Maine's 1928 Cement Plant's New Process to Up Production 40%

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). New England's sole cement plant, which was established in 1928, is undergoing a $50 million modernization program for the first time since 1971. Dragon Cement and Concrete, in Thomaston, Maine, announced in February that the program will include a major overhaul and rebuilding of the plant that will take 18 months. The cement making process will be changed from the wet, slurry-type process in current use to the state-of-the-art dry process that will reduce the size of the kiln and increase production about 40%. To accommodate the increased production, new equipment such as a cement barge, rail cars and storage capacity will be added.

Conversion to the dry process will provide dramatic savings in terms of energy by shortening kiln time from 150 minutes to 45 minutes and reducing fuel consumption by 33%. 700,000 tons of cement will be produced annually with the same amount of fuel currently used to produce 500,000 tons. The increased efficiency will result in a positive environmental benefit, as the new system will contain emission levels. Some of the existing plant equipment is between 30 and 70 years old and has hampered Dragon's ability to compete in the market.

In addition to cement production Dragon has ten ready-mix concrete batch plants located in Maine and manufactures and sells crushed aggregate and sand and at its Madawaska facility produces concrete blocks.

Current employment levels at the plant will be maintained or increased by the company, which is a subsidiary of CDN-USA, which is owned jointly by Cementos Portland (Pamplona, Spain) and Cementos Lemona (Bilbao, Spain). See related article Cementos Portland Expanding U.S. Cement Interests