On February 27, Congressman Rick Larsen, Ranking Member on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, visited the Heidelberg Materials North America headquarters as part of a trip to the Lone Star State. Representative Larsen is currently in his twelfth term representing Washington's Second Congressional District, which includes Heidelberg Materials operations in Bellingham and Ferndale. 

President and CEO Chris Ward welcomed the Congressman to the Las Colinas office along with a team of people representing the wide range of departments and services provided by the more than 450 employees who are based here. The visit was a great opportunity for Ward to share Heidelberg Materials' emphasis on leading industrial decarbonization and continued investment in innovation for the heavy building materials industry.

The meeting centered on discussions about the company's focus on developing and fully scaling carbon capture and storage (CCS) in its cement manufacturing process. This was particularly significant as Larsen had visited Heidelberg Materials' first industrial-scale application of CCS technology in Brevik, Norway, last year. 

The conversation spanned various critical topics, including current work that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is focused on, implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and flow of funds to infrastructure projects, the integration of digital technology and artificial intelligence in improving safety of our nation’s transportation corridors, as well as workforce attraction and development. Congressman Larsen recognized the importance of Heidelberg Materials' initiatives, and also shared his perspective on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's bipartisan focus, emphasizing effectiveness across party lines.  

“Visits like these are a great way to share information with Congressional leaders about the exciting and innovative things we are doing as a company,” said Chris Ward, “they also provide opportunities to have a genuine conversation that helps us to better understand the dynamics that are currently at play in Congress.” 

“You cannot have a big-league economy with little league infrastructure,” said Congressman Larsen. “In Irving, Heidelberg’s leaders told me about the company’s innovative process to reduce carbon pollution while manufacturing the materials needed to build critical infrastructure, create jobs and drive long-term economic growth.”

“Thanks to historic investments like the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Heidelberg Materials may soon be able to accelerate deployment of decarbonization technology and leverage the benefits at its Northwest Washington facilities, including ones in Bellingham and Ferndale – investments that would mean more jobs and cleaner and greener infrastructure in the Puget Sound region.”

The visit proved to be a significant exchange of ideas, strengthening the bridge between political leadership and private sector sustainability efforts.