Greater Degree of Collaboration on Next Generation of Blended Cement
Written By: Michael Hernandez, Technical Director
Excited to announce that ASCC has already received agreement from more than ten of the largest cement manufacturers in the U.S. to openly communicate, through ASCC, with member contractors about any future blended cement introductions. Each new blended cement will be unique from plant to plant based on SCM availability and market needs. Most plants are already producing IL. This initiative would cover future IL with a higher limestone percentage, IS (slag), IP (pozzolan), or IT (clinker + two SCMs) blended cements.
The goal is to avoid surprises and enable members to present options to owners with aggressive low-carbon concrete goals. I can provide you with the point of contact at each manufacturer if you send me an email with a specific request at mhernandez@ascconline.org.
Part of the process of introducing a new cement blend involves cement manufacturers providing sample buckets to their customers—ready mixed producers. When a new cement is released, ready mixed producers will usually run lab trials with their own materials and admixtures.
Last month, in The Slab (July 2025 issue), Master Builders Solutions provided a paper describing the process for evaluating multiple admixtures and material combinations in small batches. You can read it here:
Mortar-to-Mix Procedure for Evaluating Cementitious Materials and Chemical Admixtures
The next step is field evaluations. This is an ideal time to ask if the concrete can be placed and finished by your team, so you can gain firsthand understanding of how it performs in the field and provide feedback to both ready mixed and cement representatives.
To simplify the search for cement plants located nearest your office or a project, here is a QR code link to a Google Map with every cement plant in the U.S. You can zoom in to view each plant via satellite. Tons per year produced are approximate (+/- 10–15%) and intended to provide a general sense of scale.
We have additional data available about what most of these plants are currently manufacturing, which will be posted on the ASCC website (far right tab after logging in).
If you would like a large wall map that includes cement plants and transfer terminals (rail-to-silo-to-truck) or the cement directory with addresses, phone numbers, and contacts, they can be purchased here:
National Cement Directory
The continued increase in communication between concrete contractors, ready mixed producers, and cement manufacturers is an excellent way to mitigate risk by improving understanding of critical material availability and enabling testing before market release.
Parallel to the Indianapolis ASCC Annual Conference, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, there will be a blended cement workshop from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The program will include:
- Information about blended cement
- Insight into cement manufacturing
- Ready mixed resources
- A producer quality control testimony
- Plastic concrete performance evaluation
- Two case studies
- A roundtable discussion to conclude the session
Registration information will be available by mid-August.