Summit Material's Hannibal plant converts fully to PLC production

Summit Materials Inc is celebrating that its Hannibal plant in Missouri, operated by Continental Cement Co LLC  has converted 100 per cent of its production to Portland limestone cement (PLC). It is expected that the blended cement will result in a reduction of the carbon footprint by 10 per cent on average.

The Hannibal plant is the company’s second conversion to PLC in 2022. Continental Cement’s Davenport plant in Buffalo, Iowa, began 100 per cent PLC production in April 2022. The two plants produced a combined 2.1Mt of cement in 2021. Continental Cement’s conversion to PLC marks an important step toward reaching Summit’s overall 2030 and 2050 decarbonisation targets announced in April 2022. 

"A lower carbon future requires the cooperation of the entire cement-concrete-construction value chain, and we are delighted with the quick adoption of PLC by our customers and specifiers who supported this pivotal change at our plants this year,” commented David Loomes, Continental Cement president and senior VP of Summit Materials. "In addition to shrinking our carbon footprint through the use of alternative fuels in the manufacturing process, the conversion to PLC reduces concrete embodied carbon by approximately 10 per cent while delivering resilient and durable infrastructure to our communities in all Continental Cement markets where Hannibal and Davenport cement is supplied.”

Continental Cement is an established industry leader in championing lower carbon solutions and the use of alternative fuels, deriving an average of about 42 per cent of the company's total fuel usage from alternative fuels (based on 2021 usage) across these two plants. 

“Summit’s vision is to become the most socially responsible, integrated construction materials solutions provider,” commented Anne Noonan, CEO of Summit Materials. “The PLC conversion at our Hannibal and Davenport plants reflects Summit’s target to reduce carbon emissions by 25 per cent in 2030 and our goal to reach net zero by 2050, and furthers the larger industry effort to address climate change and build a more sustainable future through the Portland Cement Association’s Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality.”