Page 66 - Martin Marietta - 2024 Sustainability Report

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

New Mill, Silos Improve Midlothian’s Productivity and Sustainability

With demand from the high-growth North Texas market expected to boom in coming years, the team at Midlothian
Cement has worked to ensure its extraordinary success will be sustainable. After thoughtful consideration, the team
embarked on a series of capital improvements that increases finishing capacity and ensure its customer service remains at
world-class levels.
The project, completed in 2024, includes a new finish mill capable of finishing 240 tons of cement per hour, three silos
with a total capacity of 50,000 tons of cement storage and six fully automated truck loadout lanes. The new, more
efficient, and high-capacity mill replaces four 60-year-old mills and adds a net finishing capacity of 450,000 tons per year,
allowing the plant to respond to growing demand in the region. Additionally, the new silos add needed storage and the
expanded loading lanes greatly improve the rate at which the site can load customer trucks,” said Director of Cement
Technical Services Eduardo Gonzalez.

Breaking ground in April 2022, the project faced several hurdles early on, Gonzalez said. “The project was ready to launch
in late 2019, but was put on hold during COVID-19. Even after COVID settled, we were hit with higher costs, longer
delivery times and fewer available contractors,” Gonzalez said. Adding to the project’s complexity, planners were forced
to adapt their original contract strategy by hiring engineering and procurement professionals while engaging multiple
contractors for the civil, structural, mechanical and electrical installation efforts.

The silos have been up for commercial operations since October 2023, and the new mill became operational in the third
quarter of 2024. “Four years ago, this was just an idea on a PowerPoint,” Gonzalez said. “Now, it’s a point of pride for all
of us here.” The improvements have already provided customers with many benefits.

“We are hearing very positive comments from a preliminary survey regarding service, speed and cleanliness,” said Mike
Kenefick, manager of cement operation services. The new dispatching area comes with improved customer service, faster
dispatching times and additional storage, which provides better flexibility for the plant to schedule production and
maintenance, and maximize product availability. Equally important, the new loadout area results in reduced truck idling
time which translates to less GHG emissions per site pickup.

The replacement of the aging finish mills with the new mill not only streamlines the production process, but is estimated
to directly impact the power consumption of the plant. Initial estimates of efficiency improvements are in the range of
4 kWh per ton of cement finished, according to Vice President, Cement Operations, Alan Rowley. At production capability
of up to 1.5 million metric tonnes of cement per year, this could result in up to 2,000 tonnes less Scope 2 GHG per year
attributed to the plant’s power needs.

While the operational and environmental benefits are substantial, the project team was ever mindful of the Company’s
Guardian Angel safety culture in their work. From design and equipment selection to supervision and auditing, project
leaders have considered best safety practices during both construction and operation of the new additions. Some
examples include designing the additions to minimize the need to work at heights, provide more effective guarding and
minimize the need for ladders.

64 2024 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT