Overland Park, Kan., September 10, 2009
Ash Grove Cement Company Receives “United We Serve” National Volunteer Campaign Award from US EPA
Overland Park, Kan. – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 Director of Environmental Services Dr. Ron Hammerschmidt presented Ash Grove Cement Company today with an award for its support of “United We Serve” and the Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign.
United We Serve is part of President Obama’s national volunteer campaign that challenges all Americans to engage in sustained, meaningful service to meet growing social needs.
On August 19, 2009, employees of Ash Grove Cement Company and its private sector chemical recovery partners, Tradebe Pollution Control Industries and Cadence Environmental Energy, Inc., collected and disposed of outdated and excess chemicals from science labs and custodial stocks at Grandview Middle and High schools in Grandview, Mo.
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Midlothian, Texas, July 16, 2009
Ash Grove Donates 80 Acres for State-of-the-Art Water Treatment Plant
Aggregate Research Industries
Ash Grove Cement Representatives Join City of Midlothian Leaders to Break Ground for New Water Treatment Plant
Leaders from the City of Midlothian are joining with representatives from Ash
Grove Cement Company to break ground today for the construction of a new
state-of-the-art water treatment plant located near the Tarrant Regional Water
District pipelines on Quarry Road northwest of Midlothian.
Ash Grove Cement Company donated more than 80 acres of land to the City of Midlothian for
the new water treatment plant. The City of Midlothian will soon begin construction of the new six to nine
million gallons per day water plant that will include a three million gallon storage tank, high service pump station,
transmission pipeline, office and testing laboratory.
Midlothian’s new water treatment facility will augment and relieve pressure on Midlothian’s
existing water treatment plant located on Tayman Drive. Construction of the new facility is expected to be
completed before the end of 2012.
City leaders attending today’s groundbreaking include: Midlothian Mayor Boyce Whatley,
City Manager Don Hastings, along with several members of the city council and Utility Advisory Board.
Ash Grove Midlothian Plant Manager Kevin Blankenship and about 20 staff members from the nearby cement
company are attending today’s groundbreaking.
“Ash Grove is very proud to be part of the part of the Midlothian community and to be
able to contribute to the city’s future growth and success,” said Kevin Blankenship, Ash Grove Midlothian
Plant Manager. “A safe and secure water supply is vital for continued growth, and we are glad that Ash
Grove’s donation will provide a beneficial use for all Midlothian residents.”
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Overland Park, Kan., October 27, 2008
Ash Grove Cement Company Earns Working for Cleaner Air Award from North Texas Clean Air Coalition
Ash Grove Is First Texas Cement Manufacturer to Receive Award Recognizing Businesses That Do Their Share for Cleaner Air
Overland Park, Kan. - Ash Grove Cement Company’s Midlothian, Texas cement plant earned the “Working for Cleaner Air Employer of the Year” award from the North Texas Clean Air Coalition (NTCAC).
The North Texas Clean Air Coalition announced that Ash Grove received the top 2008 award for North Texas companies with less than 500 employees at events with civic and business leaders in Dallas and Fort Worth.
Ash Grove’s Midlothian plant is the first Texas cement manufacturer recognized in the five-year history of the program and received the award for the company’s successful efforts to control nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Ash Grove’s Midlothian facility was one of the first wet process cement plants in the world to install Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) technology to successfully control ozone forming emissions.
With the new technology, ozone forming emissions from Ash Grove’s Midlothian plant are lower than nine of 13 dry kilns in Texas, according to 2007 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) data. Since 1995, Ash Grove has reduced NOx emissions by more than 64 percent at the Midlothian plant. Ash Grove’s Midlothian plant also has the lowest NOx emission levels of any wet kiln facility in the U.S. and, to our knowledge, the lowest in the world.
“We are quite pleased to be the only cement manufacturer to earn the North Texas Clean Air Coalition’s ‘Working for Cleaner Air Employer of the Year 2008’ award,” said Ash Grove Chairman and CEO Charlie Sunderland. “This award validates our strong environmental commitment and acknowledges our success in improving air quality in the Dallas-Ft. Worth region.”
Ash Grove adopted several other education initiatives with our Midlothian workforce to help further reduce energy use and improve the environment. For example, Ash Grove offered incentives to employees who commute to work, implemented new policies to reduce time spent driving to and from work and put new energy conservation measures in place in partnership with the local utility provider. Ash Grove is an active and visible part of the NTCAC’s volunteer leadership through the company’s participation in the business community outreach committee.
The North Texas Clean Air Coalition was formed in 1993 to help address the issue of clean air compliance. Founding members include the North Texas Commission, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Dallas Chamber and the North Central Texas Council of Governments. The group has been committed to encouraging voluntary efforts to improve air quality in North Texas through educating, motivating and recognizing the business community.
Fort Worth, Texas, October 24, 2008
Ash Grove Puts Green Into Cement Manufacturing
By Betty Dillard | bdillard@bizpress.net
Environmental responsibility is the cornerstone of Ash Grove Cement Co., a pioneer and longtime leader in the lime and cement
manufacturing industries. As the largest American-owned producer of cement and the sixth largest producer of cement in the United
States, Ash Grove has had a strong commitment to environmental stewardship for 126 years.
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Chanute, Kan., October 14, 2008
Ash Grove Cement Company’s Chanute Plant Turns 100
Community Invited to Commemorate 100th Anniversary of Kansas’ Largest Cement Plant
Chanute, Kan. (October 14, 2008) – Ash Grove Cement Company today announced plans to celebrate the Chanute, Kansas plant’s 100th anniversary. The event is an important milestone for Ash Grove’s first cement plant and southeast Kansas residents.
One hundred years ago, stock and bonds totaling $2 million were issued by Ash Grove Lime and Portland Cement Company to finance the company’s first cement plant. The first cement emerged from Ash Grove’s Chanute kilns in July 1908 and test results showed the product to be nearly perfect.
Today, Ash Grove’s Chanute plant is the largest cement plant in the state of Kansas and produces 1.5 million tons of high quality product annually for customers throughout the Midwest.
“Ash Grove and Chanute knew they had a winning combination with the first clinker produced in the plant’s kiln one hundred years ago,” said Chanute plant manager Randy Pryor. “Today, Ash Grove’s Chanute plant is one of the nation’s most efficient cement manufacturing facilities, and it has served as a primary workplace for many generations of hard working Neosho County residents.”
Local residents are invited to join current and former employees of the Ash Grove Cement Company at a Community Celebration to help mark the Chanute plant’s 100th Anniversary on Saturday, October 18 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
“We hope local families from throughout the area will join us at this special 100th Anniversary event,” said Pryor. “Ash Grove’s success is due in large part to the hard work and dedication of many generations of Neosho County residents, and we hope they will join us in celebrating this important milestone.”
Ash Grove retirees are invited to attend and take part in the anniversary celebration. Free food will be available for the first 500 guests, and there also will be entertainment for local families.
Ash Grove’s Chanute plant had an initial production capacity of 120,000 tons per year. The plant underwent a dramatic modernization during the 1960s to increase capacity to 500,000 tons per year.
In 2001, the Chanute plant underwent another modernization to become the largest cement plant in the state of Kansas with annual production capacity of 1.5 million tons. Chanute is the largest of Ash Grove’s nine cement plants located across the United States.
Ash Grove’s Chanute plant currently has a workforce of 138 highly trained employees and an estimated annual economic impact in Kansas of more than $41 million. The company’s corporate headquarters is based in Overland Park, Kan.
Overland Park, Kan., September 12, 2008
Ash Grove Cement Company Plants in Kansas and Washington Earn Energy Star Award
Overland Park, KS - Ash Grove Cement Company manufacturing plants in Kansas and Washington earned the federal government’s prestigious Energy Star Award for the company’s superior performance in management of energy use.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gave the award to Ash Grove in special recognition of the company’s energy-efficient operations in Chanute, Kan. and Seattle, Wash. Each Ash Grove facility received the award for the third consecutive year and was singled out for successful efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also lowering overall energy consumption.
“Ash Grove employees have worked very hard to be leaders within our industry in researching and testing new environmentally friendly ways to meet the growing demand for cement and maintaining the superior quality of our products,” said Ash Grove Chairman Charlie Sunderland. “We are honored that our Chanute and Seattle plants have once again earned the Energy Star award for their sustainable manufacturing efforts.”
As part of the company’s commitment to environmental stewardship, Ash Grove has aggressively implemented a new energy reduction program at each of the company’s nine cement production facilities. Ash Grove’s energy policy includes a commitment to acquiring and using energy in the most efficient, cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner possible with the goal of minimizing the company’s carbon footprint. Decreased fossil fuel use will ultimately result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
By 2012, Ash Grove’s energy management process (AGem) is expected to reduce thermal energy use by 17 percent per ton of cement produced and electrical energy use by 10 percent per ton of cement produced. Ash Grove has also set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5 percent from the 2004 baseline level.
The Energy Star program is a joint government initiative by the EPA and DOE that focuses on strategic energy management and emphasizes the importance of demonstrating environmental leadership.
Energy Star was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through superior energy efficiency. In 2007 alone, Americans, with the help of Energy Star, saved more than $16 billion on their utility bills while reducing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 27 million vehicles.
Our Chanute, Kansas, and Seattle, Washington facilities received the Energy Star award for the third consecutive year.
Foreman, Ark., September 8, 2008
Ash Grove Cement Company to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Foreman Plant
Local Residents Invited to Join Current and Former Employees at September 27 Community Celebration
FOREMAN, Arkansas (September 8, 2008) - Local residents are invited to join current and former employees of Ash Grove Cement Company at a Community Celebration to help mark the 50th Anniversary of the Foreman plant on September 27 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
“We hope local families from Foreman and Little River County will join us at this special 50th Anniversary event,” said Ash Grove plant manager Dan Peterson. “This cement manufacturing facility has been an important part of the local community since 1958, and we are very proud to be part of Arkansas’ continuing growth.”
Ash Grove will give a special recognition at the event to retirees who were working at the plant in 1958 during the event.
Guests may enjoy smoked brisket, sausages, and ribs with all the trimmings at the Community Celebration as well as play equipment and face painting for the kids and door prizes for all attendees. KDQN Radio’s Country Breakfast Crew will broadcast live from the event.
Ash Grove Cement Company’s Foreman Plant started operation in 1958 and has been a continuous supporter of community organizations and schools of Foreman and Little River County as well as all of the Four States area.
Ash Grove broke ground on a new manufacturing facility in Foreman in September 2007, and more than 600 construction workers have been involved in the construction at the new plant.
The Forman plant expansion will result in a nearly complete rebuilding of the existing facility. The plant’s workforce is expected to grow to approximately 230 people and annual production will increase from one million ton of cement to approximately 1.7 million tons of cement annually.
Portland cement manufactured at the plant is distributed to customers in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Completion of the Foreman expansion project is expected in 2009.
Ash Grove’s current estimated annual economic impact in southwest Arkansas is over $25 million.
Overland Park, Kan., August 4, 2008
Ash Grove Cement Company Announces Acquisition
of Holliday Sand & Gravel Company
Strategic Acquisition Enhances Ash Grove’s Leading Market Presence
in Several Dynamic Midwestern Markets
Overland Park, KS - Ash Grove Cement Company announced today that the company has acquired the assets of Holliday Sand & Gravel Company.
The acquisition further enhances Ash Grove’s market presence in several dynamic Midwestern markets while providing significant long-term sand and gravel reserves in strategic locations throughout the region.
Holliday Sand & Gravel is one of the leading sand and gravel producers throughout Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. The company began operations in 1943 in Holliday, Kansas and has cultivated a stable and loyal customer base. Today, Holliday Sand & Gravel operates nine sand and gravel plants with a workforce of approximately 130.
“Holliday Sand & Gravel has a well-earned reputation for providing superior products and first-class customer service,” said Charlie Sunderland, Chairman and CEO of Ash Grove Cement Company. “This acquisition complements Ash Grove’s existing operations and will strengthen our market position as the leading supplier of cement and other building and construction materials in the Midwest. We anticipate that Ash Grove will begin realizing synergies almost immediately.”
Holliday Sand & Gravel will continue to operate from its headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas under its existing name.
Foreman, Ark., October 20, 2007
Looking to the future: Governor, others express delight in Ash Grove’s new kiln
FOREMAN, Ark.—Ash Grove Cement Co. broke ground Friday on a new $350 million plant that will replace the existing facility here and increase both production and efficiency.
Cement production at the plant will increase to 1.7 million tons per year, up 700,000 tons from the current plant’s rate, after three wet kilns are replaced by one dry kiln, company officials said.
“Today’s announcement is a win-win-win for Ash Grove, Foreman and for the State of Arkansas,” said Ash Grove Chairman Charles Sunderland. “We couldn’t have done it without the vision, the energy and the hard work of local and state leaders.”
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Cement Americas
November/December 2006 Cement Americas
In this exclusive interview with Cement Americas, the new PCA chair opens up about the real possibility of cement consumption leveling off in 2007, the industry's battle to reduce emissions, and changing building codes along the Gulf Coast.
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Ash Grove Cement Company Celebrates 125th Anniversary
The Ash Grove Cement Company is pleased to announce that it celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2007.
Events to commemorate the anniversary will begin in summer of 2007 and continue throughout the year at the
company’s home office and plants.
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