Essroc has signed an agreement to acquire the Holcim (US) Inc. slag cement grinding plant in Camden, N.J., along with an Everett, Mass., cement terminal. With a capacity of 700,000 metric tons, the Delaware River facility stands to triple the slag cement output for Essroc, which mills the supplementary binder at Picton, Ontario; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Middlebranch, Ohio, operations.
“The acquisition reiterates Essroc’s commitment to the Northeast market,” said CEO Francesco Carantani. “With the focus on sustainability and durability, there is a projected growth in the demand and usage of slag cement … Slag cement compliments Italcementi’s i.nova marketing approach by offering products based on market needs and differentiated by performance.”
Sale of the New Jersey and Massachusetts properties is pending completion of a Holcim Ltd. and Lafarge Group merger projected for July. The European parent companies have jointly announced a package of Lafarge North America and Holcim (US) assets they will unload following negotiations with the Federal Trade Commission, whose approval would weigh on a merged entity with strong cement, aggregate and concrete positions in major U.S. markets.
