Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
MITCHELL – Following nearly four years of construction, the cement plant in Mitchell produced the first clinker this week. Heidelberg Materials announced the start of production at the company’s state of the art plant this week.
The construction of the new Heidelberg Materials cement plant, formerly known as Lehigh Cement, began in 2019 and the vast majority of the work at the site has now been completed. The new facility uses the latest in technology and environmental controls to allow for a substantial increase in production capacity while significantly 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,” said Chris Ward, President and CEO of Heidelberg Materials North America. “With the capabilities of the new facility, we will be able to supply our customers more efficiently, consistently and sustainably than ever before.”
The new Mitchell plant is significant, being the most modernized and second largest cement plant in North America and reflecting one of the largest investments ever made in Lawrence County, according to a press release from Heidelberg.
It also represents major strides in the sustainability of cement production and will play a key role in achieving Heidelberg Materials’ commitment to reducing 30% of its carbon emissions by 2025 and achieving net zero concrete by 2050 at the latest. The new plant will contribute through substantial improvements in energy efficiency, reduced fuel consumption and production of lower-carbon EcoCemTM PLC.
The plant is expected to provide approximately 50 new full-time jobs, going from 120 to more than 170 full-time employees. It will also help ease cement supply constraints in the industry, producing four times the amount of cement compared to the existing facility, with total annual cement production expected to be more than 2.4 million tons.
Lehigh Cement Co. opened its first plant in Mitchell in 1902. The construction of the new plant was a $600 million investment.
At a topping-off ceremony in July 2022 when workers placed the final section of stack at the new facility, local officials and Lehigh leadership declared the day a historic event for the cement plant and city of Mitchell.
“What we are seeing today is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime maybe once-in-a-couple-lifetimes that something like this happens on a site, and in many places they don’t have a new expansion take place,” said Tracy Crowther, plant manager. “So, it is really special that it is happening here in Mitchell, in Lawrence County.”
About Heidelberg Materials North America
Based in Irving, Texas, Heidelberg Materials North America is part of Heidelberg Materials, one of the world’s largest integrated manufacturers of building materials and solutions. At the center of our actions lies our responsibility for the environment. We are pioneers on the road to carbon neutrality and circular construction. We’re developing new, sustainable building materials as well as intelligent digital solutions.