First Two Silos Mark
Rise of Largest Cement Plant
Contractors completed work late last month on the first two silos for the new Holcim (US) cement plant in Ste. Genevieve County, Mo. MC Industrial and joint venture partner T.E. Iberson slip-formed the twin 60-foot-diameter, 275-foot-tall silos in just 16 days, from December 4 to 21.

The silos will be used for raw material storage and are the first of 13 silos to be built in the next 18 months. In February, MC Industrial will begin work on two 150-foot-diameter, 207-foot-tall clinker silos, which the contractor says will be the largest in the world.

Next up are the cement storage silos—eight 79-foot-diameter, 275-foot-tall structures with the capacity to store 260,000 tons of cement. The 13th and last silo is a 40-foot-diameter reject silo.

In all, MC Industrial will place more than 90,000 cubic yards of concrete for the silos, which are scheduled for completion in February 2008.

Holcim (US) broke ground on the plant in March 2006. With a capacity of 4 million tons per year, Ste. Genevieve will be the largest cement plant in the United States. It's scheduled for completion in 2009 at a cost of $905 million.

• Phoenix, Ariz.– February 20
• Austin, Texas – February 22
• Seattle, Wash.– March 13
• Kansas City, Mo. – March 15

The seminars will provide detailed instruction on how to implement pervious concrete pavements as a solution to reduce stormwater runoff from building sites and other paved areas. Attendees will learn the details of pervious concrete pavement systems, engineering properties, and construction techniques. This course will help civil engineers, architects, landscape architects and public works officials develop design details and write project specifications for pervious concrete pavement systems. Contractors, product suppliers and land developers will also benefit from this seminar.

Architects and engineers will earn six Professional Development Hours upon completion of this program. This seminar is registered with the American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Systems. The registration fee is $245 (lunch provided).
Register online

Winning plants will be recognized at PCA's Spring Board Meeting and at the IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference in May. Surveys are due January 26.
Contact Donna Wortman

Results from Last Week:
Concrete Tops List of Green Building Materials
Which of the following construction materials are the most sustainable or green?
No. of responses (percentage)

• Concrete 95 (60.13%)
• Wood 44 (27.85%)
• Steel 14 (8.86%)
• Asphalt 5 (3.16%)

Notable Comments

"No one material is the best. It depends on the application. But concrete is greener than the environmentalists realize."

"Wood is renewable and will grow back after you cut it down."

"Wood is a renewable resource but in construction it does not have the longevity and thus has a major impact on the environment. Concrete is more sustainable because of its low impact on the environment as well as its strength and long life span."

"Long-term performance and durability more than offset carbon dioxide issues surrounding concrete. If you look at the life cycle performance of concrete pavements and structures compared to other materials, the choice is obvious. The renewable aspects of wood and the recyclable aspects of steel and asphalt get high praise but do not last nearly as long. Therefore, far more energy is consumed in rebuilding pavements and structures."

"Environmentalists will argue that the amount of energy that goes into concrete far exceeds that of milling lumber. However the lumber these days although theoretically sustainable is trash compared to the houses built around the turn of the century."

"Wood. It sequesters the carbon released by the other three materials. Trees are at least renewable, and by planting more, you pull carbon from the air. However, a concrete and styrofoam wall has a better R value, resulting in energy cost savings."

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