
Reducing emissions is front of mind in the concrete industry. It is and it will be for decades to come. There has been progress. Industry emissions are down an estimated 21% in seven years. Portland limestone cement (PLC) and other blended formulations are part of the success story.
November 24, 2022
A single manufacturing process creates more than 4 billion tons of product per year. Since the process requires temperatures of 1450 degrees C, it is energy-intensive. There's another challenge as well. Calcination, the chemical reaction at the heart of the process, releases copious amounts of carbon dioxide. The product? Cement.
November 03, 2022
Just how many tires get discarded every year? More than a billion globally; about 300 million in the United States. Recycling this many tires is an ongoing logistical challenge. On top of that, there’s a backlog of tires that have piled up over the years. The EPA estimates that there are 2-3 billion old tires across the country.
October 27, 2022
In the span of only 150 years, reinforced concrete became one of the world's most significant building materials. The roads we drive on, the buildings where we work, and the homes we live in all rely on the strength of reinforced concrete.
The program is delivered in one (1) module and it should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. You will receive a certificate of completion once you pass the quiz. The bookmarking feature will allow you to leave the course and resume where you left off when you return.