News photo by Josh Jambor Amrize in Alpena accepted its first shipping vessel of the season, the Innovation arrived Tuesday afternoon.

ALPENA – The first freighter of the season arrived at Amrize in Alpena on Tuesday afternoon. The Samuel de Champlain’s Innovation, a specialized tug and barge, pulled into the dock just after 1 p.m.

The first shipment loaded this year was Portland cement. Amrize Plant Manager Jeff Scott described the shipment as the company prepares for a busy shipping season.

“We are going to make around 2.2 million tons of Portland cement annually; this load will be mostly type 1L,” Scott said. “This first load is headed to Detroit.”

There are 11 cement terminals that take vessels, including: Alpena, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Essexville, Muskegon, South Chicago, North Chicago, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Superior and Duluth.

“We also have two rail terminals in Madison and Columbus, but 90% of the cement goes out by vessel,” Scott said.

The shipping season typically runs from March through mid-January, depending on the weather.

“Typically, the season ends in January, sometimes earlier, depending on the ice and weather,” Scott explained. “We typically open the season around mid-March.”

Shipping via vessel is the preferred method of delivery for Amrize.

“Most of those terminals can only accept cement by vessel, it’s also the cheapest, most efficient, and environmentally friendly way to ship cement,” Scott said.

The Alpena Amrize location began making cement in 1907, and up until the 1970’s it was the largest cement plant in the world. It is currently the largest building materials company in the United States.

“Amrize provides building materials for North America, we are the largest building materials company in the United States and Canada,” Scott said. “We are also the largest cement company in those countries.”

The difference between cement and concrete is, cement is a fine powder acting as a binding agent, while concrete is the durable, composite building material created by mixing cement, water, and aggregates such as sand or gravel.

“About one third of the cement that goes into the State of Michigan, and into the Chicago, Milwaukee area comes from Amrize here in Alpena,” Scott said.

Now that the shipping season has begun, there will be several boats coming in to receive their shipments in the near future, including the SS Alpena.

“The SS Alpena should come in on Friday, she is currently coming out of Cleveland,” Scott explained. “We expect the Innovation to return Thursday or Friday, and the Integrity will hopefully arrive early next week.”

The Soo Locks, which allows cargo ships, military vessels, and tourists to pass through the rapids of the St. Mary’s River is expected to open closer to the end of the month.

“On the US Army Corps of Engineers website, it says the Soo Locks will open March 25,” Scott said.