Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua, S.A.B. de C.V. announced that the expansion of its Rapid City, South Dakota cement plant became operational, adding 440,000 metric tons (mt) of capacity to the existing plant. The expansion of the Dacotah cement plant began in 2016, with a total investment of around USD 105 million. The expansion increases the plant’s production capacity to 1,167,000 mt and is expected to reduce variable production costs. The tie-in of the new facilities was completed in late November. Production, which had been suspended during the tie-in process, has resumed and the new facilities are in the stabilization process. GCC has 5.8 million mt of total cement production capacity. Of this, 3.6 million mt is in the U.S., with plants in Pueblo, Colorado; Odessa, Texas; Tijeras, New Mexico; and Trident, Montana, in addition to Rapid City. GCC expects to ramp up the new production capacity at Rapid City gradually over the next 18 to 24 months, in accordance with market conditions. GCC’s cement production capacity in Mexico is 2.3 million mt, with plants in the city of Chihuahua, Juarez, and Samalayuca, all in Chihuahua state. In the third quarter of 2018, GCC reactivated two idled kilns in Chihuahua to increase production of both oil well cement and construction cement.