National Lime & Stone Co., the largest US producer of dried dolomitic stone for the manufacture of flat glass, ceased production of calcined lime at its Carey, Ohio plant in January, bringing to an end over 100 years of production at the company. The 100,000/tpa lime business, which represents a minor percentage of total revenues, has operated at a loss for the last 4-6 years. Carleton Palmer, CEO said: "The move was triggered by tremendous consolidation of the lime industry in the past several years, and US production is currently dominated by 3 major companies, 2 of which are foreign owned" (referring to Belgian giants Lhoist & Carmeuse). Soaring energy costs incurred in the highly energy intensive calcining process also made a major dent in operating profitability. Palmer said that increasingly stringent environmental regulations had also contributed.
