You’re invited to the Lafarge Plant in Exshaw this Saturday for a party to celebrate the opening of their new, modern, cleaner cement-producing kiln! I had the opportunity to take a tour on Tuesday and was quite impressed by what I saw.

Our tour guide and Lafarge employee Robin was extremely knowledgeable explaining how cement is made with the incredible amount of equipment they have on site. Side note: Please don’t ask me how cement is made. I don’t think I fully understand the processes after a half hour tour, other than the fact that it gets really hot, turns around a few times, then gets really cold. Science!

I did learn that, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, emissions from the new kiln are of the highest environmental standard. The new EcoDome stores the raw materials for processing and will do wonders to keep dust from blowing into the community of Exshaw. The Lafarge Plant in Exshaw draws the equivalent energy of a city of 100,000 people, yet without it there would be no city as Lafarge cement can be found in almost every building and project in our province. And perhaps most importantly the newly upgraded kiln is expected to add $1.2 billion in impact to the Alberta economy – a rare good news story for a province in the red!

I spoke with plant manager Jim Bachmann about the new upgrades and a new initiative they’re launching in local schools in partnership with the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre.

Come celebrate the new kiln with a big party this Saturday from 10 AM – 4 PM! Featuring live music, kids activities, smokies and burgers, a Roam the EcoDome walking tour, and more! It’s a free event.

Filed under: Exshaw, Lafarge