Ozinga yesterday broke ground on a new low-carbon cement manufacturing facility in East Chicago, Indiana. The company says the new plant will produce one million tons of low-carbon cementitious materials annually using one of North America’s largest vertical roller mills.
Ozinga, a fifth-generation, family-owned American company, makes concrete, bulk materials, and construction solutions for commercial, industrial, and residential projects.
The East Chicago facility and its related operations are projected to create some 150 construction and long-term full-time jobs. Operations are expected to begin in 2026, and the plant will serve customers in the U.S. and Canada.
Ozinga has more than 2,500 employees nationwide, and the facility will help the company continue down its path to deliver net zero concrete by 2030.
Traditional Portland cement, the most common type of cement and a core ingredient in concrete, accounts for nearly 7% of global CO₂ emissions, according to the company. Last year, the U.S. imported nearly 30 million tons of cement, leaving infrastructure projects vulnerable to supply chain instability and trade volatility.
By producing domestic low-carbon cements, Ozinga plans to reduce U.S. dependence on imports and dramatically lower embodied carbon in construction materials.
The Largest Low-Carbon Vertical Roller Mill in North America
At the heart of the facility is the MVR5300-C6 vertical roller mill from Gebr. Pfeiffer, the largest of its kind in North America. With six independent rollers, the mill maximizes energy efficiency while minimizing carbon emissions.
The facility will produce ASTM C989-compliant low-carbon slag cement, as well as proprietary blends under Ozinga’s CarbonSense brand, meeting ASTM C1157 performance standards and delivering up to 80% reductions in embodied carbon.
Once fully operational, the plant is projected to offset more than 700,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually, a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of U.S. construction.