The sale of the Dragon Products cement plant in Thomaston is complete, according to the buyer, though the future of the 100-year-old operation and the sprawling quarries that surround it remains unclear.
Heidelberg Materials North America announced on Monday that it has finished the acquisition of Giant Cement Holding Inc. and its subsidiaries, including Dragon Products Co. The news was first reported locally by the Midcoast Villager.
The Texas-based subsidiary of the German multinational Heidelberg Materials, first announced the deal, valued at $600 million, in November 2024.
That includes a cement plant in Harleyville, South Carolina, where Dragon Products is based, and four associated distribution terminals; a joint-venture deep-water import terminal in Savannah, Georgia; cement and slag distribution terminals in Newington, New Hampshire, and Thomaston; and a deep-water import terminal in Boston; along with Giant Resource Recovery, an alternative fuel recycling business in the Eastern U.S., according to Heidelberg.
Dragon Products owned more than 1,000 acres in Thomaston, including the cement plant and limestone quarries, according to town tax records. The limestone industry in Thomaston dates to 1878, and the operation that became Dragon Products started in the early 20th century, according to Dragon’s parent company Giant Cement Holding Inc.
Giant announced in September 2023 that it would stop production at the Thomaston facility and lay off dozens of workers by early 2025. In March 2024, Dragon announced plans to keep the facility open as a distribution center for cement imported from Spain, saving Thomaston’s largest taxpayer.
Heidelberg Materials is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of building materials, including cement. It has 51,000 employees in 3,000 locations across more than 50 countries.
The company said in a news release that the acquisition “reflects its continued focus on optimizing its portfolio in core markets, building a sustainable future and positioning the company as the front-runner on the path to decarbonizing the built environment and growing the circular economy in the construction materials industry.”
Chris Ward, president and CEO of Heidelberg Materials North America, said it would “further strengthen our presence in the important Southeastern U.S. and New England markets.”
It was not immediately clear what that would mean for the Thomaston cement plant and surrounding properties.
