Lone Star Industries' U.S. Cement Expansion Slows

---

Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Several large capital projects planned by Lone Star Industries Incorporated (Indianapolis, Indiana), a subsidiary of Dyckerhoff Zement (Wiesbaden, Germany), have been delayed due to a combination of permitting and slow market pressures.

The company has delayed plans for construction of a $7 million cement distribution terminal located in Sayler Park, Ohio. The terminal has been in the planning stages for several years, but faces local opposition due to its proximity to local residences and historical areas. Pending ongoing permitting and litigation on the project, the company hopes to begin construction this winter. Lone Star Industries indicated that they have purchased all major equipment for the project and it waits in storage until construction approval. Design engineering for the project was carried out by River Consulting Incorporated (Columbus, Ohio).

Over the past three to four years, Lone Star Industries has been in a capital expansion mode in the U.S. However, capital plans have been trimmed back with the recent slowdown in the U.S. market, as well as an even greater slowdown in the market of Dyckerhoff's home operations effected by poor construction markets in Germany.

Lone Star Industries operates five cement plants and a slag grinding plant in the U.S. In addition to its Sayler Park terminal project, the company has postponed plans to develop a new $30 million limestone quarry and a $170 million cement plant expansion in the central U.S.

Over the past several years, Lone Star Industries has performed an $11 million expansion of its slag grinding and cement distribution terminal in New Orleans. It has also completed a major $75 million upgrade and expansion of its Greencastle, Indiana cement plant, which included the addition of a semi-dry processing line. The company recently completed an $8 million limestone handling and delivery system at its Greencastle plant.