Middle Georgia Technical College

$200 million company to be built near Perry

March 23, 2007

By Charlotte Perkins, Houston Daily Journal Staff Writer

A $200 million industry will be built near Perry, and will bring nearly 100 full time jobs with average salaries of more than $40,000 before benefits.

The industry, already named Houston American Cement Company, is a subsidiary of Votorantim Cimento North America, which is a Brazilian company.

It will be built in the Clinchfield area outside of Perry, and will include a limestone mine and cement processing plant. A railroad spur will be constructed for hauling 40 percent of the cement by rail, and trucks will also be used for hauling the other 60 percent.

County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders and Development Authority Chairman Neal Reardon, who have visited the company’s cement plant in Suwannee County, Fla. in recent weeks, but kept the project under wraps until Thursday afternoon, were jubilant in making the announcement of the new industry, which will have a big impact on the local economy even before it is up and running by the target opening date of 2010.

Company officials anticipate that building the plant will require up to 500 construction workers, and the industry will bring a big boost to the county’s tax digest.

The announcement ceremony, held at the auditorium of Middle Georgia Technical College, was attended by Gov. Sonny Perdue, with Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Larry Walker serving as master of ceremonies. Among those speaking were County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders, Houston County Development Authority Chairman Neal Reardon, and Daniel Fritz, CEO of Houston American Cement. Fritz said that the plant would be “state-of-the-art” with no negative impact on the air or on future growth. He said that tests had indicated that the limestone reserves to be mined by the company for cement production will last 60 years at a minimum. Limestone is the main component of cement.

Fritz emphasized that the company is strong on environmental compliance, and said that the Florida operation is monitored “in real time” by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection through a computerized system. He showed slides of the high-tech Florida facility, which he said has been commended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its air quality measures, and would be the model for the new Georgia plant.

“It is heartwarming to think of having $200 million added to the tax digest,” Sanders said, and Perdue quipped afterward that he hoped this would lower county property taxes.

Perdue welcomed the new company and had high praise for Middle Georgia Technical College, telling Fritz that future employees for the company would get “good training and this facility will work hand in hand with you.”

He also told the CEO that Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division has a reputation for being “tough but fair.”

VCNA is the seventh largest cement producer in the world, according to company officials, and has 20 plants in Brazil and five already in operation in the U.S. and Canada.

Daniel Fritz, CEO of Houston American Cement; Governor Sonny Perdue; Ned Sanders, County Commission Chairman; and Neal Reardon, Houston County Development Authority Chairman, look on as Larry Walker, Georgia DOT Commissioner serves as master of ceremonies.