Headlining guest speakers for the June 4 Ste. Gen cement plant inaugural event, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood praised Holcim for creating jobs (the operation has 250 employees), thus playing an important role in the nation’s economic recovery, and making a product that will play a key role in rebuilding transportation infrastructure through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
Sources: CP staff; Holcim (US) Inc., Waltham, Mass.
Headlining guest speakers for the June 4 Ste. Gen cement plant inaugural event, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood praised Holcim for creating jobs (the operation has 250 employees), thus playing an important role in the nation’s economic recovery, and supplying a product key to rebuilding transportation infrastructure through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
“As we finish out this portion of economic recovery, we will work with our friends in Congress on a new transportation bill, he affirmed. There will be a large number of jobs that will continue in transportation in building roads, fixing bridges, and making sure we have the kind of high-speed rail system that I think America really wants. But, we can’t do it without cement. So, we are delighted to pass by here today and say ÎCongratulationsÌ on using our great natural resources here in Missouri and the great natural resource of the river to deliver this product around the country.”
Also on hand from the Obama Administration was U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Regina Benjamin, M.D., whose connection to Holcim goes back to her days running the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic, destroyed in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Alabama Gulf Coast. In the midst of early-stage recovery efforts, Dr. Benjamin was contacted by the plant manager of Holcim’s Theodore, Ala., facility with a donation of money and cement to aid in rebuilding the clinic. Additionally, plant employees organized and challenged other local business to likewise donate funds and services. Dr. Benjamin commended Holcim’s occupational, environmental and community health practices.
Other speakers and attendees for the official opening of the massive, Mississippi River-front operation included U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce Nicole Lamb-Hale; Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO, 3rd District); Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO, 8th District); Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder; and, Ambassador of Switzerland Urs Ziswiler. Holcim Ltd. Executive Committee Chairman Benoit Koch, Holcim (US) President and CEO Bernard Terver, Holcim (US) Vice President of Manufacturing, and Ste. Genevieve Plant Manager Jeff Ouhl spoke at lunch.