Charlevoix Cement Plant, Michigan

The St. Marys Cement Company operates a major cement plant, with an adjacent limestone pit, here on the shore of Lake Michigan. Originally a Canadian Company, St. Mary’s is now owned by Votorantim, a privately held Brazilian industrial conglomerate, whose Cementos division is one of the largest cement producers in the world. The chief value of the cement operation here is its proximity to the shores of the Great Lakes, which provide the most inexpensive means of transportation for the material – by freighter or barge – to a large number of industries and cities along its shores.