Lafarge's Seattle deal Lafarge Corp. is currently in discussions with Holnam Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Holderbank, to acquire Holnam's cement plant in Seattle,Wash., plus related assets.

The Seattle plant has an annual production capacity of about 420,000 tons of clinker. Related assets include a limestone quarry on Texada Island, B.C., Canada; a terminal in New Westminster, B.C.; and a distribution center in Vancouver. Holnam employs a total of 178 workers at these sites. The trans action is subject to the approval of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Medusa modernization According to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal, the Medusa Corp. has announced that directors have approved a plan to spend US$56 million modernizing and expanding its Clinchfield, Ga., cement plant and related facilities.

Down by the Riverside U.S.-based Texas Industries announced that it has reached an agreement to purchase Riverside Cement Co. from Ssangyong Cement Industrial Co. Ltd. of Korea, according to the U.S. Business Wire.

Riverside owns and operates plants in Crestmore and Oro Grande, Calif. and has distribution terminals in the northern and southern parts of the state.

The agreement is said to be subject to certain restrictions, which are expected to be satisfied. The purchase was scheduled to be completed before January 1998.

KHD in Dominican Republic Cementos Colon of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, awarded a contract for the engineering design and supply of a 450,000-mtpy cement grinding plant to Humbolt Wedag Inc., a subsidiary of KHD Humbolt Wedag AG Cologne, Germany.

A clinker import-receiving terminal will be constructed at the port of Haina and the clinker will be transported by truck to the Najoyo, San Cristobal's clinker grinding plant. The new plant will include covered materials storage, all handling, transporting, dust collection, and feeding equipment to a 2,200-kW ball mill.

The investment program was agreed to by Cementos Colon with its regional and local shareholders including Umar, which is controlled by Holderbank Financiere Glaris Ltd. and the government of the Dominican Republic. The plant will be in full operation by the first quarter of 1999.

Ongoing upgrades Lafarge Canada launched the first phase of a modernization program that will bring its plant in Toronto up to a production level of 400,000 mt in 1998 and 500,000 mt in 1999 from a 1997 level of around 290,000 mt.

The project involves streamlining and automating manufacturing operations at Lafarge's Woodstock, Ontario, facility, upgrading the plant's infrastructure, and improving customer service facilities.

According to John Piecuch, president and CEO of Lafarge Corp., "We expect our cash manufacturing costs will be approximately 20% lower when this phase of the modernization is complete in 1999."

PCA wins Website award The Portland Cement Association (PCA) in America has won a trophy for its Website and a Certificate of Achievement for its annual report video in the 1997 Gold Circle Awards competition.

The PCA web site, www. portcement.org, was launched in January 1997 and features more than 1,000 PCA books, research reports, video tapes, and other products. Work on the site was led by PCA Director of Communications Bruce McIntosh and Management Information Services Director Kim Martin.

Southdown Gets New V.P. Southdown Inc. of Houston, Texas, announced recently that Jon R. (Randy) Thompson has joined the firm as vice president-business development and will be located in the company's corporate office in Houston. Thompson has been in the cement, aggregates, and concrete products industry for more than 15 years in a variety of senior-level positions.

Dear Mr. Burdett,

We were all rather surprised by you recent editorial "Cometh The Hour..." (Rock Products Cement Edition, September 1997, p 5), which suggests strongsupport in the cement industry to set up an International Cement Association.

Today there are already very good working relationships and well-establishedco-operation at world level between the existing cement associations which we represent.

For the time being, we therefore feel no need to set up an International CementAssociation, a view that is shared by all our members.

It is thus for purely practical reasons and to avoid unnecessary costs that this view prevails in our industry and in no way for market-commercial reasons as misleadingly indicated in you editorial.

I have no doubt that you will be mindful to make our view known to you readers

Yours sincerely,

A. O'Hare, vice president, American Portland Cement Alliance

J-M. Chandelle, managing director, Cembureau

E. Fines, president, Canadian Cement Assn.

C.A. Ossa, general secretary, Federation of Latin American Cement Assns.

H. Yamashita, executive managing director Japanese Cement Assn.

J.P. Gleason, Jr., president, Portland Cement Assn.