Investors back cement-wise artificial intelligence tech developer Seebo

Sources: Seebo, Tel Aviv; CP staff A $24 million financing round will position Seebo to enhance its Process-Based Artificial Intelligence solution for cement companies and their peers across industrial and consumer products. Company programmers have demonstrated the solution’s potential to assist cement operators in reducing kiln feed variance and improving clinker quality; increasing kiln throughput; extending refractory service life; optimizing…

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Cemex upgrades Mexico mill to feed U.S. West Coast terminals

Sources: Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico; CP staff Cemex will invest around $15 million to fire up an idled kiln at its CPN cement plant in northwest Mexico, yielding more powder for terminals north of the border by mid-2021. The producer presently supplies more than 3 million tons of cement annually across Arizona, California and Nevada from its Victorville…

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CalPortland migrates CNG power from concrete mixers to cement bulk tankers

Sources: CalPortland Co., Glendora, Calif.; CP staff  Eyeing deliveries throughout southern California, CalPortland is deploying a compressed natural gas bulk tanker fleet as part of a strategy to capture fuel economy and lower the net greenhouse gas emissions associated with cement production at its Oro Grande plant. The producer has staged 24 CNG-fueled tractors with double bulk trailers along a…

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St. Marys, McInnis Cement pursue joint venture

Sources: Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Montreal; CP staff The parent companies of St. Marys Cement Inc., Toronto, and McInnis Cement Inc., Montreal plan to combine their production and distribution assets serving Canada and United States markets from the Atlantic seaboard to the Great Lakes. With respective stakes split 83 percent and 17 percent, their joint venture will…

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PCA projects minor 2020-21 shipment drops, or gain, under two recovery models

Sources: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.; CP staff

Portland Cement Association Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Ed Sullivan offers two U.S. cement consumption scenarios around “U” or “W” shaped economic recovery curves, with respective 2020 and 2021 figures of -3.4 percent or +1.7 percent and -4.8 percent and -2.7 percent—this year’s projections measured against 2019 shipments.

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CalPortland blended cement series clips carbon dioxide load

Sources: CalPortland Co., Glendora, Calif.; CP staff

The two charter offerings in a new CalPortland line of blended portland-limestone cements (PLC) have an embodied carbon level about 10 percent below that of common ASTM C 150 materials. ADVANCEMENT LT (Light) is a lighter colored, higher albedo Type IL PLC suiting concrete in design and architectural conditions. ADVANCEMENT HS (High Sulfate) is formulated for general use concrete or when high sulfate resistance is required. 

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Energy Star cement mills log Btu savings by the trillions

Sources: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.; CP staff

Thirteen portland cement plants earned U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Certification for 2019: Alamo Cement Co., San Antonio; Argos USA, Calera, Ala. and Harleyville, S.C.; Ash Grove Cement, Seattle; Buzzi Unicem USA, Festus, Mo. and Chattanooga, Tenn.; CalPortland Co., Rillito, Ariz.; Cemex USA, Brooksville and Miami, Fla.; GCC of America, Pueblo, Colo.; Salt River Materials, Clarkdale, Ariz.; plus, Titan America, Medley, Fla. and Troutville, Va. 

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