[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 54 (Monday, April 11, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E392]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CELEBRATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF ESSROC CEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CHARLES W. DENT

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 11, 2016

  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to bring to the House's 
attention the 150th Anniversary of ESSROC Cement, a company deeply 
rooted in the foundation of Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.
  In 1866, David O. Saylor, a resident of Allentown, purchased 30 acres 
of property in Coplay, PA. He, along with Esias Rehrig and Adam 
Woolever, chartered the Coplay Cement Company. Saylor, an innovator, 
developed a process that allowed Portland type cement to be made in the 
United States. Saylor patented the process, and by 1900, Coplay Cement 
was providing over 70 percent of the Portland Cement used in America.
  Coplay Cement provided the material that became the building blocks 
of the massive infrastructure expansion and city-building that occurred 
in post-Civil War America.
  Paris-based Ciments Francais ultimately acquired Coplay Cement in 
1976.
  The 1990s were a time of great activity for the company. It adopted 
the ESSROC name in 1990. In 1992, Italcementi became ESSROC's parent 
company.
  Now, 150 years later, ESSROC has operations across four continents. 
In North America, the Nazareth-based company has the ability to produce 
over 6.5 million metric tons of cement annually. To this day, Saylor 
Cement remains one of their main product lines.
  ESSROC has demonstrated itself as an impressive business, based not 
only on its corporate metrics, but more importantly on its commitment 
to the greater Lehigh Valley. ESSROC is a valued manufacturer in our 
community, a provider of good jobs with good wages, and a respected 
corporate citizen.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to offer my congratulations to the men 
and women who work at ESSROC both in the Lehigh Valley area and across 
the United States. May they enjoy continued prosperity.

                          ____________________