Continental President David Loomes says until now cement had to be stored on barges in the river.
"This dome takes what was previously winter storage on barges, puts it into the dome, it's a more efficient operation, it saves us money of course for not having to pay for the winter storage barges, and it's safer. It really benefits not only Continental Cement but also the customers and our supply chain."
The new dome can hold up to 125,000 tons of cement and is the largest cement storage dome in North America.
Loomes says in a separate project at the Buffalo plant, the company will spend 32 million dollars to reduce its use of fossil fuels. About half of its current fossil fuel consumption will be replaced.
"There's a lot of material, non hazardous waste that goes in. It comes from a variety of sources which would alternatively be landfilled or incinerated."
Possible fuel includes fiberglass windmill blades that are past their usefull life.
The Buffalo plant has 120 employees.