A Dutch company, HBG Constructors, American subsidiary of Hollandsche Beton Groep (HBG) (beton means concrete) has achieved together with the American company Lane an order to build a 17 km highway in North Carolina. The road, with six lanes and 23 bridges crossing it is to be delivered at the end of 2004. HBG will carry out the design and the building of the project. If NC is ifp, then HBG will adapt to it, it is simple like that. Is North Carolina a 'metric' or a foot-pound state? I wonder whether ever American contractors will get orders to build roads in the EU, as they have succeeded so wonderfully in forcing the large majority of US states to revert. If ever they want to expand to the EU, they will have to use the metric system of course, even in Britain! And as they are rabidly anti-metric they may miss out, shooting themselves in the foot and adding to the American trade deficit. That Mr. Nayaert from Michigan, who was one of the main persons responsible for the reversion of that state, will never get an order for his company to come to the EU with his ifp equipment to build roads and other objects. And training our workers in the use of that trash is a definite no-no.
Han Historian of Dutch Metrication, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
