On January 18, representatives from cement companies involved in the production of granulated blast-furnace slag formed the Slag Cement Association (SCA). Current member companies include Essroc Cement Corp., Lone Star Industries, Lafarge Corp., St. Lawrence Cement, and Holnam Inc.

According to Randy Dunlap, vice president, general manager, Mineral Components Division, Holnam, and one of the driving forces behind the formation of the SCA, the necessity for a separate slag cement association came from cement companies feeling that the National Slag Association focuses too much on aggregates and steel slag.

Discussions that eventually led to the SCA began in August 2000 and continued at the fall 2000 meeting of the Portland Cement Association. The member companies represent almost 40% of the portland cement production capacity in the United States, and more than 75% of the U.S. capacity of slag cement. U.S. sales figures in 2000 reached more than 2.2 million mt and is expected to increase dramatically with the addition of new capacity that will make the product more available throughout the Central and Eastern part of the country.

The goals of the new association are to promote the increased use of slag cement and to educate concrete producers, specifiers, and the construction industry concerning the product's benefits. Dunlap believes that an unified association consisting of members from normally competitive companies would be more effective and persuasive than individual company efforts. “It's not just one company giving a sales pitch; it's a combined effort,” he said.

Eventually the association will establish research and testing projects, and allow for better record keeping on slag cement production and sales. “Slag cement is a commodity, not a waste product,” Dunlap added. “It has a resale value and is used as a measurable part of coal production; the cement makers just process it.”

The association's five-year plan for its products includes sales in excess of 5 million mtpy; 10% to 15% market penetration; and having use of the product become second nature to concrete makers. “We hope that slag cement is no longer looked at as a specialty cement, because it has great applications for everyday use,” Dunlap said.