PCA tallies Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality year one takeaways

Portland Cement Association members marked the first year of their Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality by 2050 by highlighting key deliverables for public and private construction market stakeholders. Released in October 2021, the Roadmap outlines strategies in a value chain—Clinker, Cement, Concrete, Construction, Carbonation—through which cement producers and their downstream partners can attain carbon neutrality in finished structures or slabs over…

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CalPortland asks the Supreme Court to draw a line on union recklessness

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments this term involving one of the West Coast’s top cement, aggregate and ready mixed concrete players (note Government Affairs, page 11). CalPortland Co. counsel will demonstrate why justices should reverse a Washington State Supreme Court decision shielding International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 174 from liability in a 2017 Seattle plant stunt…

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Cement producers pinpoint Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality deliverables

Sources: Portland Cement Association, Washington, D.C.; CP staff Portland Cement Association members are marking the first year of their Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality by 2050 by highlighting key deliverables for public and private construction market stakeholders. Released in mid-October 2021, the Roadmap outlines strategies in a value chain—Clinker, Cement, Concrete, Construction, Carbonation—through which cement producers and their downstream partners can…

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Giant Cement to add 60,000-ton, coastal Georgia terminal

Sources: Giant Cement Co., Harleysville, S.C.; CP staff Giant Cement will increase its capacity to serve existing and new Southeast concrete accounts with construction of a 60,000-ton import terminal on the Savannah River, set for operation by January 2024. An elongated parcel for a cement storage dome and rail or truck loadout areas was secured through an agreement with Georgia…

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Lehigh Hanson brand sunset signals a new worldwide identity

Sources: Lehigh Hanson Inc., Irving, Texas; CP staff Lehigh Hanson plans a Q1 2023 transition to Heidelberg Materials, following German parent company HeidelbergCement AG’s adoption of the new banner, effective September 20. Heidelberg Materials represents “a brand with global reach and focus on sustainability, digitalization and leadership in the building materials industry,” management notes. In North America, it will unify—and…

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Engineering giant Arup to eye cement projects through Climate Bonds lens

Sources: Arup and Climate Bonds Initiative, London; CP staff The Climate Bonds Standard Board has certified global built environment engineering consultant Arup as an Approved Verifier. Arup Advisory Services team members will participate in a Climate Bonds Initiative industry group to finalize criteria for cement, steel and hydrogen projects viewed as key to a carbon-free economy transition. They will likewise…

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Natural gas-powered mixers, tractors roll into Cemex fleet

In one of the latest moves to achieve carbon neutrality in cement, aggregate and concrete production and delivery by 2050, Cemex USA has added 30 mixer trucks and eight tractors, all running on compressed natural gas or renewable natural gas. The vehicles are earmarked for the Lytle Creek operation in Rialto, Calif., where work on natural gas compressor and fueling…

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Permit compliance app paves Holcim Group ESG path

Chicago-based Holcim US will soon complete deployment of the Connected Worker environmental compliance platform throughout cement, aggregate and ready mixed operations. San Francisco software developer Parsable bills Connected Worker as a combination of a no-code platform and easy-to-use mobile app. The technology enables Holcim US to capture, record and analyze environmental work data in near real time, ultimately decreasing compliance…

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CalPortland, Martin Marietta ink third cement plant deal

Sources: Martin Marietta Materials, Raleigh, N.C.; CP staff Glendora, Calif.-based CalPortland Co. will build on cement production leadership (> 4 million tons, annual capacity) in its home state after entering a definitive agreement to acquire Martin Marietta Materials’ 1 million ton/year Tehachapi plant and companion terminals. Scheduled for an early-2023 closing, the $350 million transaction was announced six weeks after…

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GCC weighs freight costs vs. steep capital outlay in Texas plant expansion

Sources: GCC S.A.B. de C.V., Chihuahua, Mexico; CP staff GCC plans to add more than 1 million metric tons of annual capacity to its Odessa, Texas cement plant. The project’s $750 million budget will almost surely set a new dollar/ton of output watermark for a cement operation in North America, where recent outlays of comparable clinker capacity have trended below…

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