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Our History
 In
1925, William Wallace Mein "Cements" California's Future
The history of Lehigh Southwest Cement (formerly
Calaveras Cement) is tied to the
history and growth of California itself. In 1925, mining engineer
William Wallace Mein incorporated Calaveras Cement in San Andreas,
California in Calaveras County.
Speculating correctly that California would undergo
a massive construction boom, Mein and a group of Stockton investors
raised the two million dollars necessary to build the first
Calaveras plant. Over 15,000 people - more than 1.5 times the entire county
population at the time - attended the formal plant opening in 1926.
The opening heralded the beginning of a multi-million
dollar company that would span four generations and take Lehigh Southwest
Cement into the new millennium.
Lehigh Southwest Cement Milestones
Here are some highlights from our first 75 years.
In the future we will be taking an in depth look at some of these
and other projects.
Click here
if you have a favorite project that you would like us to feature.
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2000s
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 On
February 1, 2002, Calaveras Cement Company changed its
name to Lehigh Southwest Cement Company. This name
change reflects the strength and unity of our North
American affiliates under one common name: Lehigh Cement
Company.
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The
Stockton Terminal
upgrade is completed, making it one of the largest cement
import terminals in North America. |
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Lehigh Southwest
Cement used for the Alameda Corridor Project in Los
Angeles, California. |
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Lehigh
Southwest Cement opened a distribution terminal in
Phoenix, AZ, a growing and vibrant cement and ready-mix
market. The Phoenix
Terminal began operation and shipments in January
'03. |
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1990s
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Tehachapi
receives President's Gold award for a five year safety
record for no lost-time accidents.
Lehigh Southwest
Cement used for the renovation of the Oakland Coliseum.
Lehigh Southwest
Cement used in the San Francisco International Terminal
Expansion Project.
Cypress
Structure rebuild project takes more than 50,000 tons
of Lehigh Southwest cement.
Long
Beach Aquarium of the Pacific uses Lehigh Southwest cement.
The
deep water Stockton terminal is upgraded to increase
capacity.
Modernized
Tehachapi plant opens with annual cement production
capacity of 850,000 tons.
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1980s
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Redding
Plant expanded and updated, doubling production capacity
to 650,000 tons annually.
Lehigh Southwest
closes the historic San Andreas plant.
Calaveras
adds another terminal at the Port of Stockton, positioning
the company to serve the needs of customers in the four-state
marketing area.
Calaveras
Cement acquires the Tehachapi plant.
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1970s
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 Twenty-nine
drivers for Calaveras honored for accumulating a total
of 1,190,686 accident-free miles of driving and 5,384,494
miles since the last accident almost five years prior. |
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Construction completed at Calaveras’ new distribution
terminal located in Union City. |
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Modernization
of both the Redding and San Andreas plants completed.
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Various
freeway projects throughout northern California, Eastridge
Shopping Center in San Jose, and the Social Services
Building in San Francisco.
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Oroville
Dam is constructed using Lehigh Southwest cement. |
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1960s
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Springfield,
Oregon bulk transfer facility dedicated.
Construction
begins on the new Redding plant.
Redding
plant starts producing with an annual capacity of 280,000
tons.
Cement
distribution terminal at Sparks, Nevada completed.
Construction
completed on the cement distribution terminal in Portland,
Oregon.
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1950s
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Expansion
of the San Andreas cement plant completed, more than
doubling the plant’s production capacity. |
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Lehigh Southwest
transport fleet attracts national attention by completing
two million miles of accident-free driving. |
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Squaw
Valley Olympic center project.
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Lafayette
Bypass project.
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Parking
apron at Castle Air Force Base in Merced.
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Delta
Mendota Canal project.
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Improvements
to various highways in Northern California including
U.S. Highway 40, now Highway 80 and Highway 50.
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1940s
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Virtually
all Army, Navy, and Air Force bases in northern California
built or enlarged using Lehigh Southwest cement including McClelland
Field, Travis Airbase and Mare Island. |
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 Nearly
800,000 barrels of Lehigh Southwest cement supplied to the
Bureau of Reclamation’s Friant Dam project on the San
Joaquin River. |
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1930s
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More
than 100,000 barrels of Lehigh Southwest cement used in the
O’Shaughnessy Dam project, making Hetch Hetchy power
available to the City of San Francisco. |
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Lehigh Southwest
cement used in the construction of the Broadway Tunnel,
linking the San Francisco Bay Area to the delta region
of the San Joaquin Valley. |
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400,000
barrels of special formula Calaveras cement supplied
for the Bay Bridge project in 1936. |
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1920s
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The
first Calaveras plant, in San Andreas California, begins
production.
Calaveras
Cement becomes the first cement company to list shares
on the San Francisco Stock Exchange. At that time, the
company had just 412 stockholders.
Calaveras
Cement supplies three-quarters of a million barrels
of cement for the Pardee Dam. This first large order
helped to establish the reputation of Calaveras as a
dependable supplier on major projects.
 William
Mein, and a group of Stockton investors incorporate
Calaveras Cement Company.
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