USA: congressman tours cement plant

Congressman Mike Turner recently took a tour of Cemex’s Fairborn plant. The factory,  which has been in operation for more than 80 years, is one of two operating cement plants in the state of Ohio. The facility has the capacity to produce 750,000tpa of cement, but in recent years has produced less than this due to the prevailing economic conditions.

According to plant manager Alberto Calleros, the facility is currently operating at 85-90 per cent of its capacity after falling to 60 per cent during the recent recession. Cemex-Fairborn leaders anticipate an increase in production in 2013.

During his tour of the 3000-acre site at 3250 Linebaugh Road, Congressman Turner met with Cemex cement plant leadership and some of its 108 employees, while getting a first-hand look at how cement is produced.

“I really appreciate the opportunity to tour the facility. I learned a lot,” Turner said to a gathering of Cemex  workers following the tour. “I had no idea what happens down the line, from the heating process to the chemistry. I would have thought you just ground and mixed, not the complex process you folks go through every day.”

The Fairborn plant produces Portland and masonry cements for use in area homes, roads, schools, businesses and hospitals.

“Through the ups and downs of the economy Cemex continues to do well because of the quality of the workforce. That high level of quality will sustain jobs here in the Miami Valley,” Turner said. “Cemex is the foundation of construction building products. To accomplish any building you need affordable and quality materials.”

The Congressman also visited a 47-acre former quarry site Cemex’s Fairborn plant, in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, established as native grasslands that provide a nesting habitat for birds in the Beavercreek Township area.