Arizona’s Drake Cement consummates Peruvian parent’s U.S. entry

Sources: Drake Cement, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Cementos Lima, S.A., Peru; Staff reports Officials of the Southwest’s newest integrated player held a mid-June grand opening for a $300 million, 600,000-plus tons/year capacity cement plant in northern Arizona. More than 10 years in the making, Drake Cement is located in Yavapai County, near the historic rail town of Paulden and 35 miles north…

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Cemex to cut 2,800 jobs worldwide

Source: Reuters.com Mexico-based construction materials giant Cemex is planning to cut 6% of its workforce worldwide as part of a wider reorganization. Reuters reported the world’s third-largest cement maker said it hopes to generate $400 million in additional cash flow by the end of 2012 through cutting costs and improving underperforming businesses. The company employs about 46,500 people across the…

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Cementos Argos becomes second major stakeholder in Class C ash formulator Ceratech

Sources: Ceratech Inc., Alexandria, Va.; Staff reports Only three months after announcing that third-largest coal producer Alpha Natural Resources had acquired a 10.3 percent of its business (with an option to increase the stake to 28.3 under certain future terms), Ceratech has accepted another strategic equity investment from Colombian cement giant Cementos Argos, the fourth-largest U.S. concrete producer. The buy-in…

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$225K EPA grant moves recycled glass cement substitute toward market

Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Staff reports On the heels of research detailed in its “Value-Added Use of Milled Mixed-Color Waste Glass as a Supplementary Cementitious Material in Environmentally Friendly and Energy-Efficient Concrete Building Construction” report, Lansing, Mich.-based Technova Corp. is among 10 recipients sharing $2.25 million in grants under the EPA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

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New edition of Innovations in Portland Cement Manufacturing addresses today’s challenges

Source: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill. The new edition of Innovations in Portland Cement Manufacturing was released during the 2011 IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference, May 22-25, in St. Louis, Mo. The fully revised second edition highlights the complex challenges facing cement manufacturers in today’s regulatory and manufacturing arenas.

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Buzzi Unicem plants receive Energy Star honor

Source: Buzzi Unicem USA, Bethlehem, Pa. Buzzi Unicem USA recently announced that the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy have awarded three of the company’s U.S. cement plants the Energy Star designation for their superior energy performance. Buzzi’s plants in Festus, Mo., Maryneal, Texas, and Signal Mountain, Tenn., received the honor.

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