CALL FOR PAPERS

International Cement 2001, the 37th annual cement seminar (sponsored by Cement Americas) will be held Dec. 2-5, 2001 at the Denver Convention Center, Denver, Colo.

We invite anyone wishing to present a paper at this year's event to contact us. We're looking for presentations on the following topics:

• Innovations in cement processing;

• Equipment recently installed in a cement plant that has helped to improve production and reduce costs;

• The Latin American cement industry;

• Utilizing waste products in cement kilns;

• Marketing ideas that work for the cement industry;

• Innovative material-handling techniques at the cement plant or at terminals; and

• The impact that Asian cement may have on the markets of the Americas.

If you have suggestions for presentations, please send us an outline or abstract, or give us a call to discuss your idea. Suggestions should be sent to:
Steven Prokopy, Editor
Cement Americas
29 North Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606, USA
telephone: (+1) 312-609-4335
fax: (+1) 312-726-4107
e-mail: steven_prokopy@intertec.com

For information on registration or exhibiting at International Cement 2001, contact:
Intertec Exhibitions
5680 Greenwood Plaza Blvd., Ste. 100
Englewood, CO 80111
telephone: (+1) 720-741-2901
fax: (+1) 720-489-3101

PLANT TOURS

Attendees of International Cement 2001 will be able to tour Holnam's Portland Plant in Florence, Colo.

In August 1999, the plant began a massive upgrade and expansion project that will increase its annual production capacity from 770,000 to 1.9 million mt. The primary improvement to the plant involves replacing its three wet process kilns with a preheater/precalciner kiln, along with new crushing, storage, and grinding equipment.

Krupp Polysius is supplying the pyroprocessing and grinding equipment, including the vertical raw mill, the preheater/precalciner, kiln, coal mill, and combination grinding system. The project is expected to be completed in May 2001.

PCA elects 2001 chairman

The Portland Cement Association's board of directors elected Robert M. Rayner, president and COO of Essroc Corp., to a one-year term as chairman at the trade group's board meeting in November.

In his acceptance speech, Rayner noted that PCA's strategic plan provides a blueprint for sustaining and expanding growth, but that the industry faces significant challenges. First, the industry has made progress in concrete promotion but has not yet realized the tremendous potential of cement-based products. Second, the cement industry is seeing continuous change in environmental laws and regulations.

In each area, he outlined the major goals for PCA under his leadership:

• Refine the industry's system for measuring market share and the effectiveness of programs that promote greater use of cement and concrete products in construction.

• Improve the coordination of national and local promotion programs.

• Make better use of cooperative programs among segments of cement and concrete industries. Rayner stressed the need to strengthen the Concrete Alliance, the coalition of PCA, the American Concrete Pavement Association, and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association.

With respect to environmental regulations, Rayner stressed the need to reach an industry perspective at the international level on two key issues:

1. Global climate change: International negotiations continue on commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by developed and developing nations. But the industry needs to agree on how to meet these reductions when 50% of carbon dioxide emissions are natural byproducts of the cement manufacturing process.

2. Regulatory initiatives: The cement industry needs to continue to focus on key regulatory issues such as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, PM25, and NOx reductions.

Trinity Consultants announces training courses

Trinity Consultants, a nationwide consulting firm that assists industrial facilities with environmental issues, announces its spring schedule of training courses for environmental professionals. Senior members of Trinity's technical staff teach the courses, which are held at locations nationwide. Trinity provides comprehensive resource manuals for each course, and students receive a certificate indicating professional development hours upon course completion.

Cources include: Introduction to Air Quality Regulations; NSR/PSD Workshop; NPDES Permitting; Federal and State Air Quality; Air Dispersion Computer Modeling Laboratory; Introduction to the AERMOD and ISCPRIME Models; Air Dispersion Modeling for Accidental Releases; CALPUFF Workshop; Clean Air Act Workshop; Environmental Management Primer Workshop; Introduction to Global Climate Change Issues; Introduction to ISO 14001; Introduction to Sustainable Development; and Techniques in Environmental Compliance Data Management.

For more information on the courses, contact the Course Registrar at Trinity Consultants at 12801 N. Central Expressway, Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 75243; (+1) 800- 613-4473 or (+1) 972-661-8100; fax (+1) 972-385-9203. Complete course information and registration capabilities are also available on Trinity's web site at www.trinityconsultants.com

Holnam gets the go ahead for new Missouri plant

Holnam Inc. announced in late December that it received all internal approvals from its board of directors and its parent company, Holderbank, to proceed with construction of a new cement plant at Lee Island in Ste. Genevieve County, Mo., about 50 miles southeast of St. Louis. Construction of the new facility is expected to cost approximately US$500 million. Permit applications already have been submitted and the permit review process is expected to run through early 2001.

This marks the culmination of a feasibility study begun in 1999, following Holnam's purchase of almost 4,000 acres of property along the Mississippi River. The plant will have an annual production capacity of at least 4 million mt, and will be Holnam's second cement plant in Missouri (along with one in Clarksville). The resulting operation may be the world's large cement plant, said a Holnam spokesperson.

The decision to build a new plant in Missouri joins several projects implemented nationwide by the company. Since 1998, Holnam has increased its cement capacity by 1.5 million mt through plant expansions at its Devils Slide, Utah and Midlothian, Texas plants. The company's Florence, Colo. location will be the source of an additional 1.1 million mt when construction of a new plant at that site is completed later this year. Also, Holnam's Holly Hill, S.C. plant is presently in the permitting process to add 1 million mt to its current capacity by constructing a new facility.

Commencing construction of the Lee Island plant depends on several factors, including receipt of all necessary permits. Given the time typically necessary for permit reviews and construction, the earliest Holnam anticipates the plant to begin operating is late 2003 or early 2004.

Holderbank, Cementos del Caribe buy Incem

Cementos del Caribe SA of Colombia and Holderbank of Switzerland formalized the purchase of 95.3% of the shares of Panama's Corporacion Incem SA. The two buyers are equal partners in the acquisition.

Incem has an annual production capacity of 880,000 mt and recently posted a net profit of US$9.5 million on total sales of US$77 million.

The purchase of Incem is the latest of several collaborations between Holderbank and the Argos Group, which control Cementos del Caribe. Joint ventures also are in place between the two firms in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Dragon Cement goes one year without lost-time injury

Dragon Cement and Concrete successfully completed the year 2000 without a lost-time injury in all of its divisions.

The new safety record means that Dragon's concrete division, which has 10 concrete plants from Biddeford to Madawaska, has gone two years without a lost time injury, or 400,000 safe hours. Last year, that division went more than 200,000 hours without a lost-time injury. The new record means the division has been recognized for safety achievements four times in the past seven years.

The cement division, which includes the Thomaston plant, New England's only cement-making plant, now has more than 250,000 safe hours without a lost-time injury.

The safety program launched early last year at Dragon includes a number of incentives as well as an internal system for reporting unsafe practices.

PCA announces competition for engineering students

The Portland Cement Association announced the First Bridge Design Awards Competition for Students. The purpose of the competition is to recognize excellence in concrete bridge design and to strengthen concrete's presence in structural engineering curricula.

All engineering undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in U.S. or Canadian universities are eligible to enter the competition. Students are encouraged to solicit assistance, consultation, and advice from professors, bridge engineers, contractors, and bridge producers.

Entries are due May 31, 2001 and first prize is $2,500. For more information, contact Shri Bhide at (+1) 847-966-6200, or shri_bhide@portcement.org. Entry forms can be downloaded from www.portcement.org/pdf_files/stubridge.pdf

Supplier News

Fuller Bulk Handling Corp. announced the establishment of The Ful-Serve Group, an integrated fabric filter service group. The group consists of Advanced Filtration Technologies, a newly formed company that manufactures filter bags and other fabric filter aftermarket parts; Fuller Air Compliance, a new division formed from the purchase of the environmental consulting and testing services assets of ETS, Inc.; and Fuller Bulk Handling's existing fabric filter group.

ARL Applied Research Laboratories recently changed its name to ThermoARL as part of a new corporate identity strategy initiated by its parent company, Thermo Electron Corp.

FINANCIAL NEWS

LAFARGE posted net income of $58.9 million for the final three months of 2000, compared with $76.8 million during the same period in 1999. The company said heavy snowfall and extremely cold weather, as well as operating losses in the gypsum drywall business, caused the decline in net income. Cement operations posted an operating profit of $75.5 million during the most recent quarter, compared with a record $90 million in the final three months of 1999. Profitability and margins in the fourth quarter in both Canada and the U.S. were negatively affected by the severe winter weather, higher fuel costs and a provision related to the LIFO method of inventory valuation that was recorded in December. For the full year 2000, Lafarge's cement operations registered a nominal decline in operating profit, from $320.5 million in 1999 to $318.3 million.

CEMEX announced net sales for fourth quarter 2000 were $1.5 billion, a 22% increase versus fourth quarter 1999. Net sales increased due to higher revenues in Mexico, Colombia, Central America, and the Caribbean and the acquisitions of Assiut Cement in Egypt and Southdown in the United States. Fourth quarter 2000 results include the consolidation of the Southdown operations for November and December. Operating income rose 17% to $397 million. As a percentage of sales, operating margin was 26.3% for the quarter, compared to 27.4% for the same period in 1999. For the full year, operating income grew 15% to $1.7 billion. Cemex's majority net income during the quarter rose 49% in dollar terms to $246.9 million. Majority net income for 2000 was $999.3 million, up 3% versus 1999. Cemex expects 2001 EBITDA to come in around $2.5 billion, up more than 20% from the $2.032 billion reported in 2000.

PUERTO RICAN CEMENT announced earnings of $1.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2000. Consolidated net sales were $36.5 million during the fourth quarter in 2000, compared with $37.1 million for the same period in 1999. Consolidated net sales for the year were $160.5 million, down from $173.3 million in 1999, reflecting the spike in cement sales during the first half of 1999 and higher cement imports.

CENTEX CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS reported operating earnings from cement were $16.5 million for the third quarter this year, 41% higher than earnings of $11.7 million for the same quarter in fiscal 2000. Cement revenues for the current quarter totaled $39.6 million, 2% higher than $39.0 million for the same quarter last year. Operating earnings from cement were $48.1 million for the nine months this year, 9% above $44.1 million for the similar period in fiscal 2000. For the current nine months, revenues from cement were $129.4 million, up $1.4 million from the same period a year earlier.

ST. LAWRENCE CEMENT reported sales of approximately $1 billion, an increase of 12% over 1999. Operating profit was $105.8 million in 2000, compared with $116.7 million in 1999. Net earnings were $48.5 million for 2000, down from $71 million in 1999. The decline is due to the lower operating profit as well as a non-recurring write-off of obsolete assets totaling $11.1 million, higher financial expenses, and a higher income tax rate. For the fourth quarter, net earnings totaled $8.9 million, compared with $20.3 million in 1999.

NEWSMAKERS

GARY H. KAINE was appointed president of Falk Corp. He was previously president of Sullair Europe, another Hamilton Sundstrand industrial company.

JAIME ELIZONDO was named president of Cemex Venezuela, a 70%-owned Venezuelan subsidiary of Cemex.

HAMID FARZAM joined Construction Technology Laboratories as director of business development. He will be responsible for CTL's corporate business development, marketing, and public relations programs.

JERRY W. FARR was promoted to director of quality control for California Portland Cement.

CALENDAR

APRIL 29-May 3, 2001. 2001 IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference, Vancouver Trade and Convention Center, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
CONTACT: Bob Lewis, Tilbury
Cement, (+1) 604-946-0411 or
Dolores Peter, Lafarge Canada, (+1)
604-244-4300

May 6-9, 2001. ASTM Committee C13 on Concrete Pipe, Omni Austin Hotel, Austin, Texas.
CONTACT: Bob Morgan, ASTM, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959; (+1) 610-832-9732; fax: (+1) 610-832-9555;
e-mail: rmorgan@astm.org
www.astm.org

WORLD

FINANCIAL NEWS

CIMENTS FRANCAIS reported consolidated sales for 2000 of US$2.5 million, an increase of 11.5% from 1999. Cement sales for 2000 were US$1.6 million, compared with US$1.4 million in 1999.

CEMEX VENEZUELA announced a net profit of US$329.2 million for 2000, down from 1999's net profit of US$668 million.

DYCKERHOFF AG expects sales to rise to US$2.3 million in 2001, with international operations increasing its contribution to sales. Full year sales for 2000 rose 11% to US$2.27 million. Sales were boosted by a 74% increase in the international cement operations, in particular through the consolidation of Lone Star Industries, which it bought in September 1999.

LAFARGE announced it has agreed to form a joint venture with Japan's Aso Cement, in which it will hold a 39.4% stake. No financial details were available.