SKOKIE, Ill.--The Portland Cement Association (PCA) Board of Directors elected Cary O. Cohrs as chairman during the association’s fall board meeting in Washington, D.C. Cohrs succeeds Aris Papadopoulos of Titan America. John Stull, president and CEO of Lafarge North America Inc., was elected vice chairman.

“It is not only a pleasure but a great honor to serve as Chairman of the Board,” Cohrs said. “We may be just beginning to emerge from the recession, but the prospects for cement and concrete are incredibly positive.

“With our shift in leadership from Skokie to Washington comes a greater focus on advocacy and government affairs. But we also must maintain our focus on national and local promotion initiatives and continue to drive gains in both market share and market size.”

Cohrs is the current president of American Cement Company, LLC, a joint venture of CRH’s Oldcastle Materials Inc., and Trap Rock Industries Inc., based in Sumterville, Fla. President of American Cement since 2005, he has decades of experience in the cement industry. In 2000 he was appointed vice president of operations for Florida Rock Industries, where Cohrs also served as plant manager and construction manager.

He also was a corporate project manager for Essroc Materials Inc., responsible for the installation and commissioning of capital projects in six cement plants and two grinding plants.

Cohrs, in addition to be a long-standing member of the PCA Board of Directors, served as co-chair of the Manufacturing Technical Committee. He also was the local chairman for the 2002 IEEE/PCA Technical Conference. Cohrs has been an active member of the Florida Concrete and Products Association, serving as a member of its Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

He earned Bachelor Degrees in Industrial Engineering and Business Management from Florida State University and an MBA from The University of Tennessee.

About PCA
Based in Washington, D.C., with offices in Skokie, Ill., the Portland Cement Association represents cement companies in the United States. It conducts market development, engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs.  More information on PCA programs is available at www.cement.org.