Displaying items by tag: US
US: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering making changes to the regulations managing coal combustion residuals (CCR), or coal ash, as non-hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The agency has granted two petitions to look at the existing rules.
“In light of the EPA’s new statutory authority, it is important that we give the existing rule a hard look and consider improvements that may help states tailor their permit programs to the needs of their states, in a way that provides greater regulatory certainty, while also ensuring that human health and the environment remain protected,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
The current regulations took effect in late 2015 and manage how coal ash generated from electric utilities and independent power producers is managed and disposed of in surface impoundments and landfills. The rule also defines what constitutes beneficial use of CCR and, therefore, is excluded from the rule’s requirements. Coal ash is used in a variety of industries including cement production.
After the storm
13 September 2017Weather always seems like an excuse in cement company financial reports. It seems that it can pop up when a producer has nothing else to blame for its poor performance. Except, of course, when there has actually been some bad weather. With this in mind the weather is likely to have a rather larger presence in the next set of results for companies in the Caribbean and Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. The storm tore across the region in a rough north-western bearing, reaching Category Five hurricane status on the Saffir–Simpson scale with sustained winds of over 252km/hr. It caused loss of life and mass destruction to property and infrastructure.
Bottom lines flutter in the wind as construction markets upend in the wake of the weather. Yet cement companies have a more direct relationship with extreme weather events. Cement plants themselves are large industrial sites with staff and equipment that are vulnerable to the elements. This is covered by a company’s resilience strategy but it can include things like reducing non-essential staff levels, shutting down production and securing a site. Cemex USA, for example, set up telephone lines to help employees in need of assistance for both Hurricane Harvey in Texas in late August 2017 and Irma this week. Titan America shut down its Florida operations over the weekend ahead of Irma and then started reopening them on 12 September 2017.
To look at one facet of preparing a cement plant shutting a clinker kiln down with adequate notice, like for a maintenance period, is one thing. Yet doing it in an emergency is an entirely different proposition as the kiln generally needs time to cool down. Global Cement discovered what happens when a kiln is simply stopped when it visited the Cemex South Ferriby plant in the UK. The plant suffered a complete electrical outage following a tidal surge at the site. A 22m-long section of one of the kiln shells had to be replaced because it had been distorted by the sudden cooling.
Secondly, the concrete that cement is used to make plays a key role in what the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and others call resilient construction. Typically concrete structures and buildings survive extreme weather events better than other weaker building materials. Although a wide range of other factors such as building design, foundations and roofing construction are also important. Notably, much of the footage that emerged during the storm in Florida was shot from concrete buildings. As Cary Cohrs, former chairman of the PCA put it: "The greenest building is the one still standing." At the time of this push 2013 Cohrs and the PCA were lobbying to strengthen US building codes and standards. It is likely that the association will renew its efforts in the wake of Irma.
With the winds slackening, the clean up operation starts. Cemex USA’s Houston Terminal said it had reopened for business after Harvey despite being two feet under water a week earlier. As reports start to emerge about the scale of the devastation in the region following Hurricane Irma the insured losses have been estimated at US$20 – 65bn by analysts quoted by the Financial Times. Two things are certain though. One, bad weather is likely to make an appearance in the third quarter financial reports and, two, the rebuilding is going to need lots of cement.
Blake Moret to become chairman of Rockwell Automation at start of 2018
13 September 2017US: The board of directors of Rockwell Automation has elected president and chief executive officer (CEO) Blake D Moret as its chairman with effect from 1 January 2018. Moret, aged 54 years, succeeds Keith D Nosbusch, who has served as chairman since 2005 and remains as a director. The company will continue to have an independent lead director.
Moret began his career in 1985 as a sales trainee, and subsequently served in senior positions across the organisation, including international assignments in Europe and Canada. He was promoted to senior vice president of Control Products & Solutions, one of the company’s two business segments, in 2011, and to president and chief executive officer in July 2016.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. He serves on the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) Board of Directors and Executive Committee and on the boards of other industry and civic organizations and is a member of the Business Roundtable.
Jon R Tabor appointed chairman of Allied Mineral Products
13 September 2017US: Jon R Tabor has been appointed as the chairman of Allied Mineral Products. He succeeds Jon K Tabor who becomes Chairman Emeritus of the refractory producer. Paul Jamieson, Corporate Vice President of Steel and Domestic Foundry, has been promoted to President.
In the role of chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Jon R Tabor will retain responsibility for international and affiliate operations, Research and Development, Strategy, Finance, and the global scope of all other departments. Jamieson will take over Columbus-based Domestic Sales, Domestic Operations and Human Resources and report to Tabor.
Allied Mineral Products acquired the monolithic refractory and precast shapes producer Pryor Giggey in early 2017. It also plans to open a production plant in Russia.
Holcim US proposes solar unit for Hagerstown cement plant
11 September 2017US: Holcim US has proposed a 10MW solar unit for its Hagerstown cement plant in Maryland. NRG Solar Hagerstown, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, will build the array and lease the site for 35 years, according to Herald-Mail Media. The solar unit could meet up to 20% of the plant’s annual power requirements and the project is expected to last for at least 20 years. Construction is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2018 and it is planned to last up to five months. No value for the project has been disclosed.
McInnis releases distribution plan for Atlantic provinces of Canada
08 September 2017Canada: McInnis, formerly McInnis Cement, has released details about its distribution plan for the Atlantic provinces. The company has acquired two CRH Canada-owned terminals allowing it to access markets in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. McInnis says it will honour the orders of the clients supplied through those terminals and integrate their current employees. In addition, McInnis has entered into an agreement with CRH Canada and will supply cement for its terminals at Long Pond, Argentia and Corner Brook in Newfoundland directly from McInnis plant in Port-Daniel – Gascons. Deliveries to Newfoundland will begin in the autumn of 2017.
“With the addition of these terminals to our network, we are now able to secure a solid position in this market” said Hervé Mallet, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of McInnis Cement.
The McInnis distribution network includes several facilities: marine terminals in Providence, Rhode Island and Sainte-Catherine, Québec were the first to be built and commissioned. The Oshawa terminal in Ontario has started operation in September 2017. A railway transshipment station in New Richmond, Québec is also operational, and the Bronx marine terminal in New York will join the network in 2018.
Loma Negra files for US$100m initial public offering
07 September 2017Argentina/US: Loma Negra has filed for a US$100m initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange. The subsidiary of Brazil’s InterCement wants to sell shares of Loma Negra in Argentina and New York to raise cash and cut debt, according to sources quoted by Reuters. Proceeds from the offering will be used to reduce debts at InterCement’s parent company Camargo Correa. The Brazilian company originally purchased Loma Negra in 2005 for US$1bn.
West Bank case against CRH dismissed by court
07 September 2017Israel: A US$34bn lawsuit by Palestinian activists against a group of businesses including CRH has been dismissed by a court in Washington DC. The activists had tried to sue various groups with connections to Israel for allegedly ‘profiteering’ from the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, according to the Irish Independent newspaper. CRH was targeted due to its former co-ownership of Nesher, which produced cement used by the Israeli government in the West Bank. Before it sold its 25% stake in the Israeli cement producer in late 2015 CRH had received protests at its annual general meeting.
Plibrico opens new headquarters and research and development laboratory near Chicago
01 September 2017US: Plibrico Company has opened its new corporate headquarters and research and development laboratory in Northbrook, Illinois. Previously located in Chicago, Illinois, the new Northbrook location offers a larger, more user-friendly space for staff and visitors. The company is a manufacturer and installer of aluminosilicate and high alumina monolithic refractories that are used in a variety of industries including cement.
Winners from Buzzi Unicem, Ash Grove Cement and Salt Rivers Materials announced in PCA’s 2017 John P Gleason Jr Leadership Awards
01 September 2017US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has announced the winners of the 2017 John P Gleason Jr Leadership Awards, honouring individuals who have exhibited leadership in association activities in support of member company objectives and operations. The awards will be presented at the PCA’s Fall Congress in Chicago.
Daniel Nugent, Senior Vice President, Technical Services and Government Affairs, Buzzi Unicem USA won the award for Business Continuity for his leadership role in industry regulatory and legislative initiatives, including greenhouse gas emissions and other significant issues that impact cement manufacturing operations. He serves on a variety of PCA committees, including the Energy and Environment Committee and Government Affairs Council. Finalists for this award included Hamid Farzam, Vice President of Technical Services and Quality Assurance for Cemex USA and Steve Regis, Senior Vice President of Corporate Services for CalPortland Company.
Matthew Wood, Sustainable Products and Promotion Manager, Ash Grove Cement Company, won the award for Market Development for the promotion of cement-based products at the national and local level, such as roller-compacted concrete and full-depth reclamation paving solutions. He is also a member of the PCA’s Sustainable Development Committee and LEED Accredited Professional. Finalists for this award included David Gray, Market Manager for GCC of America and Larry Rowland, Manager of Marketing and Technical Services for Lehigh Hanson.
Ruben Guerrero Jr, Director of Corporate Affairs, Salt River Materials Group won the award for Young Leaders for his active engagement in the PCA’s network of public policy and communications committees, including the Government Affairs Council, Industry Communications Committee and State Government Affairs Task Force. Finalists for this award included Desirea Haggard, Environmental Manager, CalPortland Company and William Kissel, Senior Environmental Manager, Titan America.