Trio of Major Cement Manufacturing Expansion Projects Kick Off in Florida

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Demand for cement is up, and in a state that imports up to 40% of its cement from overseas, Florida is the logical place to build new capacity. The industry has answered the call for more cement product in Florida and nationwide, with a number of plant expansions and grassroot plants across the country that will keep engineering and construction firms busy for the next five to six years.

Two major plant expansions and a new grassroot plant have recently started initial site work activities in Florida. This includes expansions for Florida Rock Industries, Incorporated (Jacksonville, Florida) and Rinker Materials Corporation (Leesburg, Florida), as well as a new grassroot plant for start-up American Cement Company, LLC (Anthony, Florida). American Cement Company is a joint venture between Dixie Lime and Stone Company (Kingston, New Jersey) and Oldcastle Materials Company (Washington, DC), a division of Cement Road Holdings PLC (Dublin, Ireland). Oldcastle recently acquired a 50% interest in the project for $50 million. Dixie Lime and Stone owns the limestone quarry where the new plant will be built near Sumterville, Florida. American Cement is using Fru-Con Engineering (Tallahassee, Florida) to provide the detailed engineering on the project and recently awarded the General Construction Contract to pulp and paper expert Spirit Construction Services, Incorporated (Green Bay, Wisconsin). Site work began during the early summer months.

Florida Rock Industries also selected Fru-Con as its engineer for a $150 million expansion, which will add a second production line being supplied by Polysius (Atlanta, Georgia). Florida Rock is negotiating a general construction contract with Irondale Industrial Contractors, Incorporated (Birmingham, Alabama). The contract is expected to be finalized in the next two weeks and Irondale will mobilize on site after Labor Day. A contractor is currently sinking slip-form concrete pilings at the site. Heavy mechanical installation work is scheduled to begin February 2007. The second line is scheduled to begin operation by the first quarter of 2009 and will increase plant capacity up to 1.7 million tons per year.

The third project to start construction this summer in Florida is Rinker Materials’ expansion of its Brooksville, Florida, cement plant. The AMEC-Zachry joint venture is handling engineering, procurement, and construction activities at the site. For details, see related July 19, 2006, new article titled - AMEC–Zachry Alliance Winning Major Grassroot Cement Manufacturing Plant Construction Coast-to-Coast.

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