HUMBOLDT — A new blending silo under construction at Monarch Cement is reshaping the company’s skyline. At 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, the structure stood 125 feet and 2 inches tall — almost exactly halfway finished.
“We have another week to go, and it will be 260 feet tall when completed,” said Kent Webber, Monarch president. Equipment will be positioned on top of the silo that will rise even higher than that 260 feet, Webber added.
The project is being built using slipform construction, a technique in which concrete is continuously poured into a moving form that rises at a pace matching the concrete’s setting time. 
This method allows for rapid, joint-free construction of tall structures. The silo’s walls are three feet thick for the first 50-plus feet, transitioning to 18 inches thick for the remainder.
Once complete, the blending silo will serve an essential role in production, blending the various components necessary to make cement, Webber said.
“We will use it to homogenize the mix and make it as uniform as possible,” before it is transferred to kilns to solidify and then is crushed into a fine powder.
It will also become the tallest structure on Monarch’s grounds.
Prior to its dismantling, the company’s iconic smokestack held that distinction in the same location. 
Rising 300 feet with a nearly 22-foot-wide base, the stack had been a landmark for both the company and the community before it was dismantled in spring 2023.
Webber expects the new silo to be operational by August 2026.
