Displaying items by tag: Florida

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has announced the winners of the 2018 Safety Innovation Awards. The awards recognise creative safety-enhancing projects in the cement industry. Winners were determined by a panel of judges that evaluated submissions from across the country for milling/grinding, distribution, pyroprocessing and general facility.

Cemex USA’s Miami plant Florida won the milling/grinding category with its new process to load ball mills. The site developed a new mill loading process that uses a small hopper for grinding media, and an incline transport system with buckets to convey the grinding media directly to the mill. This new system eliminates the interaction between the employee and the machine, reduces the number of people needed to load the mill from five to two, and eliminates the need for employees to stand on top of the mill. This new system also improves mill loading rates from seven drums/hr to 30 drums/hr.

Cemex USA’s Houston operations in Texas won the pyroprocessing category for it use of drones for hazardous inspections. It has implemented a system for using protected air drones to inspect enclosed and confined spaces. Visual inspections of enclosed areas (preheater towers, tanks, silos, process ducts, etc) normally require intrusive equipment, long delays for system cooling, and placement of employees on scaffolding in confined spaces. These drones utilise an outer protective cage to minimize the risk of breakage due to impact. The drone program has eliminated the risk of putting staff in confined spaces, reduced the cost of scaffolding, and reduced the overall time for inspections.

LafargeHolcim US’ Corporate Program in Chicago won the distribution category for its X-Factor barge cover. It has developed a process for barge cover removal that reduces the risk of falls from employees stepping on to the barge. The X-Factor barge cover, developed over the last three years with a contractor, uses the latest technology and a no-touch design to allow a crane operator to perform all functions associated with barge lid handling without additional human assistance. Barge workers will no longer be required to step onto the barge to remove or replace barge covers, eliminating a potential fall risk.

Ash Grove Cement’s Louisville plant in Nebraska won the general facility category for its use of magnets as duct hole patches. Ash Grove has developed a hole-patch technique using magnets. Magnetic patches are quick, simple, and effective at preventing or limiting the release of materials from holes created in ducts caused by abrasion, leading to a cleaner plant, reduced slip, trip and fall risks, and fewer related Mine Safety and Health Administration housekeeping citations.

Cemex USA’s Brooksville in Florida also won the general facility category for its filters moved to ground level project. It redesigned the blower housings to move the filter from the top of the blower housings to an easily accessible location at ground level. The redesigned blower housing eliminates the need for employees to climb up and down a ladder, reducing overexertion and fall hazard.

US: Ireland’s CRH is close to agreeing a purchase of Suwannee American Cement from Votorantim Cimentos and Anderson Columbia. The deal is valued at US$750m, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg. However, this is an extremely high value for a single cement plant sale in the US. Suwannee American Cement operates a 1Mt/yr plant at Branford in Florida.

US: Votorantim Cimentos is selling its 50% stake in Suwannee American Cement based in Florida. The sale is intended to focus Votorantim’s portfolio and reduce its debts according to the Valor Econômico newspaper. The effects of Hurricane Irma are expected to increase the selling time. Votorantim operates the 1Mt/yr Suwannee cement plant in Branford with Anderson Columbia. The cement producer supplies markets in Florida and Georgia.

US: Four Cemex USA cement plants have achieved the US Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star certification for 2017. The Clinchfield plant in Georgia has achieved certification for the 11th consecutive year, the Miami plant in Florida for the 7th consecutive year, the Victorville plant in California for the 6th consecutive year and the Brooksville plant in Florida for the 5th time.

"These plants follow initiatives each day to ensure they operate with sustainability in mind and lead the way in our industry. They serve as models for others to follow with their repeated recognition for their efforts. We are very proud of the work they've done to achieve Energy Star certification this year by maintaining these high standards," said Hugo Bolio, Executive Vice President, Cement Operations and Technology for Cemex USA.

US: ACG Materials has acquired North Florida Rock (NFR). ACG, a subsidiary of private equity firm HIG Capital, produces and processes industrial minerals and aggregates including gypsum, limestone, sand, gravel and downstream food, pharmaceutical and plaster products. NFR mines and produces limestone products sold into infrastructure, agriculture and building products applications. NFR owns and operates a quarry in Marianna, Florida and ships rocks across the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, and Georgia. No value for the deal has been disclosed.

“We are excited about the strategic expansion of our operations into the Southeastern US,” said Paul Harrington, chief executive officer of ACG Materials. “NFR not only allows us to grow outside our core Oklahoma, Texas, and Pacific Northwest markets, but also significantly expands our customer footprint and portfolio of limestone products within our expertise of mineral processing.”

NFR is the sixth add-on acquisition that ACG Materials has made since HIG acquired the company at the end of 2012.

US: Titan America's Pennsuco plant, which includes cement manufacturing, aggregates, quarrying, block manufacturing and ready-mix concrete operations, has been officially recognised as a Gold Level Zero Waste facility, making it the only facility of its kind in the US to achieve Zero Waste Status.

"The Zero Waste Certification is a remarkable accomplishment and consistent with Titan America's commitment to striving for best-in-class sustainability practices. Congratulations to our Environmental Department and thanks to everyone at Pennsuco for their help and support. We should all feel very proud of this," said Randy Dunlap, president of Titan America's Florida business.

To qualify for Zero Waste Certification, the Pennsuco Complex was required to demonstrate greater than 90% diversion from landfill use for a minimum of 12 consecutive months. This includes reducing, reusing, recycling or composting discarded materials or recovering the materials for productive use in nature of the economy at biological temperatures and pressures. It requires implementing sustainable strategies for resource and waste management. The process for certification process also included an extensive on-site audit, which was performed by Zero Waste Council members.

Zero Waste recertification occurs every three years. The Pennsuco site is now aiming for Platinum Certification. Titan's Pennsuco Plant has also been recognised for other sustainability initiatives, including Wildlife Habitat Certification and EnergyStar Certification. Titan's two cement plants at Pennsuco and Roanoke have been EnergyStar certified for 10 consecutive years.