Essroc Cement of Upper Nazareth, USA, celebrated 150 years in business last month. ?What makes us very unique as a company is our heritage of being one of the best-known companies and best-known product lines,? said Craig Becker, senior vice president of human resources at Essroc. Essroc?s sesquicentennial history dates to 1866, when David O Saylor opened shop in Coplay as Coplay Cement Co. In 1872, it began producing the first Portland cement in North America.
Essroc employs 300 people in the Valley at cement plants and quarries in Upper and Lower Nazareth townships and in Nazareth.
In 1976, Coplay was acquired by Paris-based Ciments Franzais. It grew through acquisitions to also have a presence in Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as a larger presence in the US.
The name was changed to Essroc in 1990 to compete across North America under one name.
In 1992, Italcementi SpA, based in Bergamo Italy, acquired controlling interest in Ciment Franzais and became the parent company for Essroc.