Ash Grove to Spend to expand Foreman plant

Ash Grove Cement Co has announced that it will spend about US$190m to expand its portland cement manufacturing plant in Foreman. The project, to begin in 2007 and take about two years to finish, will almost completely rebuild the existing plant, the company said. The expanded plant will produce 1.7Mt of portland cement per year, a capacity increase of about 700,000t of cement per year. The current plant was built in 1958 and purchased by Ash Grove in 1985. It employs 160.

The company said engineering studies are underway that will lead to a bid proposal for the expansion. The new facilities will be just south of the current plant and will continue to use raw materials from a quarry on the plant property at 4457 Highway 108 in Foreman. The expansion will add the latest manufacturing technology to the plant, the company said, making the plant more efficient and better for the environment. The portland cement made there is distributed in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Tennessee.