Author: Cement Optimized News

North American portland cement consumption increased 11.6 percent in the second quarter of 2012 against the same quarter in 2011. Both the U.S. and Canada recorded double-digit gains of 11.8 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively, according to Portland Cement Association’s Survey of Portland Cement by User Group report.

After large-scale floods destroyed vital Iowa infrastructure in 2011, Ash Grove Cement Co.’s Louisville, Neb., plant stepped up production to meet the demand of several large-scale reconstruction projects. The company supplied cement for the reconstruction of Interstate 680 and the Keg Creek Bridge replacement on US Highway 6, east of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Both projects won recognition in the America’s…

A recently proposed standard for particulate matter for the cement industry will allow plants to develop new control and compliance strategies to address this and other emissions while preserving vital manufacturing jobs, according to statements Portland Cement Association issued recently at a public hearing in Arlington, Texas.

Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V. announced recently that it has successfully completed the previously announced refinancing of its financing agreement, dated as of August 14, 2009, as amended. Fernando Gonzalez, executive vice president of Finance and Administration of Cemex, stated “Cemex is pleased to have accomplished this significant milestone, with support from over 55 banks and institutions. We intend to continue…

The Holcim (US) Inc. cement plant in Holly Hill, S.C., has been named the medium-sized manufacturer of the year by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. “Holcim believes that active involvement in the communities in which it operates is essential to the success of its business,” the chamber said in an announcement about the honor.

Source: Eagle Materials Inc., Dallas; Lafarge Group, Paris; Staff reports Eagle Materials announced recently that the company has entered into a definitive agreement with Lafarge North America to purchase for $446 million Lafarge’s Sugar Creek, Mo., and Tulsa, Okla., cement operations, as well as related assets, which include six distribution terminals, two aggregates quarries, eight ready-mixed plants and a fly…

Source: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill. Joplin Concrete will lead a host of Missouri professionals in sponsoring “Ideas for a Stronger Joplin,” October 20, 2012, from 10 a.m–2 p.m., at the Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center in Joplin. Walter Wulf, CEO of Joplin parent company Monarch Cement, will be master of ceremonies for the free event framed around the…

Source: Cement Association of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario To remind building designers and contractors across Canada of the benefits of using concrete for building and infrastructure projects, CAC is hosting Rediscover Concrete seminars and meetings. “Our seminars will engage decision makers across the country and encourage discussions surrounding the sustainability of cement and concrete for building and infrastructure projects,” stated Michael…

Sources: CP staff; IBA Green Inc., Newport Beach, Calif. A subsidiary of a publicly traded energy company, Pioneer Exploration, is claiming processes to neutralize the purported toxicity of coal combustion fly ash and waste incineration bottom ash, then recycle treated material into infrastructure-suited geopolymer concrete.