Holcim (US) Inc. staged a formal ground-breaking March 24 for its Ste. Genevieve Project, a massive cement mill on a 4,000-acre, Mississippi River-front site in southeast Missouri. “We have always known this plant represents the best opportunity to make high-quality cement, right here in the Midwest, in an environmentally sound way,” said Holcim (US) CEO Patrick Dolberg. “We believe this will set the standard for how cement plants are built and operated.”

The Ste. Genevieve Project, which was announced in 1999 and saw a detailed permitting process against challenges from fringe groups claiming environmental and community concerns, will meet one of the lowest emission limits to date for a U.S. cement plant. Holcim has also committed to setting aside a permanent 2,200-acre buffer area — more than 55% of the property's total acreage — and confining active quarrying to 200 acres.

The ground-breaking followed a few months of preliminary site work. In mid-2006, Holcim expects to issue a request for proposals on the next phase of the three-year job. At the peak of activity, as many as 1,000 workers will be involved in construction. When the Ste. Genevieve Project begins operations in 2009, it will employ approximately 200 and have an annual clinker capacity of 4 million metric tons.