Ash Grove Cement Plant Wins Top Maintenance Award

The Ash Grove Cement Co.’s Durkee, Ore., plant won top honors in the company’s annual Maintenance Excellence Program (MEP) competition for 2011. The Durkee plant also received the 2011 Ash Grove Energy Management (AGem) award.

Since 2008, eight Ash Grove cement manufacturing plants and two grinding facilities have competed to earn the award. Each facility is evaluated on several Key Performance Indicators in conjunction with MEP posting requirements, and the actual maintenance cost per equivalent ton of cement. The MEP key performance indicators show both financial and functional performance as to how well plants are mastering the MEP concept and improving their overall maintenance performance.

The Durkee plant employs 109 people and began operations in 1979. The plant expanded in 1998 and is certified as ISO 14001 compliant, which is an international standard for excellence in environmental management. The Durkee plant has earned awards, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Award in 2010, the Pacific Northwest Chapter of Air and Waste Management Environmental Achievement Award in 2010, and several safety awards from the Portland Cement Association as well as Ash Grove’s President’s Safety awards.