The Salt River Materials Group Phoenix Cement plant in Clarkdale was recently honored with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® award for 2008, after first receiving the award for 2007.

To earn the 2007 award, the plant scored 97 of a possible 100 on the Energy Performance Indicator (EPI), used by the EPA to measure energy efficiency in cement plants. In order to qualify for an ENERGY STAR award a score of at least 75 is required. In addition, the plant must have a three-year history of complying with several other environmental regulations.

"Our score for 2008 was a perfect 100 on the EPI," said Lew Dodendorf, Energy Manager for the company. "We made additional improvements which allow us to reduce our energy usage while maintaining excellent production and quality."

"This score marks us as second to none when compared to other cement plants in the United States," said Roger Smith, president and CEO of Phoenix Cement Company. "We are very proud of this accomplishment."

The Phoenix Cement plant features energy efficient roller mills for coal, raw meal and finish grinding. The finish grinding mill was the first such mill to be installed in the US. An energy efficient clinker cooler captures and uses more waste heat in the system and raw feed sweetening and blending systems have recently been upgraded to improve overall process efficiency.