Displaying items by tag: US
New vice president for Ash Grove
24 July 2013US: Ash Grove Cement Company has announced that Stuart E Tomlinson has joined the company as its vice president of manufacturing for the Midwest region and will be based in the company's home office in Overland Park, Kansas. He join will Ash Grove on 15 August 2013 and replaces Edwin Pierce, who will retire on 31 December 2013.
"Stu is a cement industry veteran and he possesses more than three decades of experience," said Ash Grove's senior vice president of manufacturing. "He is an industry leader and will be an important part of the Ash Grove leadership team."
In his new role, Tomlinson will direct Ash Grove's cement operations in the Midwest region, which includes four cement manufacturing plants in Chanute (Kansas), Foreman (Arkansas), Louisville (Nebraska) and Midlothian (Texas).
US: Lafarge North America has agreed with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US Department of Justice and New York State to provide US$1.5m towards projects to reduce air pollution in the community surrounding its Ravena cement plant. The agreement also grants Lafarge additional time, until 1 July 2016, to reduce air pollution from the cement plant.
"This agreement will reduce the pollution limits required by the settlement at this facility by providing a significant amount of funding for projects that will improve local air quality," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A Enck.
A March 2010 settlement between the federal government and Lafarge North America over violations of the Clean Air Act required that the cement producer either install controls on two kilns at its Ravena plant or replace those kilns with a lower emitting kiln by 1 January 2015. In return for the deadline extension, Lafarge has committed to interim air pollution limits at the existing kilns intended to result in the same or higher reductions as would have been required by the original agreement in addition to funding local air pollution reduction measures.
Holcim agrees to pay fine at Hagerstown
17 July 2013US: Holcim (US), the current owner-operator of the Hagerstown cement plant in Hagerstown, Maryland and St. Lawrence Cement, which previously owned the same facility, have agreed to pay a US$700,000 fine and improve emission controls at the facility to settle alleged air pollution violations, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The action against the Hagerstown plant is part of an on-going nationwide EPA effort to tighten pollution controls in the cement industry.
The proposed federal court consent decree requires Holcim to install 'advanced pollution controls' at the plant, Holcim also pledged to spend at least US$150,000 to replace outdated environmental protection equipment.
"It has been a long standing issue and now the company feels that it really is in its best interest to find a resolution," said Holcim spokeswoman Robin DeCarlo.
The Department of Justice filed suit on behalf of EPA in 2011 accusing Holcim and the plant's prior owner, St. Lawrence Cement, of violating the federal Clean Air Act from 2003 to 2007 by modifying the facility's cement kiln in a way that produced 'significant' increased emissions of SO2.
TXI posts improved results for 2012-13
17 July 2013US: Texas Industries, Inc. (TXI), the leading cement producer in Texas and a major player in the Californian cement market, has reported financial results for the quarter and year ending on 31 May 2013. Net income for the quarter was US$44.1m. Net income including income net of tax from discontinued operations of US$28.5m. Net income for the quarter ending on 31 May 2012 was US$60.2m
Net income for the year ending on 31 May 2013 was US$24.6m and included a pre-tax gain on the disposition of discontinued operations of US$41.1m. Net income for the year ending on 31 May 2012 was US$7.5m.
"The fourth quarter certainly benefited from the continuing recovery of construction activity in our major markets," said Mel Brekhus, CEO of TXI. "Shipments of all products reflect double digit percentage increases compared to a year ago."
"We also achieved two strategic milestones during the quarter," continued Brekhus. "The commissioning of our 1.4Mt/yr cement kiln at our central Texas plant (Hunter) was finished late in the quarter and we completed the acquisition of 42 ready-mix plants in east Texas. Both events significantly improve our ability to take advantage of the strong recovery under way in Texas."
US: Texas-based cement producer Capitol Aggregates Cement is preparing to retrofit a carbon capture plant to its cement plant. The project, in conjunction with Skyonic Corporation, is expected to profitably removal more than 300,000t of CO2 from the plant's emissions.
"The Capitol SkyMine plant will mark the first time that carbon-negative chemistry has reached the commercial stage," said Joe Jones, founder and CEO of Skyonic. Skyonic Corporation has secured US$128m funding to support the project from new investors Cenovus Energy, BlueCap Partners, Toyo-Thai Corporation and Energy Technology Ventures. The funds will also help support Skyonic's other global projects, research and development and operations expenses. In addition the US Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory will provide US$28m towards the project.
The retrofit plant is expected to directly capture 83,000t of CO2 from the Capitol Aggregates' emissions. In addition by using this captured CO2 to make products that would otherwise generate additional CO2 , the plant will offset an additional 220,000t/yr, once fully operational in 2014. Skyonic is also expected to create more than 200 jobs through the plant's construction and ongoing operations.
Skyonic's electrolytic SkyMine(R) technology will selectively capture CO2, acid gases and heavy metals from the flue gas and mineralise the captured pollutants into safe, stable, solid products. Skyonic state that their carbon capture process does so at a lower cost than its competitors. The plant is expected to turn a profit from the sale of these products within three years.
EPA fines Ash Grove US$2.5m
21 June 2013US: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined Ash Grove Cement US$2.5m and is forcing the American cement producer to invest US$30m in pollution controls at its plants in nine US states that are alleged to have violated the Clean Air Act.
The EPA and the US Department of Justice announced the penalty jointly on 19 June 2013. The EPA said that the action would reduce thousands of tonnes of harmful pollutants at plants in Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Texas. In addition Ash Grove Cement will spend US$750,000 towards mitigating the effects of past excess emissions.
Ash Grove acknowledged the agreement in a statement and said that it is striving to comply with environmental regulations at all its facilities. It disputes that it violated the Clean Air Act, saying it opted to enter this agreement with federal regulators rather than face rising costs in time and financial resources that would have accompanied further discussions with the EPA.
"The agreement with the EPA will allow Ash Grove to move forward and provide an environmentally sustainable product that is the foundation of our economy," said Charles T Sunderland, the company's chairman and chief executive officer.
The EPA said that its agreement with Ash Grove Cement, lodged on 19 June 2013 in the US District Court for the District of Kansas, is the first settlement with a cement producer that also requires injunctive relief and emission limits for particulate matter, a combination of combustion gasses and fine dust. There is a 30-day public comment period before final court approval.
The US$2.5m penalty will be distributed to eight states and one agency that took part in the agreement: Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Washington and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. Ash Grove will also spend US$750,000 on a project to replace old diesel truck engines at its facilities in Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas, estimated to reduce smog-forming nitrogen oxides by approximately 27t/yr.
US: Texas Industries (TXI) has announced that its board of directors has named Tom Ransdell as its chairman of the board effective from 18 June 2013. Ransdell has been an independent director of TXI since 2005 and has many years of experience in the construction materials industry. Ransdell now fills the position of chairman created by the untimely death of Bob Rogers on 11 June 2013.
Rogers was the son of the founder of TXI, Ralph Rogers, and was CEO of the company from 1970 until 2004 when he retired. From 2004 until 11 June 2013 he served as chairman of the board of TXI.
TXI is the largest producer of cement in Texas and a major cement producer in California. TXI is also a major supplier of construction aggregate, ready-mix concrete and concrete products.
Cemex to expand Odessa on back of oil boom
31 May 2013US: The Mexican multinational cement producer Cemex has announced that it plans to expand the production capacity at its Odessa, Texas cement plant by 0.345Mt/yr to nearly 0.9Mt/yr. The company will expand the plant in order to keep pace with rapidly growing demand in its West Texas market, which is led mainly by the oil and gas industry. By using existing assets and producing value-added products, the company expects to achieve strong returns on its investment.
"This expansion reinforces our longstanding history of serving West Texas and the oil and gas industry by providing superior products coupled with superior customer service," said Karl Watson, Jr, President of Cemex USA. "We look forward to remaining a top cement provider to the oil and gas industry as well as supporting the region's growth in infrastructure and residential construction."
The demand for specialty cement products used in well construction is growing as a result of the use of more efficient extraction technologies, such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Oil wells using this technology typically reach depths of thousands of meters. Specialty well cement is required for the complex application and extreme conditions to which the wells are exposed. The expansion will use state-of-the-art production technology to achieve higher fuel efficiency and improved productivity. The expansion will also include an improved higher capacity load out system, allowing for a more efficient truck loading process to accommodate the region's growing demand for cement.
TXI Hunter cement plant second kiln commissioned
22 May 2013US: Texas Industries (TXI) has announced that the second kiln at its Hunter cement plant has achieved operational status. The 1.4Mt/yr kiln line started in November 2012 and has realised its design performance capabilities and is producing efficiently.
"The success of this process is the direct result of the hard work of a dedicated team. The challenges faced when starting up a new kiln line are many and the teamwork and communication of our people made all the difference," said Jamie Rogers, TXI's Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
The company also announced that it will accelerate maintenance and upgrade projects on the original production line, Kiln 1. Pending successful completion of plant maintenance and equipment upgrades, TXI expects to bring Kiln 1 back online during the first quarter of 2014. Combined with the newly-added capacity of Kiln 2, the upgrades will double TXI Hunter's cement production capacity to 2.3Mt/yr.
TXI is the largest producer of cement in Texas and a major cement producer in California. TXI is also a major supplier of construction aggregate, ready-mix concrete and concrete products.
Vulcan Q1 loss deepens
02 May 2013US: Vulcan Materials Company saw its loss increase year-on-year to US$54.8m in the first quarter of 2013, from US$52.1m in the same period of 2012. The US construction materials company attributed the widening loss to bad weather, lower production volumes and rising costs.
"Housing starts, as measured on a seasonally adjusted annual rate, are now more than 1 million, indicating the beginnings of a broad-based recovery in residential construction. Growth in residential construction activity and its traditional follow-on impact to private non-residential construction underpins our expectations for volume and earnings improvement in 2013," said Don James, chairman and chief executive officer.
Despite the loss, in revenue increased slightly to US$538m. Vulcan shipped 248,000t in the first quarter of 2013, for internal and external consumption, a 14% rise from the same period in 2012. For the remainder of 2013 Vulcan expects its cement business earnings to improve in 2013 due to lower production costs.