Start of McInnis Cement project operations and closing of financing

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 1, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - McInnis Cement, in collaboration with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the other shareholders, presented today an update of the cement plant project. Close to 75% of the construction phase has been completed and certain operations have begun.

Shareholders also closed the financing, announced on August 11 for this project.

"With the significant turnaround of operations and approximately $280 million in new financing, everything is in place to complete the project on schedule," said Christian Dubé, Executive Vice-President, Québec at la Caisse. "This cutting-edge, world-class cement plant, slated to make its first cement deliveries this spring, will benefit from better-than-anticipated market conditions, strengthening the investment for our clients and the other shareholders."

Construction almost completed and start of operations
The new leadership in the company's management has strengthened expertise, increased productivity through better work organization and stepped up the daytime, nighttime and weekend pace of construction – the equivalent of five work weeks per month per worker – and consequently regained control over this major project.

"This turnaround, achieved in collaboration with the entire staff of McInnis Cement, will allow the cement plant to enter the market at the best possible time," added Mr. Dubé.

The heightened pace of construction on the company's various sites, starting with the Port-Daniel–Gascons industrial project, will allow the project to be completed in time for the first cement deliveries in the spring. The McInnis Cement team began the operating phase in October, with tests on the crushing line and the conveyers used to transport limestone extracted from the quarry to the warehouse. In the next few days, the company's marine terminal will receive its first ship.

By the end of 2016, the company expects to:

• finalize and begin operations of the crushing unit;
• receive several ships transporting raw materials in its marine terminal; and
• conduct the first operational checks for the grinding of raw materials.

The Sainte-Catherine and Providence distribution terminals are also under construction. Other sites under development will soon be added to the company's distribution network.

At the end of the run-in period, the cement plant will have an annual production capacity of 2.5-million tons. As a result of its leading-edge European technology, offering very high energy efficiency, McInnis will produce cement with a 20% lower carbon footprint per ton than the average of cement plants across North America. McInnis Cement will run the only Canadian cement plant to comply with the NESHAP 2015 U.S. anti-pollution standards. These standards, the most stringent on the continent, are up to 15 times more restrictive than those currently in effect in Québec, making the Port-Daniel–Gascons plant an industry leader on the environmental front.

To see the site's development as of September, click on the following link:  https://youtu.be/kj6ECjrsTS0.

Closing of financing
Under the terms of the financing closed yesterday, la Caisse will reinvest $125 million in preferred equity. Joining the group of investors for the first time, funds managed by BlackRock Alternative Investors will hold a $125-million debenture. Minority shareholders also increased their support by injecting an additional contribution of $31.75 million in the project. The financing was also approved by all parties taking part in the capital structure.

ABOUT CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at June 30, 2016, it held $254.9 billion in net assets. As one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure and real estate. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

ABOUT MCINNIS CEMENT – THE NEW CEMENT COMPANY
McInnis Cement is a privately-held Company with corporate headquarters in Quebec, Canada, and United States headquarters in Stamford, CT. The Company's plant in Port-Daniel–Gascons, Canada is one of the largest industrial projects currently under construction in eastern North America and McInnis is the first cement company to build a new plant that will serve Eastern Canada and New England in more than 50 years. McInnis Cement is constructing a deep-water marine terminal, adjacent to the plant, with plans to open other terminals strategically located in the U.S. and Canada. This will allow products to be shipped quickly and efficiently to markets along the East Coast and the entire perimeter of the Atlantic Ocean.

As the newest entrant in the North American cement market, the Company's goal is to supply its customers with superior-quality products that are consistently produced and reliably distributed, based on sustainable development principles. The use of advanced technology will enable the McInnis cement plant to meet, if not exceed, the most stringent environmental standards, making its ecological footprint one of the smallest in the cement industry. More information is available at @ciment_mcinnis and mcinniscement.com/en.

SOURCE Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

Image with caption: "Logo: Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CNW Group/Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161101_C6137_PHOTO_EN_809065.jpg

Image with caption: "Logo: McInnis Cement (CNW Group/Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161101_C6137_PHOTO_EN_809069.jpg

MAXIME CHAGNON, Senior Director, Media and Public Relations, [phone], [email protected]; MARYSE TREMBLAY, Director, Communications, McInnis Cement, [phone], [email protected]