Eagle Materials in the United States which in January completed the purchase of the outstanding 50 per cent of the equity in Illinois Cement Company for US$72m, is investing US$65m in that company’s La Salle, Illinois works.  This investment will increase the capacity of the plant, which primarily serves the Illinois and southern Wisconsin markets, from 0.61Mt at present to 1.0Mt (1.1Mst) and should reduce unit costs by around one-fifth.  Work will start this spring and should be completed towards the end of 2006.