CalPortland officially opens new bulk cement loading station

CalPortland announced the official opening of a state-of-the-art rapid fill bulk cement loading station at its Oro Grande, CA, cement plant during a ribbon cutting event on 9 May 2019.

Loading stations 7 and 8 are the final steps in a plant modernisation programme that was originally undertaken in 2008, prior to the acquisition of the facility by CalPortland. A new finish cement grinding mill was commissioned in March 2019 which ultimately enables the plant to produce to its original design capacity. 

The project began in January 2018 and was constructed by general contractor thyssenkrupp and sub-contractor TIC, in collaboration with CalPortland’s Engineering Services team. The US$58.5m total project included the construction of the finish ball mill and two new cement loadout facilities and two new distribution silos.

"The new mill and efficient truck loadout scales complete the plant upgrade begun in 2008 by Riverside Cement Company," said Allen Hamblen, President/CEO, CalPortland. "CalPortland is proud to finish the expansion and build out of one of the most modern cement plants in the country. Our engineering staff and the Oro Grande operations team have developed a truck loadout system that is one of the fastest in the industry. The rapid fill bulk loading stations will prevent long wait times for our customers, reducing the total number of trucks on each loading station, thereby further contributing to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions."

The company highlighted that the need for rapid loading of bulk cement trucks is critical in southern California due to very heavy traffic and long distances between the cement source and the location of ready-mix concrete and concrete products plants in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties. The new loading lanes will improve service to the company's customers by reducing wait times for bulk truck drivers as they pick up bulk cement at the plant during peak loading hours, it added.

The official opening was attended by many CalPortland customers, bulk transport contract haulers as well as representatives of local elected public officials.