CHARLEVOIX — If you have been anywhere near Bells Bay Road in Charlevoix recently, you most likely noticed the bustle of activity happening at the St. Marys Cement plant.

The cement company is undertaking a major project that includes expanding the plant’s cement capacity along with the modernization and expansion of cement production plant

“It is a construction site we have everything tore up, working hard to complete the expansion,” said Randy Pryor, plant operations manager

The current plant was largely built in the 1970s, Pryor said. The expansion will use modern technology practices that minimize the environmental footprint of the plant.

“Technology helps us be more environmentally friendly from an emissions standpoint,” Pryor said. “Less power, less fuel used, which includes tighter emission limits for our operation that is consistent with our focus on environmental performance.”

When the project was announced in January of 2015 it was targeted for completion of construction by spring 2017, but company officials decided to extend the construction schedule. The modified project targets completion for spring 2018, Pryor said.

“We knew going in that the original schedule was very aggressive,” Pryor said. “As the project progressed, we dedicated more time on the engineering activities and adjusted equipment delivery schedules accordingly. This, along with the challenges of construction in Northern Michigan, particularly with the uncertainty of our winter weather, led us to make the change in the project schedule.”

Currently there are more than 600 workers involved in the reconstruction and expansion project at St. Marys Cement in Charlevoix. There are some local contractors along with contractors from the Detroit area and California, Pryor said.

“The contractors then pull their employees from a pretty large area,” Pryor said. “They come from a little bit of everywhere when you get out there and talk to some them.”

The influx of laborers into the area is good for the local economy, said Charlevoix Township Supervisor Chuck Center.

“It seems to me the area has benefited by the extra people in town this year,” Center said. “Previously they projected 100-200 contractors in the area, but those numbers have certainly much higher, which is good for our area.”

Contracting crews at St. Marys Cement are busy working on the new roller mill, which is expected to be up and running in early May, Pryor said.

“We stopped the plant on April 2,” Pryor said. “Our goal was a 30 day turnaround and hope to be back in operation by early May. Weather has been a factor and we have had some days that have not been as productive as we hoped. We are trying to complete as fast and safe as possible. The main thing is we get the work done safely.”

There are 133 permanent employees at the St. Mary Cement plant with 104 of them designated as hourly employees. During the shutdown, all St. Marys Cement employees are still on the job, Pryor said.

“We are doing maintenance that we would normally do during an annual outage,” Pryor said. “We are getting everything into good running order so when we start in the new plant it’s a smooth changeover.”

A new, higher-capacity coal mill also is under construction.

“We have two old vertical mills that we use to process coal right now,” Pryor said. “Combining them into one new mill is more efficient and newer technology. It’s a different process, more fuel efficient, less power-intensive for per-ton product produced.”

By 2018 crews are expected to complete the new cooler and modified kiln, which is the final part of the project. The new upgraded and expanded facility is expected to last another 30 years, Pryor said.

“Right now we’re are projecting March or April of 2018 when we will shut down the old plant and tie everything in with the new plant,” Pryor said. “This is an investment in the employees and in Charlevoix. This ensures our presence here for at least another 30 years. It is consistent with (St. Marys parent company) Votorantim team message on sustainability.”