2012 and the opening months of 2013 saw the UK celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. However, it also saw the country dealing with a faltering economy, cost reduction and job losses, the failure of some cement companies and the birth of two new ones. New fuels, packing plants, trials of new cements, improved water management, a railway extension, crises in the carbon market and the construction of two Climafuel plants for Cemex have also hit the headlines. Let's have a look in more detail...
Structural change
There is no doubt that continued restructuring of the cement industry in the UK in response to new economic realities was the underlying theme of 2012 and continues to be in 2013. The biggest development has been the conclusion of the Competition Commission's investigation into the proposed joint venture between Lafarge and Anglo American's British minerals businesses, leading to the disposal of assets to Mittal Investments, followed by the creation of Lafarge Tarmac and Hope Construction Materials.
On 1 May 2012 the UK Competition Commission (CC) released the final report of its eight-month investigation into a long-standing proposal, announced by Lafarge SA and Anglo American in early 2011, to combine their British cement, concrete, aggregates and asphalt subsidiaries: Lafarge UK and Tarmac Ltd. In it the CC made known its requirement that the two companies sell a significant portfolio of assets as a condition of its approval to proceed and make it possible for a new entrant to compete in the British market. Lafarge UK's Hope cement works was among the assets identified for disposal.
Within a month Tarmac and Lafarge announced their readiness to undertake the sale of quarries, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt plants totalling Euro472m in value, with the process due to commence before the end of June 2012. During the latter half of 2012 there were indications of activity, but for several months no announcement came. In October 2012 Tarmac was reported to be consulting 500 members of staff about a possible relocation from its headquarters at Ettingshall, Wolverhampton, to the new Lafarge Cement office at Solihull. Also in October 2012 Breedon Aggregates, a company widely tipped as a possible purchaser of the disposals, withdrew from the bidding having been 'unable to meet the sellers' expectations,' while further rumours suggested that Lakshmi Mittal, Britain's richest man, was in the bidding.
Then the announcement came in mid-November 2012 that a range of Tarmac and Lafarge operations, along with Tarmac's 50% stake in Midland Quarry Products, was to be sold to Mittal Investments for Euro321m, with Euro35.5m contingent on continuing performance. Subject to regulatory approval the portfolio comprised Hope Cement Works and three depots, 172 ready-mixed concrete plants, five aggregate quarries, two asphalt plants, a marine aggregates wharf and a rail-linked aggregates depot. Further assets, including Tarmac Selby and Thirsk RMX, were to be sold separately.
Both the JV and the 'Newco' commenced trading on 7 January 2013, their new names revealed as Lafarge Tarmac and Hope Construction Materials respectively. Lafarge Tarmac declared its expectation of finding synergies amounting to Euro71m through improved operational, logistical and purchasing efficiencies and the introduction of value-added products across a wider geographical area. For its part Hope's chairman Amit Bhatia suggested that the company's name reflected not only the principal production asset, but a confidence in the prospects for the 800-strong business.
Both companies issued press releases, launched new websites and corporate branding. Lafarge Tarmac's interlocking LT logo combines the constituent initials in a shared green. On a bold cerise background Hope features a shield logo that combines a symbolic representation of pride in the industry, the company's base in Derbyshire and a stylised depiction of concrete. There are challenges ahead for both companies, not just in marketing, but in corporate integration, human resources, supply contracts and customer relations. Resolution will take time.
These changes to the UK cement industry structure coincided with and influenced changes to the other major players, most notably Hanson UK. Hanson had a fairly torrid time in the autumn of 2012, announcing job losses and aggregate and mortar plant closures across its UK operations. 250 employees were laid off, the latest swathe in cuts that has seen its headcount fall by half since 2007, from 8400 to around 4000.
With no involvement in the JV disposals, Cemex has remained much as it was, although it sold its Isle of Man operations to Ireland's CRH in mid 2012. The company also confirmed earlier in 2012 that it would not be bringing its mothballed Barrington plant back into production. The plant will instead be demolished.
Other structural changes in the industry affected niche players. Novacem, the magnesium cement specialist went into administration in September 2012 and Dudman Group an independent aggregates and ready-mixed concrete producer in Shoreham, West Sussex that ran a cement import business with six terminals called in the administrators early in 2013. Another importer, Southern Cement of Ipswich, a subsidiary of Spain's Cementos Portland Valderrivas, was the subject of an asset swap with CRH in 2013. It is now a sister company to Premier Cement and an outlet for Ireland's Irish Cement.
The market
GDP (2012 Est.) | US$2.32tn |
GDP/capita (2012) | US$36,700 |
Population (2013 Est.) | 62.6m |
Area | 243,610km2 |
Integrated cement plants | 11 |
Integrated capacity | 10.15Mt/yr |
Above - Table 1: Summary statistics for the UK and its cement industry.
The state of the construction sector, the market into which cement is sold, continues to be of concern. In a nutshell, the limited but steady growth of 2010 and 2011 (admittedly from a low base) was reversed in 2012. According to a CIPS/Markit survey, confidence in the outlook for construction plunged in November 2012 to its lowest since early 2009. The Construction Products Association, which represents more than 80% of the building materials sector, anticipates no recovery until 2014 at least.
Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures reveal a 3.6% fall in construction orders during the opening months of 2012, compared with the same period a year earlier. This is reflected in the returns from the Mineral Products Association (MPA), which show significant decline across all product areas. The official figures are given in Table 2.
2011 | 2012 | |||||||
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
Clinker production | 1427 | 1791 | 2015 | 1863 | 1366 | 1736 | 1722 | 1731 |
Cement production | 1979 | 2245 | 2246 | 2059 | 1880 | 2073 | 2120 | 1879 |
MPA exports | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
MPA sales from GB prod | 2043 | 2164 | 2200 | 1909 | 1928 | 1974 | 2021 | 1805 |
MPA imports | 12 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 20 |
Domestic cement sales | 2055 | 2190 | 2225 | 1933 | 1944 | 1986 | 2034 | 1825 |
Imports by others | 281 | 306 | 300 | 270 | 285 | 277 | 302 | 257 |
All imports | 293 | 343 | 328 | 294 | 301 | 290 | 314 | 277 |
Total cement sales | 2336 | 2508 | 2528 | 2203 | 2229 | 2264 | 2335 | 2082 |
Other (GGBS, fly ash) | 402 | 448 | 494 | 392 | 370 | 389 | 444 | 400 |
Total cementitious | 2783 | 2956 | 3022 | 2955 | 2599 | 2632 | 2780 | 2483 |
Above - Table 2: MPA quarterly statistics for 2011 and 2012. (Figures in thousands of tonnes).
Year | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
Clinker production | 10227 | 8700 | 6421 | 6599 | 7096 | 6555 |
Cement production | 11887 | 10071 | 7622 | 7882 | 8529 | 7952 |
Domestic sales | 11638 | 9937 | 7573 | 7841 | 8403 | 7789 |
Above - Table 3: MPA statistics for 2007 - 2012. (Figures in thousands of tonnes).
It can be seen that rather than gearing up for maximum production as in 2011, 2012 saw a lag in production so that maximum output was more heavily weighted to the end of the year, and tended to be just a little lower in terms of tonnage. The figures for cement production in the first quarter of 2013 are not yet published but the cold winter has doubtless had an impact on declining construction activity and consequently on the demand for cement.
Setting recent performance in the context of pre-recessionary figures, it will be seen that while the last numbers are not quite as bad as in the economic trough of 2009, they have slipped from the slightly stronger values of 2011. Could this be evidence of a so-called double dip?
Prices have been adjusted in response. According to the department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) prices remained muted throughout 2012, but 2013 opened with a flurry of announcements of price increases from building materials manufacturers, with 6% the average price increase for cement. Whether these will stick, only time will tell.
Setting index values against a 2005 base of 100, the annual averages show continual growth until the reverse in 2010, with a noticeable revival in the past year.
2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
100 | 108.8 | 114.7 | 128.4 | 138.5 | 133.2 | 135.4 | 143.9 |
Jan 12 |
Feb 12 |
Mar 12 |
Apr 12 |
May 12 |
Jun 12 |
Jul 12 |
Aug 12 |
Sep 12 |
Oct 12 |
Nov 12 |
Dec 12 |
Jan 13 |
140.8 | 141.3 | 142.2 | 144.6 | 145.2 | 145.1 | 144.7 | 144.8 | 145 | 144.8 | 144.1 | 144.1 | 146.2 |
Above - Table 4: Cement price trends for the UK from 2005 to January 2013. (2005 price indexed to 100
Financial reporting
It is not the intention to report the financial performance of the individual multi-nationals in any detail here, but simply flag up some headline figures and a few highlights as regards their UK operations.
After an encouraging start to the year in which volumes and income improved, Lafarge's caution was justified as the measures of performance diverged. At year-end, revenues had improved by 3% compared with 2011, but were driven in part by price increases (levied to offset rising material costs). However cement volumes fell by 3% and profits were hit by a series of charges. Lafarge's profit was down by 27% to Euro423m and had it not been for the sale of its gypsum business Lafarge would have made a net loss. Of the declining volumes those in western Europe fell by 11% to 16.4Mt, from 18.4Mt in 2011.
HeidelbergCement has reported its full year results for 2012, having also made a good start to 2012. Annual revenue at Euro14bn had increased by 8.7% compared with 2011 and operating income was up 9.5% to Euro1.61bn. The improvement in cement margins was credited to the FOX 2013 programme, about which more below. However, demand had weakened in the UK.
Turnover was up at Cemex too, in the first quarter of 2012 and though remaining positive, levelled off by the middle of the year. Like Lafarge, the company experienced a decline in turnover for the full year, while EBITDA rose by 10%. The company had produced 65.8Mt of cement, down by 1% from 66.8Mt in 2011, but debt had also been reduced or deferred. Sales in Northern Europe fell by 13%.
Cost-reduction programmes
Lafarge announced Euro70m in cost savings for the first quarter of 2012 and Euro170m for the second quarter. By the middle of the year the company claimed to be on track to secure Euro400m in savings by the end of 2012. In the summer Lafarge announced plans to cut Euro1.3bn over the four-year period to 2015 and bring its net debt down to below Euro10bn as early as possible in 2013.
Savings would come from the use of alternative fuels, better management of electricity consumption and improvements in productivity. Lafarge plans less intensive capital spending during this period.
HeidelbergCement's 'FOX 2013' savings amounted to Euro39m in the first quarter of 2012 and by the summer the plan was said to be ahead of schedule. New initiatives started to reduce the cost of logistics. By the year's end, savings from the FOX programme overall had amounted to Euro384m, but cost cutting measures continue.
Investment
While capital spending has not been encouraged during the past four years of reduced activity and retrenchment, there has still been a degree of investment in new plant. The then Lafarge Cement UK's blending plant at Barnstone, Nottinghamshire has seen Euro8m spent on it recently and in June 2012 a state-of-the-art cement packer was commissioned. In October 2012 the installation of conveying equipment for an expanded blending plant received publicity.
Across the Irish Sea, Lafarge has spent over Euro5.9m on a range of capital projects at Cookstown, Northern Ireland, most notably refurbishment of the electrostatic precipitator in the months leading up to December 2012. Future plans included an upgrade of the central control room.
Table 5 shows a number of contracts carried out recently by UK cement operators. The deals tend towards facilitating the use of alternative fuels and in extending product distribution through transport contracts.
Client | Location | Supplier | Description |
Lafarge Tarmac | Aberthaw Works | Refratechnik Cement GmbH | Overcome refractory failures |
Barnstone Works | Haver & Boecker GmbH | Cement packing plant | |
Barnstone Works | Guttridge Ltd | Conveying equipment | |
Carlisle Depot | Handley Bulk Transport | Operating licence for two vehicles and three trailers | |
Cookstown Works | Refurbished electrostatic precipitator | ||
Dunbar Works | Caterpillar | Four CAT777f dumper trucks | |
Leeds Depot | Scafield Logistics | Cement delivery contract for Yorkshire and north east of England | |
Hanson Cement | Ribblesdale and Ketton Works | Renault | Six Premier 6 x 2 tractor units with Privilege cabs |
Cemex UK | Nationally | VUE | Vehicle safety cameras for fleet of 400 vehicles |
Nationally | Volvo | 10 FM12 440 6 x 2 tractor units | |
Nationally | SAPS | Accounting and payments package | |
Internationally | IBM | 10 year, Euro760m strategic agreement for business process and IT services | |
Hope Construction | Hope Works | John King Chains | Crusader-type chain in clinker conveyor |
Hope Works | Schenck Process | Weighing and feeding of processed sewage pellets | |
Nationally | Futurebrand | Corporate branding | |
Southern Cement | Ipswich Port | Van Aalst Bulk Handling BV | New mobile ship unloader |
Above - Table 5: Supply contracts to the UK cement industry in 2012 and the start of 2013.
Logistics
There have been few particularly noteworthy developments in road transport in the period under review. Routine contracts have been signed with hauliers for the distribution of cement from depots and specialist tanker operator Clugston has made it known that the bulk powder market is a strategic target. Clugston is now working with Kerneos, the calcium aluminate cement producer, and Power Minerals, a fly ash supplier.
Improvements in vehicle design and driver training at Lafarge UK have been extended to sister operations in other parts of the globe and early in 2013 Lafarge's logistics partner Wincanton and trailer manufacturer Feldbinder, trialled a new low-level access point for silo tankers.
While Lafarge has worked with the lorry manufacturer MAN during the year, Cemex has turned away from its traditional supplier and ordered 10 new tractor units from Volvo, a decision based on the evaluation of fuel consumption and maintenance costs. Cemex has also been commended in the Fleet
Operators Recognition Scheme run by Transport for London, as one of only 10 companies to achieve Gold Status in a field of 1900 entrants.
The railway network, whose use expanded so much in the mid 2000s has attracted little news lately, save for the investment in a railway extension connecting the former Northfleet works to the North Kent Line in the south east of England. The UK's newest freight railway opened on 21 June 2012 and is initially being used to haul away spoil from tunnels being bored for London's Crossrail project. It will subsequently serve a new Euro3.5m aggregates terminal being planned for the site. Lafarge tasted success with the project, winning top prize at the Rail Freight Group's annual awards in September 2012.
Fuels
Lafarge Tarmac and Hope Construction Materials (and Lafarge UK before them) have been introducing processed sewage pellets (PSP) to their Dunbar and Hope Works respectively over the past year or two. After the appropriate period of consultation and regulatory approval, Lafarge started an evaluation of PSP at Dunbar in August 2012. At Hope, weighing, feeding and dosing systems for the handling of PSP were designed and installed by Schenck Process and commissioning has now been satisfactorily completed.
Cemex has taken a different tack and after two or three years of development has brought its plans for the controlled supply of Climafuel (a refuse-derived fuel) to a climax. SITA UK has now been awarded the contract to produce all the Climafuel needed to fire the kiln at the Rugby plant in Warwickshire, England. The contract provides for the construction of two recycling plants, one in Birmingham and the other at a site adjacent to the Rugby works. SITA has also gone on to win a contract to supply 180,000t/yr of SRF to Cemex's factory in Latvia.
Coal remains an important source of energy and though the long-term trend is towards its replacement, reduced prices over the past couple of years have bolstered its attractiveness in the short-term. With the USA enjoying a shale-gas boom, much of its former coal production is finding its way on to the market and causing a surfeit, with low prices in consequence. Ample supplies, combined with the currently low price for carbon allowances in Europe, have encouraged continued reliance on coal for the time being.
Nonetheless, plans to switch from coal in the closely-related power-generation industry have been directed by government policy. Drax, Britain's largest coal-fired power station, has been most prominent in this regard. In the summer of 2012 Drax proposed that it would convert only three of its six coal-fired units to run entirely on biomass, following the government's announcement of lower-than-expected subsidies. By October 2012 Drax had raised Euro224m to fund the project. Total costs are likely to reach Euro262m, and as of March 2014 are to receive a government guarantee as part of its push for investment in infrastructure.
Environmental performance
The move from coal towards alternative fuels is driven by environmental pressures as much as economic, and the reduction of CO2 emissions is a key consideration. Of the reduction measures available, neither emissions trading nor carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been without controversy in recent months.
Carbon reduction
In the UK the government announced a major CCS competition for a Euro1.18bn investment fund, though critical MPs have claimed that only Euro236m has been made available in the current parliament (to May 2015)– and in November 2012 issued an interim report that argues for investment in large offshore storage clusters. Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary, then announced a shortlist of four CCS projects for the scheme: two in Scotland and two in North Yorkshire. Of these the Peterhead Project in Aberdeenshire (SSE) and the White Rose Project in Yorkshire (Drax) were named in March 2013 as preferred bidders.
Carbon trading
The EU's Emissions Trading Scheme faced a transition on 1 January 2013, from Phase II to Phase III (2013-20) and two Commission working groups were established to develop guidance documents and supporting material during the latter half of 2012 in readiness. At the same time, the EU and Australia agreed to link their carbon markets as the foundation for what could become a global trading system. Collaboration with California, China and South Korea was also discussed. In November 2012 IntercontinentalExchange, the operator of Europe's largest carbon trading platform, reversed its two-year shut down in daily emissions futures, after regulators improved oversight. Also in November the Commission published a report on the state of the carbon market. Here developments are not so promising.
Back in July 2012 the carbon market was described as 'ailing' and prices sank to what was then a record low. But conditions worsened when Phase III of the ETS was introduced. The market reacted badly. Carbon prices fell to a new low of less than Euro5/t. Germany's failure to sell 3 million carbon permits on 18 January 2013 triggered a collapse of confidence and a further 20% fall in prices. Analysts described the permits as 'worthless.'
On 24 January 2013 prices crashed by almost 40% in minutes to only Euro2.81/t after politicians rejected a plan to prop up prices. When trading closed, prices had settled at Euro4.41/t, but were still down by 7.5% on the day.
Taking a longer-term view, carbon prices have lost 70% of their value since mid 2011, as economic weakness exacerbated a glut in the supply of allowances. This latter point was picked up by Donal O'Riain, the chief executive of Ecocem, who criticised the Irish cement industry for profiting by 'tens of millions of euros' due to anomalies in the system.
Certainly such criticism and the disastrous trading levels in the market raised fears for the future operation of the ETS. Prices jumped by 20% on 14 March 2013 (though only to Euro4.23/t) when the European Parliament voted in favour of propping up the ETS. However, that vote has since been reversed. On 17 April 2013 The Daily Telegraph described the situation as 'on the brink of collapse' after "MEPs torpedoed Europe's flagship CO2 emissions trading scheme by voting against a measure to support the price of carbon permits."
Sustainability
There are, of course, other measures of environmentally sustainable performance than carbon reduction, and recent successes are set out in the MPA's Sustainable Development Report for 2011, which was issued in November 2012. This measures industry progress against its Sector Plan targets. Individual cement producers have published reports of their own company's achievements in this field too.
Lafarge issued a report in October 2012, covering the period 2009 to 2011. It highlighted a 17% reduction in CO2 emissions through the use of SRF, a 17% reduction in the use of electricity and a 26% cut in emissions to air. Lafarge is also one of a small number of companies to have achieved re-certification of the Carbon Trust Standard. This recognised practical measures undertaken by the company, including the fitting of soft starts to crushers and conveyors, and adopting more vigorous maintenance programmes to optimise the efficiency of equipment. Then at the end of 2012, Lafarge Cement UK won the annual Large Business European EMAS Award for its innovative Water Footprinting scheme and water efficiency improvements, developed at Cauldon Works and rolled out across six of the company's sites.
Cemex UK has likewise had success with water management, developing a methodology to standardise the measurement and management of its water use across all of its business lines. It has introduced a new, more versatile Carbon Footprint Calculator designed to quantify embodied carbon and claims to be the first cement company in the world to have a CO2 labelling system for packed cement that is independently verified by DNV Business Assurance. Internationally Cemex has introduced an 'Ecoperating' seal to identify products from the group's global portfolio that have an outstanding sustainability performance.
Hanson's report for 2012 reviewed the preceding year in which waste reduction targets were exceeded and the Responsible Sourcing of Materials standard (BES 6001) was awarded.
Tarmac's approach to recycling and waste management was 'highly commended' at the 'Construction Recycler of the Year' category by judges at the National Recycling Awards 2012.
Sustainability has featured prominently in the industry's marketing. Lafarge won the award for 'Sustainable Consumption' at the Marketing Society Annual Awards for Excellence in July 2012 and the campaign for its low carbon Cemergi product was shortlisted for 'Marketing on a Shoestring'. Looking ahead, Cemex has been shortlisted for the 'Supply Chain Excellence' category in the Construction News Awards 2013.
New cements
A common theme in the companies' attempts to improve environmental performance is to find suitable substitutes for at least a proportion of the Portland cement used in concrete. Novacem, financed in part by Lafarge, was a specialist manifestation of this approach. Its innovative magnesium-based cement was claimed to be carbon-neutral or even negative. Novacem went into liquidation in September 2012, but its technology and intellectual property were sold to an unknown Australian company in October 2012, for continuing development and commercialisation.
Lafarge itself completed a full-scale production trial of Aether, its proprietary new-generation clinker formulated for lower carbon cements, which has 25-30% lower emissions than OPC. The trial, held in France at Le Teil during January 2013 produced 10,000t of Aether clinker and confirmed the feasibility of industrial-scale production based on the use of traditional raw materials.
Even more recently, Hanson's parent company HeidelbergCement, announced the development of a new calcium sulphoaluminate-based binder called Ternacem, which can be produced with 30% fewer CO2 emissions than Portland cements. The company's approach is to combine CSA with belite and is set out in six patents. Large-scale trials are planned for later in 2013.
Health and safety
Each year the MPA runs an awards scheme and presents prizes at its health and safety conference held in November. The 2012 awards attracted 142 entries from 32 member companies (across all mineral sectors). Among these, Lafarge Cement UK won three accolades for 'worker involvement.' The company itself was Highly Commended; Hope Works was Runner-up; and Cookstown Works received a Certificate of Merit. Outside the awards Lafarge's Dunbar Works clocked up a year with no lost time incident (LTI) and Aberthaw Works achieved four years without an LTI.
Confirming earlier decisions about Hanson Cement's Padeswood plant, the official body Public Health Wales released its final report on 6 July 2012 stating there was no evidence that cement manufacturing on the site had caused cancer in the locality. Indeed the report noted an improvement in air quality near the works and acknowledged Hanson's co-operation throughout the two-year enquiry.
In May 2012 Cemex UK won 12 awards at the RoSPA Occupational Health & Safety Awards, including the President's Award for South Ferriby cement plant and the company's fly ash business.
Advocacy
The MPA commented in July 2012 on a report published by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, which indicated that the British cement industry is significantly disadvantaged by the cost of energy and climate change policies, compared with overseas competitors. The MPA remarked that the data confirmed what it had been telling the government for the past year and that, though its credentials are not in question, without government support the industry remains vulnerable in the global market place.
The MPA lobbied for government action in the Energy Intensive Industries Strategy. Jesus Gonzalez of Cemex went further and threatened to shut the company's UK cement works if the government failed to protect it from the rise in production costs associated with environmental reform.
Shortly afterwards, at a House of Commons reception, the MPA launched its 'Make the Link' campaign, and in February 2013 it published industry plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 81%, compared with the conventional 1990 baseline. It was rewarded with the announcement in March 2013 that the government will introduce exemptions from the Climate Change Levy for energy used in metallurgical and mineralogical processes as from 1 April 2014. According to the Association's press release, Dr Pal Chana, the Executive Director of MPA Cement, said that he was, "Delighted that the Chancellor has listened to MPA's arguments" and looked forward to, "Working with the Treasury to secure this much-needed exemption".
The MPA also advised that a Brief from HMRC on the Landfill Tax could threaten the government's own recycling targets by its ambiguous definition of waste and warned that the National Planning Policy Framework appeared to be failing to avert the risk of a shortage of building materials despite the sluggish market.
In Europe the MPA contributes to the work of Cembureau. Jean-Marie Chandelle, Cembureau's long-standing chief executive, retired in June 2012 and was succeeded by Koen Coppenholle. Since then Cembureau has been encouraged by a statement from the European Commission that asserts the importance of integrated policymaking in setting the right market environment, but that "industry must itself develop its competitive advantages". In recent weeks, at the launch of a Boston Consulting Group report commissioned by Cembureau, the Director General of the EU's Enterprise directorate emphasised 'The importance of the cement industry to Europe and to the sustainable functioning of our economy." I think that that is probably a satisfactorily positive note on which to end.
This review has been prepared from back numbers of Cement Industry News, the monthly news bulletin issued to members of the Cement Industry Suppliers' Forum by the Concrete Society's Information Services. It was presented by the author at the CISF Conference held in Market Bosworth on 1-2 May 2013.