John P. “Jay” Gleason, 66, past president of Portland Cement Association, passed away on Jan. 14, after a three-year battle with oral cancer. He was a good friend and supporter of Cement Americas, and will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

Gleason was president from 1986 to his retirement in early 2007. His tenure spanned sweeping industry and internal transitions, as a) member company ownership switched from smaller private operators or domestic public companies to mostly foreign-based multinational corporations; and, b) the association, through member mandate, retreated from a traditionally centralized role in steering industry promotion, to one charged with forging stronger ties to national concrete groups and supporting regional cement shippers associations launched to succeed the national network of PCA field offices and engineers.

Prior to joining the Skokie, Ill.-based PCA, he served for nine years as president and chief executive officer of the Brick Institute of America, Reston, Va., where he was responsible for all programs in planning, research, marketing, administration, member services, and public affairs.

From 1970 to 1977, Gleason was deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. He managed the development, coordination, and marketing of all major domestic and international programs to the U.S. business community. In 1976, he received the Commerce Department's Silver Medal Award for exceptional planning and management.

Gleason also served as chairman of the Council for Masonry Research and the National Codes and Standards Council. He was on the Board and Executive Committee of the American Concrete Pavement Association and was chairman of the Board of Directors of CTL Group, Skokie, Ill., an engineering, consulting, and research firm, which spun off from PCA in the late 1980s. Gleason also was active on the Board of Trustees of the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Institute for Organization Management of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Gleason has an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service, Washington, D.C.; and attended the Program for Management Development of Harvard Business School.

He is survived by his wife Susan; seven children; and two brothers. Memorials may be made to University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation, 5841 South Maryland Ave., MC1140, Chicago, IL 60637.

GCC SET TO LAUNCH SECOND-LARGEST COLORADO CEMENT MILL

More than four years after first announcing a Rocky Mountain market expansion, GCC Rio Grande (a subsidiary of Mexico's Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua) was planning a December 4 opening of a $200 million cement plant in Pueblo, Colo. With an eventual output capacity of 2,900 tpd, or 1.0 million tpy, it stands to rank number two among production facilities in the state, behind Holcim (US) Inc.'s nearly 2.0 million-tpy Florence plant.

According to GCC, the operation will make use of the most advanced equipment and technology available, keeping emissions levels in line with regulations set by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In early 2006, FLSmidth was awarded the $55 million prime construction contract, the scope of which covered everything from the limestone and raw materials holding area to the cement-conveying equipment transferring finished product to storage structures.

GCC Rio Grande also operates a 600,000-tpy mill in Tijeras, N.M., and terminals in Albuquerque, N.M., and El Paso, Texas. In addition, the corporate parent owns sister company GCC Dacotah, Inc., which manages a production facility in Rapid City, S.D., and six terminals throughout Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

CEMENT TOTALS

Total shipments of portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico were about 9.7 million mt in September 2007, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This was 9.6% lower compared with shipments for September 2006. Shipments year-to-date totaled about 86.0 million mt, down by 9.6% compared with those of the same period in 2006.

Clinker production totaled 7.4 million mt in September 2007, about 4.4% lower compared with 2006. Cumulative shipments for 2007 through September were 65.1 million mt, down 2.6% from 2006.

Masonry cement shipments were about 337,000 mt in September 2007 were 21.7% lower compared with shipments in September 2006. Year-to-date shipments were 3.39 million mt, down 19.6% from the same period in 2006.

SEPTEMBER 2007