Member Spotlight

Keystone Cement Company

Contact: Jeff Kaboly

Pennsylvania Facilities: 1 in Bath, PA

PA Employee Count: 225

Web address: www.keystone-cement.com

What they do:

Keystone Cement manufactures Portland and masonry cements that are used in the construction of highways, bridges and buildings.

Their history:

Beginning with the purchase of 400 acres of land near Bath, PA, Keystone Cement was officially recognized as a corporation in 1926.  Their original investors made contracts with a company in Germany to buy equipment needed to construct their goal of a new state-of-the-art cement manufacturing plant, and by the summer of 1928, Keystone began production as one of the most modern and efficient mills of its day.  In the following years, they increased their land ownership to 1000 total acres.

Keystone has made improvements and additions each decade since, and in 1976 became one of the first cement kilns to use industrial waste as a fuel source.  Their biggest milestone came in January of 2006 when Governor Ed Rendell announced a $7 million investment to help Keystone retain their 180 employees at the time, and expand their manufacturing plant.

How they’re involved in the community…

Keystone’s philosophy is that they take their role as a community partner seriously, contributing to the local economy and to the education of the local community.

Through their employees, Keystone works within the community to support students and teachers in public and private schools, environmental organizations and activities, public service organizations, and recreational events.

Keystone focuses their contributions to the community on two main areas:

1. Education of our youth
2. Public Service Organizations

… and the environment

Taking pride in being an industry leader in controlling pollution and developing patented methods for recycling waste materials, Keystone continually seeks new and innovative technologies for their processes and environmental programs.

Their environmental goals are to:

• Minimize the impact of their operation on their neighbors
• Operate in an environmentally ethical manner
• Conserve natural resources by recycling and reusing by-products
• Reclaim all mined land
• Manage their real estate properties in an environmentally responsible way

And finally, the latest Keystone Cement news:

As a result of the January 2006 investment made in part by Governor Rendell (the rest of the project’s total $250,000,000 cost was provided by parent company Cementos Portland Valderrivas located in Pamplona, Spain), Keystone is currently upgrading their plant from a “wet” cement production process to a “dry one.”  The expected completion date is in fall of 2009.  In addition, over the past two years they have constructed new buildings, installed new manufacturing equipment, and re-trained existing employees.