Officials of the Southwest’s newest integrated player held a mid-June grand opening for a $300 million, 600,000-plus-mtpy-capacity cement plant in northern Arizona. More than 10 years in the making, Drake Cement is located in Yavapai County, near the historic rail town of Paulden and 35 miles north of Prescott.
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Debt crisis could usher 13% cement consumption drop
Inaction by Congress and the White House on the federal debt ceiling could derail the fragile U.S. economic recovery, spurring a second recession and adversely impacting cement shipments, according to a recent Portland Cement Association report. A federal default stemming from the absence of a higher debt ceiling would affect business, consumer and bank confidence, leading to a rise in…
Read MoreWatson takes helm at Cemex USA, joins Monterrey executive committee
As part of a global management realignment around six regional units in mid-March, Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V. named Karl Watson, Jr., president of Cemex USA in Houston. He had served as Eastern region president, based in West Palm Beach, and is the top Rinker Materials Corp. executive to have transitioned to Cemex USA.
Read MoreCemex begins supplying 500k+ tons for Panama Canal expansion
Cemex has begun supplying cement as part of its contract to provide over 500,000 tons of cement to “Consorcio Grupo Unidos por el Canal,” the primary contractor for the Panama Canal expansion project. The contract represents an integral phase of the Canal expansion project, which includes two locks, the excavation of access channels to the new locks, and the widening…
Read MoreCement production hits 28-year low
The U.S. Geological Survey reported its final 2010 domestic cement statistics, confirming the historically weak consumption levels in Portland Cement Association forecasts. Last year saw about 61 million tons of portland cement and 1.8 million tons of masonry cement produced at 102 plants in 36 states, plus two plants in Puerto Rico. Overall production was the lowest since 1982 and…
Read MorePCA Economist Sullivan presents tepid residential outlook at IBS
Ed Sullivan, Portland Cement Association’s chief economist, presented his residential construction forecast and how it compared to the consensus of construction economists’ expectations at the 2011 International Builders’ Show on Jan. 12 in Orlando, Fla.
Read MorePCA names Titan America, Cemex chiefs to top board posts
Convening in Palm Beach, Fla., for its fall meeting, the Portland Cement Association board of directors elected Titan America CEO Aris Papadopoulos chairman and Cemex USA President Gilberto Perez vice chairman, both for two-year terms. Papadopoluous, who succeeds GCC of America’s Enrique Escalante, has been at the helm of Titan America and Titan Atlantic in Norfolk, Va., since 1994, overseeing…
Read MoreWorld slag demand on the rise as supplies declines
Driven by low-carbon and other environmental policies, demand for ferrous slag in cement and aggregates industries worldwide stands to outstrip supply, according to a new study released by IntertechPira, Leatherhead, UK. No longer mere disposable iron and steel manufacturing by-products, the data suggests, ferrous slag, i.e., blast furnace and various types of steel slag, will become increasingly marketable as consumption…
Read MoreCalPortland to pay $350K in penalties for Clean Air violations
The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, recently lodged a consent decree resolving Clean Air Act claims against CalPortland Co. concerning the company’s Rillito, Ariz., cement plant. EPA’s complaint alleged that CalPortland did not obtain permits required by the Clean Air Act. The company agreed that it will either upgrade equipment, such as baghouses…
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