Ready Mix USA Regional Office

About the Program
Ready Mix USA is a cement company operated by CEMEX with an office located nearly in the heart of Birmingham, Alabama. Situated west of the Coosa River and east of Bankhead Lake, this cement plant boasts 4.5 acres of native landscaping adjacent to the Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve. With the goal of planting native tree species throughout the site to increase biodiversity, CEMEX also works to attract local pollinator species like the monarch butterfly. 

Practices and Impacts

• The native landscaping project started in 2019, where native tree species were planted throughout the previously manicured lawn. These trees are monitored monthly to ensure tree health and growth throughout the site. The last two years have proven to be quite successful, with species richness, species diversity and species evenness all increasing since trees were planted.
• A complementary project has also been developed to control five different invasive species found throughout the 11-acre campus. The site is monitored, and invasives are both physically removed and/or chemically treated.
• An educational program was also developed in 2023 to train employees about the importance of native plantings and techniques used to manage invasives. A project was created to provide hands-on-training in conjunction with Ruffner Forest where employees both planted trees and removed invasives.