Dragon Cement and Concrete has appointed Stuart H. Guinther as vice president of cement operations and Raymond J. DeGrass as maintenance manager at Dragon's Thomaston plant, announced Joseph M. Koch III, president of Dragon.

Dragon Cement and Concrete is Maine's largest concrete supplier and New England's only cement manufacturer.

Stuart H. Guinther will serve as plant manager at Dragon's Thomaston plant, which produces approximately 450,000 metric tons of cement each year. He has more than 16 years of industry experience and previously served as the production manager with Essroc Materials at its cement plant in Nazareth, Penn.

"Stuart is a skilled, experienced manager with a keen knowledge of our industry," Koch said. "He's going to be a real asset to Dragon into the future."

Guinther recently moved to Thomaston with his wife, two sons and twin daughters. He is a graduate of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering.

Raymond J. DeGrass will oversee maintenance operations at Dragon's Thomaston plant. He has more than 24 years of industry experience, most recently in Bethlehem, Pa., as a senior sales engineer in the Customer Service Department for F.L. Smidth, a Denmark-based supplier of cement-making technology. DeGrass began his career in 1977 with Martin Marietta in Thomaston, and subsequently held positions in engineering and maintenance at plants in Maryland, West Virginia and New York.

"Ray has tremendous, hands-on experience," said Koch. "He's a great hire for us."

DeGrass, a resident of Rockport, is a 1976 graduate of the University of Maine at Orono. A Maine native, he is a 1971 graduate of Presque Isle High School.

Founded in 1928, Dragon Cement and Concrete supplies "Portland" cement from its plant in Thomaston to most ready-mix companies in the state and others throughout New England by barge through Coastal Cement terminals in Newington, N.H. and Boston. The cement produced in Thomaston is mined from its limestone quarry on the company's familiar site on coastal Route 1.

Dragon also has more than 10 concrete plants located throughout the state in Biddeford, Portland, Brunswick, Lewiston, Augusta, Fairfield, Canton, Farmington, Madawaska and Presque Isle. Dragon concrete, which is a blend of cement, sand, stone and water, is used throughout Maine in buildings, bridges, pavement, roads and many precast products.