Ozinga has broken ground on a 1-million-tpy cementitious materials finishing mill in East Chicago, Ind. Located along Lake Michigan, with direct access to rail and truck as well as waterway routes, it is positioned to dispatch low-carbon binder loads to a broad swath of markets in the U.S. and Canada.
“Ozinga has always believed that true innovation isn’t just about progress, it’s about purpose,” said CEO Marty Ozinga. “This facility is more than a plant. It’s a commitment to the future of American manufacturing and strengthening communities for generations to come.”
The producer will deploy one of the largest vertical roller mills in North America, a Gebr. Pfeiffer MVR5300-C6, to process ASTM C989-grade slag cement plus proprietary blends under its ASTM C1157 performance-level CarbonSense brand. Ozinga team members promote the latter for its potential to deliver embodied carbon reduction up to 80% when measured against ordinary portland cement. At optimal levels, East Chicago mill cementitious materials output could offset 700,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions typically associated with finished concrete slabs and structures.
In addition to marking a major milestone in its mission to deliver net zero concrete by 2030, Ozinga views the facility as a timely response to the growing demand for low carbon concrete in data center construction and other mission-critical infrastructure projects across North America. The producer’s leadership in sustainable building materials has been strengthened by partnerships with Meta Platforms, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers, and major general contractors. Collaborations have yielded AI-optimized, low-carbon concrete for Meta’s DeKalb, Ill. data center, and enabled a 64% reduction in embodied carbon metrics for Amazon Web Services’ New Carlisle, Ind. data center.
The new lakefront mill and related operations are projected to create upward of 150 construction and long-term full-time jobs. “This is the kind of investment that provides real opportunity for local families,” affirmed East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland.
Mill positions will extend a payroll exceeding 2,500 across Ozinga ready mixed concrete production and cement or aggregate distribution sites in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Florida, plus sister field operations.
