DOCKSIDE - Port Freeport

lays growing foundation withimports into Port FreeportThe aggregate construction materials importedinto Port Freeport by Vulcan Materials Companyare literally forming the foundation for the Port’sexpansion of cargo-handling capabilities, as wellas the base for highways and other commercial andresidential projects throughout the U.S. Gulf regionand beyond.Demand for the stabilizing rock material has beenso great that Vulcan brought 392,000 tons of cargointo Port Freeport from Mexico in the fiscal yearended Sept. 30, 2008, up 45 percent from its fiscal2007 volume through the port, according to generalmanager Clay Upchurch of the Texas Coastal Regionof Birmingham, Ala.-based Vulcan.“We absolutely are pleased with the positionwe have at Port Freeport and how it works for us,”Upchurch said. “With the growth potential that thePort has, we certainly see that as a ‘win-win’ for us all,and we look forward to participating in that growthand in growing the Freeport community.”Two primary materials make up Vulcan’s importsinto Port Freeport.One product, known as base material, consistsof tiny pieces of limestone rock used as stabilizationmaterial for Port Freeport’s projects like VelascoTerminal due to open in September this year andPort Parcels 25, 19 and 14 properties, as well as fora full range of highway, utility, oilfield and othercommercial and residential construction projectsas far away as Florida. Typically, the base material isport freeport7dockside