PROJECTS
2025 ANNUAL WORK OUTAGE
Keen observers might have noticed the massive red crane that has been looming over our plant. Every year, the Ravena plant temporarily ceases operations at the plant to allow for maintenance of critical plant machinery. This is a significant undertaking that takes months of planning to execute.
Usually, we run all day, every day, which makes in-depth repairs impossible, but unless we take some time off to attend to our complex network of technology and facilities, we can’t reliably produce our products for the rest of the year.
Our maintenance shutdown usually lasts a couple of weeks, but this year was unexpectedly challenging and longer than usual, involving several very in-depth projects than usual and stretching out over a couple of months.
The work we do during the outage includes a wide range of capital projects, lubrication and repair of machinery, electrical maintenance and upgrades, testing, and inspections – some of which we do with drones.
During an outage, our workforce balloons considerably, with between 100 to 200 contractors on site to help us with highly specialized tasks (like running that gigantic crane, installing new parts and equipment). While there are many local businesses that supply us with materials or services, there are also a large number of contractors that come from outside the area and stay here for weeks, patronizing local businesses and providing a boost to the economy.
We are pleased to report that the outage work is ending, and we are looking forward to getting back to our normal day-to-day operations.
Reclamation & Beautification
As part of our ongoing $5.4 million modernization project, which furthers our long-term commitment to the local community, we have undertaken an effort to remove and recycle outdated and unused equipment and structures from the plant site.
Reclamation is taking place using modern methods to dismantle the equipment safely and efficiently. No explosives are being used in the process and methods employed are designed to minimize nuisances such as vibration, noise, and dust.
Reclaimed material is sorted and transported to appropriate recycling facilities. Non-recyclable materials are contained and transported by licensed professionals to licensed facilities for disposal in strict adherence to state and federal guidelines.
Air monitoring has been occurring throughout this project in accordance with DEC regulations to ensure the safety of our workforce, our contractors, and the greater community.
Much of the work we are doing is not visible to the public, though the plant’s skyline will ultimately change.
We are committed to transparency and community engagement throughout this process and will update the public when it is complete.
Quarry Road
As a member of the Ravena-Coeymans community for more than six decades, we are always striving to improve our operations and minimize their impact on area residents.
That is the goal of a proposed quarry access road improvement project. This project aims to redirect truck traffic off portions of Jarvis and Mountain roads and onto existing plant-owned roads and county streets where residents will be least impacted.
The plant has a pending permit application with the NYSDEC to move the entrance/exit of the quarry by improving an existing, plant-owned quarry access road, to highway standards.
Reducing truck traffic on these roads will improve air quality, reduce noise, and improve overall quality of life for residents along the roadway.
We strongly believe this improvement project is the best possible means to address residents’ concerns about truck traffic while preserving our ability to transport aggregate from the quarry to the plant, which is a critical element of cement production.
We are undertaking this project in response to feedback we have received over the years from the local community and their elected representatives.
We have presented an overview of this project to local officials and are awaiting a response to our application from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
We are grateful for the support we have received from residents, and businesses in communicating the importance of this project to the DEC. We hope to have a decision in this matter to share soon.