Lafarge Acquires Whitestone Supply

Lafarge North America purchased all of the shares of Whitestone Supply Co. Cleveland-based Whitestone comprises three rail-based resale yards in Northeastern Ohio, servicing the Cleveland and Youngstown markets. “The addition of Whitestone to our Great Lakes division strengthens Lafarge's aggregates position in the Cleveland and Youngstown markets,” said Claude Bastien, President of the U.S. East region of Lafarge's Construction Materials unit. “The acquisition compliments our existing aggregate docks, slag, sand and gravel, and limestone operations in Northeastern Ohio.” And west of the Mississippi, the Good News Coalition of Jefferson County, Colo., honored Lafarge North America for its environmental efforts. The award is based on Lafarge's recent efforts to increase the reserves of its Spec Agg Quarry while preserving open space land for Jefferson County. Lafarge will give Jefferson County 60 acres around the Spec Agg Quarry for open space; turn over all the mined areas to open space after reclamation; donate 463 acres of open space on North Table Mountain; and hand over mining rights on 100 acres of tall grass prairie near the Rocky Flats. In return, the county gave Lafarge three important parcels of land (60 acres) around the quarry that will provide Lafarge with another 20 years of mining reserves.

RMC Industries Considers Florida Cement Import Terminal

RMC Industries is evaluating the feasibility of building a cement import facility on its property in the Port of Tampa, Fla. The facility would share property and infrastructure with RMC's recently opened construction aggregate import operation. RMC consumes approximately 1 million short tons of cement per year in Florida. RMC Industries operates over 60 ready mixed concrete plants and 15 concrete block and concrete products plants in Florida.

Tennessee Asphalt Buys Operation

The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association reports that Tennessee Asphalt Co. of Knoxville, Tenn., purchased the quarry and trucking assets of Frogge and Williams, Inc. in Jamestown, Tenn. The assets are located in north central Tennessee. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Survey: Nation Backs Public Transportation Spending

Road building advocates are not the only ones pushing for strong TEA-21. The American Public Transportation Association commissioned a survey and is using the results to push for more public transportation funding. Four in five (81%) Americans believe that increased investment in public transportation strengthens the economy, creates jobs, reduces traffic congestion and air pollution, and saves energy, according to a new national poll conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide. The survey found that 72% support the use of public funds for the expansion and improvement of public transportation. Also, 64% said that they would be more likely to support a candidate for Congress who is favorable to improving public transportation options. Wirthlin Worldwide conducted the telephone survey Feb. 12-16. It polled a random sample of 1,003 adults living in the continental United States. “These results show that Americans clearly are looking to public transit as a solution to the growing congestion crisis and are willing to pay for it. Most interesting is that these findings cut across all geographic locations,” says Dee Allsop, Wirthlin CEO.

Send news items to Rick Markley, Rock Products 29 N. Wacker Dr., Chicago, IL 60606 or e-mail: rmarkley@primediabusiness.com Fax: 312/726-4107

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