Lafarge-Redland deal finalized Lafarge Corp. completed the previously announced acquisition of Redland assets in North America from Lafarge S.A., its majority shareholder. The purchase price of these assets, comprising 125 construction materials operations, was US$690 million and will be financed through long-term debt. With the addition of these operations, Lafarge becomes one of the largest producers of crushed stone, sand, and gravel in the continent. The company's concrete sales volume also will grow by one-third to about 10 million cu yd. Additionally, Lafarge's asphalt and paving businesses will increase significantly as a result of this transaction.

Selective restriction on emissions The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new limits on toxic emissions from portland cement manufacturing plants in a report that the agency claims is reinventing environmental regulations to make the system more efficient. The new proposals will affect 118 facilities and target emissions of arsenic, dioxin, lead, and other substances, but EPA said that the proposal will not apply to kilns burning hazardous waste. A separate rule for kilns that burn hazardous fuel is expected late in 1998.

Cemex on the way up Cemex announced that its cash earnings for the first quarter of 1998 increased 67% in real Peso terms versus last year's Ps2.001 billion. In dollar terms, cash earnings increased 72% to US$234 million. Consolidated cement volumes grew by 13% versus the first quarter of 1997 and, combined with higher prices in most subsidiaries, led to a 22% increase in consolidated net sales. The company claims that operating improvements in all major operations produced a 34% increase in operating cash flow for the quarter.

Global acquires A.P. Green Global Industrial Technologies signed an agreement to purchase for cash all outstanding shares in A.P. Green Industries for about US$195 million. The company also said that it had signed a definitive agreement for the previously announced sale of its Industrial Tool business to Cooper Industries for US$217.5 million. "These transactions further our efforts to create one of the world's leading refractories companies, and sharpen our focus on industrial businesses in which we have strong opportunities for substantial future profit growth," said J.L. Jackson, chairman and chief executive of Global. It is expected that the new company will be joined with the Global subsidiary Harbison-Walker over the next two years and, according to Jackson, "Once fully integrated, we believe that annual cost reductions in the range US$15 million to US$20 million are achievable after an assumed potential reduction in A.P. Green's sales."

International Cement 98 Sponsored by Rock Products Cement Edition, and designed to increase its focus, International Cement 98 will be held at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, from Dec. 6 to 9, 1998. The theme of this year's seminar is "Cement-The Burning Issues," and senior plant employees will present papers on the burning of waste fuels, the evaluation of a biosolids injection program, and control of NOx emissions, among other subjects. Tours will include visits to Holnam's Devil's Slide plant, Ash Grove's Leamington site, and a trip to the new I-15 highway site. Papers will be practical, useful, and, most importantly, will provide solutions to the various problems facing the industry.