Displaying items by tag: Holcim US

US: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim US has opened a 10MW solar power plant at its Hagerstown, Maryland cement plant in partnership with Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company. The producer says that the power plant will supply 25% of the cement plant’s energy needs, reducing its carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by 12,400t/yr.

LafargeHolcim cement US operations chief executive officer (CEO) Jamie Gentoso said, “As solar technologies continue to improve, this abundant energy source stands out as both a sustainable and economical solution to follow through on our commitment to minimise emissions and reduce our carbon footprint. We already have access to large areas of land with a high concentration of sunlight, so utilising solar energy is an easy decision. As we strive toward becoming a net-zero company, clean energy is a key part of our strategy. We hope to install enough renewable energy to power all of our plants and give back to the surrounding communities by 2026; this new solar array is just the beginning for us.”

US: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim US has rebranded its blended cement and supplementary cementitious materials range as Envirocore. Envirocore products include OneCem Portland limestone cement, MaxCem blended cement and NewCem slag cement.

The company noted that the partial substitution of cement with supplementary cementitious materials “not only results in more durable, high-performance concrete, but also lowers energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. CO₂ emissions are reduced by approximately 800,000kg/t of clinker replaced.” It also called on consumers to “adopt solutions that lower carbon emissions.”

US: Holcim US’s 1.9Mt/yr Portland cement plant in Colorado has become the latest site to host a large-scale cement plant carbon capture and storage (CCS) study. Holcim US, in partnership withCanada-based Svante, France-based Total and US-based Occidental subsidiary Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, will install a facility designed to capture 0.73Mt/yr of CO2, which Occidental will take for safe storage underground. The study will assess the financial viability and design requirements of such an installation on a permanent basis.

US: Argos USA’s Harleyville cement plant in South Carolina and Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua’s (GCC) Pueblo plant in Colorado have been awarded Energy Star certification by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the first time. Altogether 100 manufacturing plants across different industries earned the certification in 2018.

24 cement plants received the certification in 13 states. These cement companies included Alamo Cement, Argos USA, Buzzi Unicem, CalPortland, Cemex, Continental Cement, GCC, Holcim US, Lehigh Cement, Salt River Materials and Titan America.

“America’s cement manufacturers’ commitment to sustainable manufacturing have led to improved equipment reliability, energy efficiency, and the increased the use of alternative fuels,” said Portland Cement Association president and chief executive officer (CEO) Mike Ireland.

US: A US$2.3m air pollution settlement in 2006 from the Holcim US Midlothian cement plant in Texas has ended. The Sue Pope Pollution Reduction Fund has made its last donation of about US$75,000 to the Midlothian school district’s special needs programs, according to the Dallas Morning News newspaper. The final payment came from interest remaining from the original settlement between Holcim US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Downwinders at Risk environmental group. As part of the deal Downwinders at Risk agreed to stop fighting Holcim’s plans to expand cement production at the site in return for US$2.25m funding towards local projects and an understanding that the cement plant would upgrade its emission filters.

US: Holcim US has proposed a 10MW solar unit for its Hagerstown cement plant in Maryland. NRG Solar Hagerstown, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, will build the array and lease the site for 35 years, according to Herald-Mail Media. The solar unit could meet up to 20% of the plant’s annual power requirements and the project is expected to last for at least 20 years. Construction is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2018 and it is planned to last up to five months. No value for the project has been disclosed.

US: The Holcim US Ada plant in Oklahoma, a member of LafargeHolcim, has seen the completion of its three-year, US$100m new kiln and modernisation project. The project has boosted the plant’s capacity by 20%, raising its clinker capacity to 0.68Mt/yr from 0.62Mt/yr. The upgrades allow the plant to conform to the US National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulations.

Mike Langan, Ada plant manager, said, "NESHAP is one performance standard that's fairly restrictive. New Source Performance Standards are the most restrictive environmental regulations in our industry and this plant meets that. So it is much cleaner environmentally (than before)."
The upgrades made it possible for the plant to increase its use of fuel derived from scrap tires, replacing at least 20% of the fossil fuel used in the new kiln line. That change will make the operation cleaner and more efficient, supporting LafargeHolcim's sustainable-development goals.

US: Holcim US has officially completed its US$96m upgrade project to its Hagerstown cement plant in Maryland. The two-year modernisation project has helped the plant to adhere to NESHAP environmental rules and has increased production capacity at the site by 0.2Mt/yr.

"A cornerstone of the regional community for 113 years, we recognise the importance of this facility to the Hagerstown community," said John Stull, chief executive officer of US cement operations for LafargeHolcim. "Our investment to modernise clinker production represents our continued commitment to our customers and local manufacturing. The facility will continue to be a strong and reliable partner to the community for many more years to come."

The upgrades to the plant should deliver a more than a 60% reduction to nitrogen oxides (NO_x), approximately a 50% reduction to sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and more than a 75% reduction to Particulate Matter (PM) emissions from the plant.

US: According to local media MiBiz, the planned merger of Lafarge and Holcim will result in a new owner for a Holcim-owned cement plant in Grandville and could lead to more competitive cement pricing in the West Michigan market.

In response to an antitrust complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that the LafargeHolcim merger 'would likely substantially lessen competition,' in 12 US markets, including in Grand Rapids, the parties have agreed to divest 24 facilities in North America. Among the sites is a Holcim (US) -owned cement plant in Grandville, which the company plans to sell to Buzzi Unicem USA. The acquisition of the Grandville plant should be completed in July 2015, according to Patrick Lydon, vice president and general counsel at Buzzi Unicem. Lydon said that the Grandville plant would be the company's first venture into the Michigan market. He does not expect any significant changes to operations.

The FTC weighed in on the proposed merger to create LafargeHolcim, the world's largest cement company with a projected US$35bn in annual revenues, because it said that the acquisition would further concentrate the industry in 12 'already highly-concentrated' markets. In the affected markets, Holcim and Lafarge are either the only two suppliers of Portland cement or slag cement or are 'at most' two of just four suppliers.

"If the merger between Holcim and Lafarge went through as originally planned, it would have likely had a short-term impact, but even more of an impact on long-term competitive pricing," said Greg Kerkstra, president and CEO of Grandville-based Kerkstra Precast Inc. "Now that the FTC has determined a divestiture of some of these assets in particular markets, that could actually encourage even more competition than before the merger, in our eyes."

Other affected markets in Michigan include Detroit and northern Michigan. Holcim is selling a cement terminal in Elmira, Michigan to Buzzi Unicem and it is seeking buyers for terminals in Detroit and Dundee.

US: Holcim (US) Inc has announced that four of its plants earned the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) prestigious Energy Star award.

"Holcim is grateful to, once again, be awarded for our commitment to sustainability," said Filiberto Ruiz, president and CEO of Holcim (US) and Aggregate Industries US. "We understand how important it is for our facilities to have corporate values in place that help protect the environment and we recognise that this should be a priority each and every day."

This marks the third time that Holcim's Midlothian plant in Midlothian, Texas has received the award, while the Devil's Slide plant in Morgan, Utah has been honoured for its seventh consecutive year. The Holly Hill plant in Holly Hill, South Carolina and the St Genevieve plant in Bloomsdale, Missouri have both received the award for the fifth time.