Indiana Harbor Belt to serve new Ozinga cement mill

Ozinga has opened a new low-carbon cement mill in East Chicago, Indiana, with direct access to all Class Is via the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad.

The high-efficiency plant will produce 1 million tons of slag cement annually. Its strategic location and advanced slag recycling process directly address economic and environmental challenges of making cement, Ozinga officials said in a press release.

"We built this mill in the heart of the Midwest because we believe it is central to producing high-performing, American-made materials that will be the foundation of U.S. infrastructure for years to come," said Marty Ozinga, CEO of Ozinga. "We are taking the cement-to-concrete process from start to finish — with American ownership at every step of the domestic supply chain, with homegrown scientific innovation and with American workers all the way."

Adding domestic capacity for cement will help reduce supply constraints that have led to delivery delays and price swings that have hurt the U.S. construction industry, Ozinga officials said. The local production and distribution capabilities at the new facility aim to boost confidence in low-carbon materials as environmental sustainability and construction costs drive development choices across both private and public sectors, they added.

Once fully operational, the plant is projected to offset more than 700,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually. Ozinga will ship finished slag cement by barge and highway. Additionally, Ozinga will utilize onsite rail infrastructure to create new business for the Indiana Harbor Belt.