A new 60,000 ton clinker silo in Guidonia (Rome) went into service a few days ago, adding to the three existing 25,000 ton silos and allowing the plant to more easily adapt production capacity to sales volume. Work on the silo was initiated in June 2008 and completed in August 2009.
The cylindrical, concrete silo has an internal diameter of 36 meters and is 58 meters high. The systems for loading the clinker from the kiln and unloading it from the silo are completely automated.
This investment has a very favorable impact on both our production operations and the surrounding environment because it practically eliminates the need to store clinker in the open, which creates high levels of dust when it is shoveled and transported by truck. From a financial standpoint, the plant will benefit from a sizeable reduction in internal transportation costs. Lastly, storing the clinker in a protected location will lead to an improvement in the quality of our cements.

Buzzi Unicem USA successfully started up its new River 7000 plant located in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, during the month of August.
The largest production line of the group, the new plant has already achieved excellent performance levels in terms of electrical energy and fuel consumption.
River 7000 is so big that it has a production capacity of 2.3 million tons/year, but still significantly reducing its environmental impact. The previous line had a production capacity of 1.3 million tons/year. The excellent position of the cement plant on the river banks of the Mississippi furtherly strengthens Buzzi Unicem USA presence along the main river ways of the Midwest, increasing the production capacity on water to 4.5 million tons/year (Cape Girardeau, MO and Chattanooga, TN included).

ZAPA beton was an active participant in the first Prague Celebrations Festival, one of the city’s largest cultural and social events that took place during June 2009 under the patronage of the City Mayor. The town was enlivened by a series of concerts, plays, films, exhibitions and much more during the festivities. Smíchov - the Prague's beach along the Moldau river - was chosen by the ZAPA staff to meet visitors and curious bystanders who were also able to see one of ZAPA distinctive concrete truck-mixers and pumps up close.

ZAPA also provided colouring books for the tiny tots and organized a sand-carrying race for children and adults, who won prizes of gifts and candy. The children could also have their photograph taken on the concrete truck-mixer or the pump. The photos were printed immediately and given to the parents as a memento of the event.

Congresswoman Kristina Köhler from the CDU party visited the Wilhelm Dyckerhoff Institute (WDI) in Wiesbaden to follow the development of several innovative projects undertaken by Dyckerhoff with funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research amounting to approximately 1.2 million Euros.
The director of WDI, Dr. Josef Strunge, explained to Dr. Köhler the innovative potential of applying nanotechnology to hydraulic binders to improve their performance and at the same time reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Dyckerhoff has been involved in five funded projects since the beginning of 2009.  Besides the “CarboBau” project involving the use of carbon nanotubes, WDI researchers are also working on developing very high strength concrete formulations at a sustainable cost, functionalizing surfaces to improve their photocatalytic properties, cements with a low CO2 emissions factor and new concrete production technologies.

Buzzi Unicem kicked off its new corporate campaign in the trade press several months ago, adopting a serious, subdued communication strategy that is perfect in keeping with the profile that the company has continued to maintain throughout its 100-year history.
The simple, clear campaign sends a single, powerful message emerging from the union of all the companies within the group: Understanding.
Understanding is the ability to appreciate the people belonging to the group, working together to create synergies that go beyond language and cultural barriers. Understanding is the desire to listen to the ideas and opinions of every team member to create a lively environment full of color and enthusiasm.
Sometimes, too many words are used to build a communication campaign. We only needed one.

Dyckerhoff opened the Kalkofen quarry for the first time to anyone who was interested in visiting it as part of the European Minerals Day and Nature Conservation Day celebrations in Hesse.
Dyckerhoff had closed the Kalkofen quarry belonging to the Amöneburg-Wiesbaden plant at the end of 2005. In agreement with the "Untere Naturschutzbehörde" (local nature conservation authority), the area has since then been transformed into a protected natural area with geotopes. This new type of reclamation involves maintaining the jagged terraces of the quarry; the tertiary rocks, which no longer exist in the surrounding area, are therefore left visible for scientific research purposes. This also ensures an ideal habitat for the reproduction of plants and animals.
The quarry was reopened after three and a half years of reclamation. Experts invited visitors and held tours of the quarry, explaining the reclamation/development concept as required by law on the nature conservation.

During the 2008/2009 school year, Buzzi Unicem decided to play a part in the schools of Casale Monferrato (Alessandria) with a pilot project that involved studying the chemistry of cement. This experimental educational project took place at the Alighieri-Trevigi middle school and the Balbo high school (fourth year junior grade).
During the first week of December 2008, the staff responsible for the project presented the proposal to the students with an introductory lecture that was quite theoretical in nature: cement and its production cycle, ranging from the extraction of the raw materials to the sale of the finished product; concrete and its uses. The main focus was on all the chemical processes involved in hydrating the cement plus the quality controls performed up until the product is used.

In March 2009, about 30 students from the third year of the middle schools attended a workshop at the participating schools, learning several basic elements of the chemistry of cement. The middle school children determined the difference between mixture and solution, experimenting with the various separation techniques such as filtration, evaporation and precipitation; they determined the pH of various solutions using liquid and universal indicators; they studied the differences between silicaceous and calcareous aggregates, including both the superficial and chemical aspects; lastly, they evaluated the hardness index of several materials such as clinker, limestone and gypsum.
The workshop for the high school students was rather more in-depth, with the students performing the experiments by themselves. They conducted tests to determine sulfates in solution by precipitating barium sulfate, and performed qualitative and quantitative analyses by UV/VIS to detect the chromium in cement eluates reduced with stannous sulfate and without.
The project concluded in May 2009 with a trip to the Trino (Vercelli) plant, where the students were able to see for themselves the cement grinding, quality control and concrete preparation  processes plus a few more experiments in the analysis laboratory.

Dyckerhoff Polska was ranked third in the “large companies” category (annual sales of more than 200 million PLN) of the Forbes Diamonds 2009 Award regional list. Initiated by Forbes financial magazine (Polish edition), the contest awards companies that increased their business during the years 2005-2007.
The official awards ceremony took place in Kielce during a convivial meeting attended by the representatives of the selected companies. Representing Dyckerhoff Polska was Adam Dec, Human Resources Manager, who received the award on behalf of our subsidiary.
The Forbes Diamonds list is prepared using the Swiss method of determining the value of businesses, taking into consideration their financial performance and the invested capital. This method measures the potential of a firm, particularly with respect to the investments made and the ability to increase sales and profits. The ranking is prepared with the information provider Dun & Bradstreet.

The Province of Cuneo won the "Premio Sfide 2009" (Challenge Award 2009), a contest reserved for public bodies, by collaborating synergistically with the Robilante cement plant to manage its waste.
Attended by the Minister of the Environment Stefania Prestigiacomo, the awards ceremony was held in Rome on 11 May during the FORUM PA, an exhibition and convention showcasing innovation in the public sector. The contest is an initiative sponsored by the Department for the Regional Economies Developmet of the Ministers Council Presidency to identify exceptionally innovative projects undertaken by public authorities (PA). The purpose is to create a public authority that can achieve effective, efficient and measurable results in which everyone participates.
There were 91 participants with 16 winners, among which was the Province of Cuneo with its project “Managing and turning waste into energy at the cement plant”. Not being able to afford its own waste-to-energy plant, the Province of Cuneo used the kilns at the Robilante cement plant to burn 42,000 tons of waste-derived fuel instead of coal, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 80,000 tons during 2007-2008.

Our Greencastle, IN plant received the Cement Industry Energy and Environment Award 2009 for Innovation.
This year marked the 8th annual awards, sponsored by both PCA (Portland Cement Association) and Cement Americas magazine.
Awards were presented in five areas: environmental performance, land stewardship, outreach, innovation, and energy efficiency.
The 2009 Prize for innovation was awarded to the Greencastle plant for its project involving a system to handle spent pot liner (SPL) for use as an alternative fuel.

Greencastle is the only cement kiln in the US utilizing SPL as an alternative fuel source.
Due to the success of the SPL project, Greencastle is exploring the possibility of firing additional hard-to-handle waste materials. Greencastle continues to research ways to expand the system to allow for the beneficial reuse of other materials, thus reducing the quantities of wastes generated and landfilled, while also conserving fossil fuel that would otherwise be fired in the cement pyro-process.

Representatives of the Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas Board presented a Workforce Investment Fund grant of $38,000 to Buzzi Unicem USA Maryneal plant. This non-profit government organization was created to provide funds for developing training and upgrading programs of employees. Buzzi Unicem USA will use this grant to train thirty-six employees. Training will enhance managers and supervisors by assisting them in increasing their productivity through better communication and teamwork. Buzzi Unicem USA is proud to have achieved this ambitious objective that will allow its employees to be trained on topics that are important, albeit different from the usual subjects.
Training started in February 2009 and is conducted by the Texas State Technical College of Sweetwater. To date, the topics have included “Effective Listening Skills”, “Electronic Communications”, “The Basic Principles for a Collaborative Workplace”, “Sexual Harassment/EEO - Equal Employment Opportunity - and Professional Ethics”, “Violence in the Workplace”, and “The Leader in Each of Us”. Training will continue for the remainder of the year.

On April 28th, the Sustainability Report has been presented to the shareholders meeting. It reports on social, economical and environmentals performances of the group's activities during 2008, in line with the consolidated approach of the last few years. The structure and the contents are based on the rationale of the continuous improvement.
The actions taken during 2008 on methodology has brought us to reach the maximum level of application A+ according to GRI (global reporting initiative). This result has to be considerd as a tangible recognition to the committment to reduce company's environmental impact and improve stakeholder engagement. Furthermore, the timeliness of pubblication and a common comunication concept with the Annual Report proves how much sustainability has become a material issue for the company. The Report has been translated in three languages: Italian, English and German.

Both the Cimalux plants in Rumelange and in Esch-sur-Alzette have been awarded the SuperDrecksKëscht® fir Betriber quality label for the efficiency of their waste management.
Within the frame of the Luxembourg national waste management plan and the national plan for sustained development, all actors are required to commit to an environmentally correct, low energy and low resources consuming behavior. This is also the aim of SuperDrecksKëscht® fir Betriber a joint initiative by the Ministry for the Environment and the Chambre des Métiers (Chamber of Trades) which goes back to the year 1992. The objective of the SuperDrecksKëscht® fir Betriber is to support all companies in the implementation of an environmentally correct waste management focusing on prevention, reduction, recycling and elimination of waste.
The quality label SuperDrecksKëscht® fir Betriber is a guaranty sign of an environmentally correct waste management for companies, which is delivered by the Ministry for the Environment and the Chambre des Métiers.
The compliance with the label criteria will be checked annually and confirmed by a certificate. If a company satisfies the criteria of the quality label for 5 subsequent years, it will receive a diploma for its ecological commitment and responsibility and thereafter will only be checked every second year.

Dyckerhoff AG participated in the BAU 2009 trade show with its Dyckerhoff Weiss® product and the new blue company logo. The 200 m2 stand and floor tiled in “reflective concrete” gave visitors not only a full panorama of the company’s complete product portfolio and applications, but also the creative and architectural possibilities that Dyckerhoff Weiss® offers to contractors, designers and users.
The features of white cement and modern high-performance binders such as Dyckerhoff Flowstone® were demonstrated to guests with the help of a few display pieces such as the “bath egg” by Michael Dorrer – a concrete bath in the shape of an egg – and the Möbius strip by Marian Kuchár – a closed-loop strip with a half-twist along its length to create only one side and edge. The exhibition of this and other works of art created at the Ferdinand von Steinbeis institute is another instance of Dyckerhoff’s ongoing commitment to the education of new entrants into the concrete industry by providing training and refresher courses.
The most recent contemporary, architectural works in concrete created with Dyckerhoff Weiss® include a fire station in Cologne, the town hall of Mannheim, the state theater in Darmstadt, the Weisses Haus in Stuttgart, the Kolumba art museum in Cologne and a school in Riedelbach, all excellent solutions from both a technical and architectural standpoint, and which demonstrate the special effectiveness of Dyckerhoff white cements.

Last January 15th, the President of the Mexican Repubblic, Felipe Calderón, has laid the first stone of the modernization project for the airport of Cuernavaca, Morelos, to reach the dignity of the “International status”.
This project has been assigned to the construction group Avanzada Tecnica Constructiva,SA de CV, customer of our associate Concretos Moctezuma.
Other than the President Calderón, the event has seen the participation of the Morelos State Governor, Marco Antonio Adáme Castillo; of the secretary of the Communication and Transportation, Luis Téllez and of the President of the Municipality, Javier Orihuela.
Representing Corporación Moctezuma, were Pedro Carranza Andresen and Manuel Rodriguez Lomeli.

The modernization work provides in the first phase: a new 5000 sqm terminal, a new landing track to enable arrival of large aircrafts like the Boeing 767, the control tower, a new parking area of over 15.000 sqm, capable to accommodate more than 300 cars, and a platform of 17.000 sqm for commercial aviation. Passengers throughput should increase from the current 100.000 to more than 500.000 per year.
Concretos Moctezuma will provide 1.000 m3 of concrete, with three different classes of strength.
The project, to be developed in two phases, is expected to cost a total of more than 460 million pesos.
Cuernavaca airport "Mariano Matamoros" is only 10 km away from Tepetzingo where our associate Corporación Moctezuma has its headquarters.