he global economic crisis may have many companies reducing their work forces and their facility footprints, but in some sectors of the building materials industry, the mantra is "build here, build now, pay less."
      Following a tumultuous year that saw building material prices skyrocket due to record oil prices, only to see them plunge in the wake of oil dropping to less than US$50 a barrel, construction companies look forward to what they hope will be a year of relative stability in building costs in 2009.
      After three years of seemingly continual price hikes for everything from cement and glass to PVC pipes and steel, the costs of essential construction materials suddenly began to stabilize and, in many markets around the world, even decline in late 2008.
      With price stabilization has come a renewed surge in project activity worldwide in the building materials sector, led by the announcement of 88 new corporate facility projects or expansions in the U.S. in 2008, plus another 143 around the globe.
      Leading the way are some of the largest steel plant investments in history: a $3-billion steel plant in Vietnam announced by the Lion Group; a $2.1-billion steel plant in India announced by the Shyam Group; and a $5.7-billion steel plant in Brazil announced by Usiminas. Also showing robust activity in steel, cement and glass manufacturing projects are Russia, Canada, China and several states in the Middle East.
      In the U.S., steel, cement, glass, wood products and copper are contributing to a new round of capital investment. Global giant ArcelorMittal announced a $325-million steel mill in Steelton, Pa., while Titan America/Carolinas Cement announced a $469-million cement plant in Castle Hayne, N.C., where GE-Hitachi has been expanding its presence.
      Other big winners of building materials facility projects in the U.S. this year are Alabama, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, South Carolina, Arizona, New York, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas and Florida, according to the Conway New Plant Database, the official projects database of Site Selection.       The pace of expansion projects is especially brisk in markets where raw materials are plentiful and demand for new construction remains strong.
      A case in point is Central Florida, where a rash of building projects along the Interstate 4 corridor is creating new demand for everything from steel and cement to wood and glass.
      Clearwater-based Amerimix recently opened a $4-million cement plant in Auburndale in northern Polk County, about halfway between Tampa and Orlando along I-4.
      "Polk County is a good source of sand aggregates," says Arnie Cummings, vice president of Amerimix. "With its centralized location, our Polk plant is good for reaching many key markets in Florida. We looked around quite a bit at other areas, but transportation is always a key issue, and this site is located just off U.S. Highway 92 and right across the railroad tracks from a major power plant. Plus, the City of Auburndale was very cooperative."
      Cummings says his firm even purchased extra land at the site for possible expansion in the future.
      "We could build another plant here," he says. "It's a pretty good bet."
      Also in Polk, TriCircle Pavers of Fort Myers is renovating an old fertilizer plant building in Bartow into a new paver block facility at the old Noralyn, or Mosaic, mining site.
      Bill Deugd, CEO of TriCircle Pavers, says his firm is investing $4.5 million to retrofit the 40,000-sq.-ft. (3,716-sq.-m.), heavy-industrial building on the 40-acre (16-hectare) site. About 30 workers will be employed, upon full production, making interlocking pavers.
      "We deliver into Orlando, Sarasota and Tampa from our plant in Fort Myers," Deugd says. "We picked Bartow in Polk County because of the centrality of the location. It is only 10 minutes away from Lakeland. And with the road around Lakeland (the Polk Parkway) that connects directly to I-4, this site is good for distribution to Central Florida and the East Coast."
      Deugd says his firm looked at sites in Lakeland, Tampa and Zephyrhills before selecting the property in Bartow. "We looked around for over a year, but what set the Bartow site apart from the rest were its value and location," he notes. "Plus, Polk was the second fastest-growing county in Florida. We also like the local government very much. They are very proactive."
      Amerimix and TriCircle have been joined in Polk recently by Polyglass USA, Hanson Pipe, MonierLife Tile, Elite Building Products, Duratek Wall Products and Yelvington. Another firm, Metromont Corp. of Greenville, S.C., is planning an $18-million, pre-stressed concrete panels plant on 75 acres (30 hectares) in Bartow.
      "In the past two or three years, we have had tremendous success with construction materials companies locating or expanding in Polk," says Jim DeGennaro, senior business marketing manager for the Bartow-based Central Florida Development Council.       Dave Snyder, executive vice president of corporate business development for Constructors & Associates in Dallas, says stabilizing materials prices are the rule of the day.
      "Scrap metals prices are down 40 percent since July and still projected to go down, and concrete price increases will be a lot smaller," he says. "The cost of fuel is the big issue driving this. It takes a lot of energy to produce these materials, and that is why you are seeing prices drop – because the cost of energy is less."
      Asked to forecast materials prices in 2009, Snyder says, "We look for the costs to flatten out. They will either remain level or start going down."
      Art Murray, associate broker for Lavista Associates Inc. in Norcross, Ga., says he has noticed that, within the metro Atlanta market, prices for all essential materials are either flat or declining in the industrial building sector.
      "Concrete is holding but expected to decline," he notes. "Steel is still rising but expected to decline by the first quarter of 2009." He also added that prices for asphalt, sheetrock and lumber were all expected to drop this year.