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www.rockproducts.com ROCK products • May 2015 • 103 After acquiring operations in Florida for $720 million, the company's installed cement pro- duction capacity increased by 107 percent, and concrete production by 34 percent. As a result, Argos became the second largest con- crete producer in the U.S. and the second larg- est cement producer in the Southeast . The organization has consolidated its presence in nine strategic U.S. states, which consume 34 million tons of cement per year and, according to the Portland Cement Association (PCA), are forecasted to have a cement consumption growth of about 12 percent on a yearly basis. Based on recent statistics, analysts are predicting a decade of vibrant growth for the North American economy, supported by the reindustrialization of the country, its self-sufficien- cy, lower energy prices, lower unemployment rates and an increase in consumer confidence. "We see the next decade as the period in which Argos will see even greater rewards from the largest investments ever made by a Colombi- an company in the United States, which, jointly, reached a value of more than $2.2 billion. These investments were consistent with our coherent strategy that was carried out with a great degree of discipline and at an opportune moment by taking advantage of a favorable exchange rate," explained Jorge Mario Velásquez, Argos' CEO. In addition, Argos also consolidated its presence in Central America and the Caribbean, after acquiring new assets in French Guiana for an amount of 50 million euros and suc- cessfully integrating its operations in Honduras. As this is a region that receives a lot of remittances with currencies that are mostly tied to the dollar and the drop in oil prices fur- ther favors its economies (since they are net importers), the countries in the region will benefit by the upward trend of the North American economy, noted Argos. Five weeks after it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Summit Materials has moved to strengthen its largest holding, Continental Cement Co., by entering a deal with Lafarge North America. In exchange for $450 million in cash and Continental's Bet- tendorf, Iowa, terminal, Summit will gain Lafarge North America's cement plant in neighboring Davenport, Iowa, with 1.2 million tpy capacity, plus seven Mississippi River terminals from Minneapolis to New Orleans. Summit plans to integrate the Iowa and Mississippi River properties with Continental, whose capacity and distribution footprint would climb to 2.45 million tpy and eight terminals. "The [mill and terminals] are an excellent fit with our mate- rials-based growth strategy and a continuation of Summit's proven track record of value-added acquisitions," said Sum- mit Materials CEO Tom Hill. "The combination of the Daven- port assets and Continental Cement creates a strategically compelling and complementary multi-plant cement busi- ness in very attractive markets along the Mississippi." Summit and Lafarge project a July closing, hinging on a) Lafarge and Holcim consummating their $40 billion-plus merger that month; and b) U.S. Federal Trade Commission concurrence with a Lafarge North America and Holcim (US) Inc. asset disposal plan. Summit Materials to Acquire Lafarge Cement Assets GCC Sees Slowdown as U.S. Oil Sector Dips Mexican cement manufacturer Grupo Cementos de Chihua- hua (GCC) expects sales growth to decline this year after record revenue last year as low oil prices constrict demand in the United States – the company's top market, reported Reuters. GCC Treasurer Luis Carlos Arias stated that after a nearly 20 percent sales spike in 2014, the company projects only single-digit growth in the United States, which accounts for about 70 percent of total sales. Demand in Mexico is expected to fall slightly, he said. Cement is used to build protective casings for oil wells, including drilling projects at U.S. shale developments that have been booming in the United States over the past few years. Low oil prices have already caused falling rig counts at many shale projects. GCC operates six plants in the United States and Mexico, and has an annual production capacity of 4.4 million tons of cement.