GCHI - Giant Cement Holding, Inc.

Giant Cement Company’s history can be traced back to 1883, in the Lehigh Valley of northeastern Pennsylvania. Largely considered the founding of the U.S. cement industry, it became the country’s greatest cement producer, accounting for 75% of the country’s output in 1897.

In 1947, it purchased a vacant wartime Alumina plant outside of Harleyville, South Carolina, and commenced operations as the Carolina Giant Cement Company. During 1949, its first year of production, Giant produced 110,000 tons of cement.

The soft limestone/marl of South Carolina was much easier to mine than the hard limestone of the Pennsylvania Lehigh Valley, leading to increased production at the new site. The Harleyville plant went through major expansions in 1952, 1957, 1962, and 1974, including the installation of multiple kilns and the first baghouse used on a wet kiln. The commissioning of new dry-process kilns to replace the wet-process kilns took place in 2005.

The new parent company Giant Cement Holding, Incorporated (GCHI), was formed in 1994.