Canada Cement Lafarge · 1980
The white-hot interior of a rotary cement kiln, orange fire around a dark burner pipe.
Steel and Aluminum
Canada Cement Lafarge
2 pictures · 1980–1981
- Founded
- 1909 as Canada Cement Company (ten-company merger); Canada Cement Lafarge Ltd. from 1 May 1970
- Head office then
- Canada Cement Building, Montreal
Canada Cement Lafarge made Portland cement and concrete products. Canada Cement was put together in 1909 from ten cement firms, including the Exshaw, Alberta, plant (built 1906). In 1970 it combined with Lafarge Canada and took the Canada Cement Lafarge name, with plants across the country.
It was Canada's leading cement maker. Exshaw cement supplied construction in Calgary and Edmonton and, later, a wider western market.
Why it mattered
Canada Cement had been the country's leading cement maker. The 1970 Lafarge combination kept a Canadian cement network that supplied construction from the Maritimes to British Columbia. Exshaw cement went into Calgary and Edmonton building.
Now
In 1983 the firm sat under Lafarge Corporation, the North American holding company. It was renamed Lafarge Canada Inc. in January 1988. Holcim later spun the North American business off as Amrize on 23 June 2025. The Exshaw plant still runs as Amrize Exshaw.
Still open
- Full 1980-81 plant list (beyond Exshaw and the 11-plant figure) was not copied from a 1980 report page.
- Which other historic Canada Cement kilns still run under Amrize versus later closures is not inventoried here.
Sources
The pictures
- Canada Cement Lafarge 1980 — annual reportarchive.org/details/McGillLibrary-637702-29084
- Canada Cement Lafarge 1981 — annual reportarchive.org/details/McGillLibrary-637701-29087
References
- McGill Canadian Corporate Reports: Canada Cement Lafarge Ltd.1970 name; 1983 Standard Industries amalgamation; 1988 Lafarge Canada; 1980 and 1981 reports digitized
- Encyclopedia.com: Lafarge Corporation1970 merger, 11 plants; 1983 Lafarge Corporation; January 1988 Lafarge Canada name
- Amrize Exshaw plant history1909 Canada Cement; 1970 Lafarge merger; 1988 Lafarge Canada; 23 June 2025 Amrize spin-off
- Calgary Herald: class action, Lafarge now Amrize Canada Inc.fate: Exshaw still operating as Amrize Canada Inc.
- Lafarge Canada newswire: Exshaw modernization (2016)Exshaw still a Lafarge Canada cement plant in 2016