Quebec Port Authority Meets with Maine-based Dragon Cement and Concrete About Possible Marine Terminal

Dragon Looking to Expand Its Cement Markets in Canada

QUEBEC CITY - Dragon Cement and Concrete, a Maine-based company that operates New England's only cement manufacturing plant, recently met with officials from Quebec's Port Authority to discuss creating a marine terminal on the St. Lawrence River for the Maine company to ship its product to Canada.

The meeting, held Tuesday, May 21 in Quebec City, included members of the company's board, company officers and officials from the Port Authority.

"It was really an initial planning meeting to introduce ourselves and express our interest in expanding into Canada," said Joseph M. Koch, III, president of Dragon Cement and Concrete, which is owned by a Spanish holding company. "We were welcomed with open arms and look forward to possibly building a terminal to bring product into Canada via barge, as we do in New Hampshire and the Boston area."

In 1995, Dragon created an inter-modal rail and barge system to ship product from its plant in Thomaston, Maine to Boston and New Hampshire ports. As a result, the company was able to complement its traditional shipping of product by truck and rail and expand into new markets, said Koch, which is what he hopes will happen in Canada.

Koch said the focus of the meeting was to explore the process by which the company would search for and purchase a property for a marine terminal. They also discussed location, traffic, regulations, and environmental concerns.

"There are numerous opportunities for our company and our product in Quebec," said Koch. "We went to Canada to make that happen."

Dragon Cement and Concrete employs about 250 people statewide and is New England's only cement manufacturer. Dragon also is Maine's largest ready-mix concrete supplier with concrete plants in Biddeford, Westbrook, Portland, Lewiston, Brunswick, Augusta, Canton, Fairfield, Farmington, Madawaska and Presque Isle.

Dragon is known for supplying cement and concrete to a number of major building projects in Maine, including the Nissen Bakery facility in Biddeford, the Casco Bay Bridge linking Portland and South Portland, the Brunswick/Topsham bypass on Route 1 and the expansion of National Semiconductor in South Portland. Dragon also supplies cement or concrete to paper mills, dams, homes, schools and commercial developments statewide.

Dragon also has received numerous safety and environmental awards in the past three years. The company is headquartered at 38 Preble St. in Portland. For additional information, Dragon's website is located at www.dragonproducts.com.

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