- Italcementi Group

“The commitment to sustainable development, which is a feature of the operations of the Italcementi Group, does not end with our industrial management policies. This duty, together with the progress linked to the development of our ‘Innovation Project’, has led us to open up a new horizon for Italcementi. Alongside the production of cement which is of increasingly high performance from a structural viewpoint, we are entering a new sector: that of special cement products aimed at providing a genuine industrialized solution to the problem of pollution in cities”.

Carlo Pesenti, Italcementi Group CEO, presented the launch of the industrial scale production and marketing of photocatalytic products manufactured with the TX Active® principle, the fruits of the Italcementi Group research laboratory. It is an important, proactive industrial solution which will make a significant impact in the fight against smog.

“We have backed research and innovation since, for a group such as ours, it ensures our development and the ability to be competitive on a global scale; in addition, it is often stressed that innovation is essential for the country’s development, and today I am delighted to underline the fact that this outcome is the result of Italian research. Moreover,” Pesenti added, “we believe that the mission of a major industrial group also includes meeting the need to improve the quality of life for all of us. With this product we feel we can provide a proactive solution for at least one of those problems which are seen everyday in the air quality of our cities. Thus we offer the public sector and other principals the possibility of opting for structured, long-lasting and targeted solutions as part of their programs to fight pollution”.

In a large city such as Milan, researchers have calculated – on the basis of test results – that covering 15% of visible urban surfaces with products containing TX Active® would enable a reduction in pollution of approximately 50%.

TX Active® is a photocatalytic principle for cement products which can reduce organic and inorganic pollutants that are present in the air. Its effectiveness has been thoroughly tested and thus certified by important independent research centers (CNR, ARPA, IspraResearchCenter). Its formulation is the result of 10 years of research, tests and applications carried out by CTG (Centro Tecnico di Gruppo, a company in the Italcementi Group) which has led to the final formulation of the active principle. Italcementi will make this material available to the whole construction sector which will thus be able to offer products with high quality standards under the “TX Active^®” brand.

Guerville, 6 June 2006
TX Active® has been launched in France