Slag Cement Use Up 15 Percent

The Slag Cement Association (SCA) presented five awards recognizing outstanding promotion efforts at its recent annual meeting in Kansas City. Work by individuals and regional task groups helped increase the use of slag cement by approximately 15 percent in 2004, with shipments topping 3.46 million metric tons, including slag cement shipped as a separate product and the slag cement portion of blended cement. The record growth significantly outpaced the growth of Portland cement, which experienced a healthy increase of 6.6 percent. Slag cement remains the fastest growing cementitious material in the United States, its use more than tripling since 1996.

Since 2004, Autry Beamon has led numerous initiatives to increase and improve the use of slag cement. As chair of the SCA North Central Regional Task Group, Beamon championed efforts to increase awareness of slag cement and promote the benefits of ternary concrete mixes, including organizing four regional seminars with international experts on durability and sustainability. He has fostered partnerships with local professional and trade associations to support education and research, and initiated Task Group efforts with the Minnesota Department of Transportation aimed at improving pavement durability with slag cement and ternary mixes. Under Beamon's leadership, the task group, which serves Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, has seen an impressive increase in membership and activity — so much so that the group received the Region of the Year Award.

In 2004, the North Central Regional Task Group stepped up its educational and promotional activities dramatically, starting numerous initiatives and building new relationships with public agencies, professional organizations and trade associations that will have lasting impact on the use of slag cement in the region.

North Central Regional Task Group:

Autry Beamon — Holcim Inc., 2004 chairDave Meyer — Lafarge North America, 2004 co-chairBarry Descheneaux — Holcim Inc.David Edmundson — Lafarge North AmericaJeff Fortner — Holcim Inc.Alfred Gardiner — Holcim Inc.Jason Kruger — Holcim Inc.David Morlock — Lafarge North AmericaMark Johnson — Lehigh Cement CompanySteve Otto — Holcim Inc.Mark Thompson — Holcim Inc.Rick Seybert — Lafarge North America

Taking the helm of the SCA Marketing Committee in 2004, Christian Bononi implemented the Key Target Market program, challenging the association's six Regional Task Groups to promote the use of slag cement for specific projects that would benefit from the material's contributions to durability and sustainability. Bononi also initiated work with the EPA on encouraging use of slag cement for improved concrete and decreased environmental impact.

As chair of SCA's Technical Committee, Barry Descheneaux led the effort to implement major new research and development programs that investigate de-icer salt durability, shrinkage, and ternary mix optimization and performance. Descheneaux also chaired the Editorial Subcommittee, which developed numerous educational and promotional tools. His technical knowledge and leadership helped the association take giant steps toward improving industry understanding of slag cement properties and benefits.

As a member of the SCA Technical Committee from 2001 to 2004, Nick Popoff was involved in many of its significant accomplishments. He helped initiate and build SCA's technical resource database, and represents the slag cement industry through involvement on numerous technical committees.