The Portland Cement Association (PCA) announced winners of the 2016 Safety Innovation Awards, which recognize creative safety enhancing projects in the cement industry. Presented at the PCA Fall Congress meeting in Chicago, the winners were determined by a panel of judges that evaluated innovative submissions from across the country in three categories: distribution, general facility and milling/grinding.
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Titan America Celebrates 10 years of Energy Star Certification
Titan America announced that its Roanoke Cement facility in Virginia earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Energy Star certification for the tenth consecutive year. Titan’s Pennsuco plant in Medley, Fla., is celebrating nine years of certification. To qualify for Energy Star certification, plants must perform in the top 25 percentile nationwide for total energy efficiency (thermal and electrical) and…
Read MoreCemex Removes Colorado Facilities From GCC Deal
Cemex reached an agreement to sell its Odessa, Texas, cement plant, and two cement terminals and building materials businesses in El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, N.M., to Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) for $306 million. Absent from the deal is the Cemex Colorado assets – Lyons mill, Florence terminal – that were outlined in an initial announcement in May,…
Read MoreCement Shipments Rise 5 Percent in May
Total shipments of portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico in May 2016 were about 8.2 million metric tons (Mt), up by 5.1 percent from sales in May 2015, according to the most recent USGS Mineral Industry Survey. The leading producing states for portland and blended cement in May were California, Texas, Missouri, Florida and Michigan,…
Read MoreMcInnis Cement Project Sees New Ownership
Pension fund giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec announced that it will take control of the McInnis Cement project in the Gaspé peninsula in the wake of massive cost overruns, reported Reuters Canada. It has also agreed to a new C$250 million ($192.56 million) round of financing to complete the Port-Daniel-Gascons facility.
Read MoreEagle Materials Earns Record Quarterly Revenue
Eagle Materials Inc. announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 ended June 30, 2016. The company reported record revenues of $297.5 million, up 4 percent; earnings before interest and income taxes of $71.2 million, up 18 percent; net earnings of $45.3 million, up 20 percent; and net earnings per diluted share of $0.93, up 24 percent.
Read MoreCement Union Official, Attorney Found Guilty of Whistle-Blower Retaliation
A ruling in a whistle-blower lawsuit brought by the U.S. Labor Department found that the leader of a southern California cement workers union and an attorney for the organization’s trust funds retaliated against two employees who questioned the labor official’s financial practices, reported the Los Angeles Times. The federal court ordered Scott Brain, who heads the Cement Masons Union Local…
Read MoreHeidelbergCement Releases Positive Second Quarter Results
In the second quarter of 2016, HeidelbergCement’s sales volumes increased in all business lines. The positive market environment, particularly in Europe, Australia and the United States, made a significant contribution to this growth, noted the company.
Read MoreEPA: Cemex to Invest $10M, Reduce Air Pollution at Five Plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement with Cemex, under which the company will invest approximately $10 million to cut emissions of harmful air pollution at five of its cement manufacturing plants to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. The facilities are located in Demopolis, Ala.; Louisville, Ky.; Knoxville,…
Read MoreHeidelbergCement, Italcementi Merger Moves Forward
HeidelbergCement AG and Italcementi S.p.A. reached an agreement on June 17 with the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), clearing the last antitrust hurdle in their pursuit to create the world’s second largest cement producer. Under the agreement, there will be a divestment of operations in the U.S., primarily consisting of Italcementi’s Martinsburg, W.Va., cement plant and up to 11…
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