Carolinas Cement plans US$5m packaging facility

Carolinas Cement Company, part of the Titan America group, announced Friday it has submitted an application with New Hanover County to build a permit to construct a US$5m packaging facility.

The new unit would add to an existing storage and handling terminal owned and operated by Roanoke Cement Company, another subsidiary of Titan, on the site of the former Ideal cement plant in Castle Hayne, where Titan is planning to build a new cement plant.

The proposed Castle Hayne cement plant, which was awarded a revised air quality permit from the NC. Division of Air Quality last year, remains in the design and permitting process and would ultimately require approval from the county. The packaging facility, the company said, is already allowed under the air quality permit and therefore would not need a special-use permit.

“The new bagging facility will enable Roanoke Cement to package the cement it stores and handles on-site for distribution to customers throughout the southeast,” Carolinas Cement said in a release. “The facility is planned as a simple packaging operation that will not include any type of manufacturing or processing.”

The release states the terminal at the Castle Hayne site has been operating since the 1990s. “The demand for cement is growing as the economy strengthens,” said Bob Odom, general manager of Carolinas Cement “This use of our existing property is a smart way to create jobs and move forward on this project,” he added.