German Subsidiary Begins Production at new Lawrence County Plant

Heidelberg Materials North America, a subsidiary of Germany-based Heidelberg Materials, has begun production at its new, more than $600 million cement plant in the Lawrence County city of Mitchell. The company, formerly known as Lehigh Hanson, said the facility will ultimately produce 2.4 million tons of cement annually.

The first clinker was produced earlier this week at the facility, which replaces the company’s previous plant. Clinker is the material that comes out of the plant’s kiln and is then ground and processed into cement.

Construction on the plant began in 2019, but was delayed in March 2020 due to the pandemic. A spokesperson for Heidelberg told IIB construction resumed at an accelerated pace the following September.

Heidelberg said the facility uses the latest technology and environmental controls to provide a “substantial increase” in production capacity, while reducing energy usage, fuel consumption and emissions per ton of cement produced.

“We are extremely pleased to have the new Mitchell kiln online and producing clinker,” Chris Ward, president and CEO of Heidelberg Materials North America, said in a news release. “With the capabilities of the new facility, we will be able to supply our customers more efficiently, consistently and sustainably than ever before.”

Full Story Courtesy of Inside Indiana Business