Reston, Va.-based Lafarge North America dedicated its $200 million, state-of-the-art cement plant and deep mine facility in Sugar Creek, Mo., in late July. The plant and 700-ft-deep mine form one of the most modern cement production facilities in the world, capable of producing 1 million tons of product annually, more than doubling the plant's previous capacity of about 475,000 tpy. Located just outside Kansas City, the facility gives Lafarge a strong distribution base to supply the Central Midwest region for commercial, institutional and residential uses. Replacing the original plant built in the 1950s, the Sugar Creek operation includes a new 164-ft-long, 14-ft-diameter kiln; a 5,000-hp finish mill with an 80-tph capacity; and a 415-ft-tall preheater/precalciner tower, all supplied by Krupp Polysius. In addition, Dunn Industrial Group built two new silos, totalling 57,000 tons of storage capacity. An upgraded bulk loading facility is now able to facilitate about 150 trucks per day.

With an annual payroll of more than $9 million, the Sugar Creek plant represents a major long-term commitment by Lafarge to the Kansas City economy, and the increased production should allow the company to optimize its extensive cement distribution network that includes five terminals throughout the greater Kansas City region, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and northern Oklahoma. Lafarge will be supplying cement to its own ready mixed operations in the Kansas City and St. Louis markets, as well as other customers, including ready mixed facilities owned by Overland Park, Kan.-based Ash Grove Materials Corp. and Leavenworth, Kan.-based Geiger Ready-Mix Co.

While the Sugar Creek plant is the only cement production facility near Kansas City, Lafarge owns another cement plant in Fredonia in the southeast corner of Kansas, which competes more directly with nearby facilities owned by Ash Grove, Heartland Cement Co., and Monarch Cement Co.