Project Overview

AAA Fabrication was contracted by Lhoist North America to fabricate and pre-assemble four massive vertical kiln shafts for its Clifton, Texas facility. Each shaft weighed approximately 250,000 pounds, with the four shafts totaling 1 million pounds and an additional 400,000 pounds of supporting structure bringing the total project weight to approximately 1.4 million pounds.

By completing major assemblies in a controlled fabrication environment before delivery, AAA Fabrication significantly reduced the amount of work required in the field, cutting more than one year from the anticipated installation timeline. The project was completed incident-free and represented an exceptional achievement in large-scale industrial fabrication.

Equipment Specifications

Four vertical kiln shafts and their supporting structural steel were fabricated and pre-assembled in the shop prior to delivery to Clifton, Texas.

Component	Qty	Fabrication Scope	Weight
Vertical Kiln Shaft	4	Fabricated and pre-assembled in shop	250,000 lbs. per shaft
Supporting Structural Steel	—	Structural support framing	400,000 lbs. total
Total — 4 Kiln Shafts	4	Delivered as large pre-assembled sections	1.4 million lbs. total fabricated weight

Scope of Work

AAA Fabrication executed the vertical kiln project across three phases of work, from engineering through pre-assembly and delivery:

Engineering & Planning — AAA Fabrication

• Project engineering led by Fernando Vasquez
• Engineering planning and fabrication sequencing led by Gerardo
• Translation of demanding technical and logistical requirements into an executable shop process
• Coordination with Lhoist North America across the February–December 2025 build

Fabrication — AAA Fabrication

• Fabrication of 4 vertical kiln shafts at approximately 250,000 lbs. each
• Approximately 400,000 lbs. of supporting structural steel fabricated
• Approximately 1.4 million lbs. of steel managed across the full project
• Shop operations directed by shop foreman Carlos Ramirez

Pre-Assembly & Delivery — AAA Fabrication

• Major kiln assemblies completed in the fabrication shop prior to shipment
• Large pre-assembled sections transported to the Clifton, Texas site
• Field assembly requirements significantly reduced through controlled shop fabrication
• More than one year cut from the anticipated field installation timeline

Large-Assembly Fabrication Capability

AAA Fabrication’s shop capacity is not limited to conventional structural steel packages. On this project the team fabricated and pre-assembled four vertical kiln shafts at approximately 250,000 pounds each, plus roughly 400,000 pounds of supporting structure — approximately 1.4 million pounds of steel handled in a controlled shop environment and delivered to site as large, completed assemblies rather than loose components.

For process producers, this matters. Field time is the most expensive and least predictable part of a major kiln build, constrained by weather, site access, crane availability, and crews working at height. Every assembly that leaves the shop complete is an assembly nobody has to build in the field. On this project, that moved more than a year out of the field installation schedule. Shop-built. Site-ready. Field time removed.

What Made This Exceptional

1.4 Million Pounds of Fabrication

The sheer scale of the project required AAA Fabrication to manage approximately 1.4 million pounds of steel across the four kiln shafts and their supporting structures.

Each individual shaft weighed approximately 250,000 pounds, making transportation, fabrication, assembly, and project coordination critical to successful execution.

A North American First

AAA Fabrication built the only two vertical kiln projects of their kind ever built in North America.

The project required the fabrication team to execute an exceptionally complex and large-scale build while coordinating engineering, planning, shop operations, and delivery requirements.

Pre-Assembly That Changed the Installation Timeline

One of the project’s biggest advantages was AAA Fabrication’s ability to complete significant assembly work before the structures reached the job site.

By delivering large assemblies to the site rather than requiring extensive fabrication and assembly in the field, the project team was able to cut more than a year from the field installation timeline.

This approach demonstrates the value of large-scale shop fabrication and pre-assembly when field time is a major project constraint.

Engineering & Planning

The project’s successful execution depended on close coordination between engineering, planning, and fabrication.

Fernando Vasquez handled the project’s engineering, while Gerardo oversaw planning and coordination.

Their work helped translate the project’s demanding technical and logistical requirements into a fabrication and assembly process capable of handling the enormous scale of the structures.

Results & Impact

Metric	Outcome
Vertical Kiln Shafts	4
Weight Per Shaft	250,000 lbs.
Total Shaft Weight	1,000,000 lbs.
Supporting Structure	400,000 lbs.
Total Project Weight	1.4 million lbs.
Field Installation Time	More than 1 year reduced
Pre-Assembly	Large assemblies completed prior to delivery
Safety	Incident-free
Project Timeline	February–December 2025