Source: Lafarge North America, Reston, Va. Each June, Lafarge facilities across North America and at its sister company sites around the world celebrate Health & Safety Month, renewing the company’s commitment to the health and safety of their employees, contractors, families and local communities with a month’s worth of awareness-raising activities and events. From healthy meals and fitness challenges to…
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Cement Totals— April 2011
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va. Total shipments of portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico were about 5.7 million mt in April 2011, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This was 14.0 percent lower compared with shipments for April 2010. Total shipments for the year through April were approximately 18.3 million mt, about 2 percent…
Read MoreArizona’s Drake Cement consummates Peruvian parent’s U.S. entry
Sources: Drake Cement, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Cementos Lima, S.A., Peru; Staff reports Officials of the Southwest’s newest integrated player held a mid-June grand opening for a $300 million, 600,000-plus tons/year 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…
Read MoreCemex to cut 2,800 jobs worldwide
Source: Reuters.com Mexico-based construction materials giant Cemex is planning to cut 6% of its workforce worldwide as part of a wider reorganization. Reuters reported the world’s third-largest cement maker said it hopes to generate $400 million in additional cash flow by the end of 2012 through cutting costs and improving underperforming businesses. The company employs about 46,500 people across the…
Read MoreCementos Argos becomes second major stakeholder in Class C ash formulator Ceratech
Sources: Ceratech Inc., Alexandria, Va.; Staff reports Only three months after announcing that third-largest coal producer Alpha Natural Resources had acquired a 10.3 percent of its business (with an option to increase the stake to 28.3 under certain future terms), Ceratech has accepted another strategic equity investment from Colombian cement giant Cementos Argos, the fourth-largest U.S. concrete producer. The buy-in…
Read More$225K EPA grant moves recycled glass cement substitute toward market
Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Staff reports On the heels of research detailed in its “Value-Added Use of Milled Mixed-Color Waste Glass as a Supplementary Cementitious Material in Environmentally Friendly and Energy-Efficient Concrete Building Construction” report, Lansing, Mich.-based Technova Corp. is among 10 recipients sharing $2.25 million in grants under the EPA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
Read MoreNew edition of Innovations in Portland Cement Manufacturing addresses today’s challenges
Source: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill. The new edition of Innovations in Portland Cement Manufacturing was released during the 2011 IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference, May 22-25, in St. Louis, Mo. The fully revised second edition highlights the complex challenges facing cement manufacturers in today’s regulatory and manufacturing arenas.
Read MoreBuzzi Unicem plants receive Energy Star honor
Source: Buzzi Unicem USA, Bethlehem, Pa. Buzzi Unicem USA recently announced that the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy have awarded three of the company’s U.S. cement plants the Energy Star designation for their superior energy performance. Buzzi’s plants in Festus, Mo., Maryneal, Texas, and Signal Mountain, Tenn., received the honor.
Read MoreEconomic study details cumulative impact of cement industry regulations
The U.S. cement industry–already one of the most heavily regulated in the country–is currently facing no fewer than seven different existing or proposed EPA regulatory standards that, cumulatively, will severely hamper the industry and the economy for minimal environmental benefit. A study, released by the Portland Cement Association (PCA), examines the cumulative impact of these regulations on the U.S. cement,…
Read MorePCA: Regs threaten repeat of oil import model in cement
In testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Portland Cement Association Chairman and Titan America CEO Aris Papadopoulos appealed for replacement of onerous regulations covering cement production with policies that promote job growth, investment certainty and responsible environmental stewardship. Subcommittee on Energy and Power Chair Ed Whitfield (R-KY) called to assess the impact of recent Environmental Protection…
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