- Italcementi Group

In September, in Saudi Arabia, the Italcementi Group formed the Arabian Ready Mix Company, an equally owned joint venture with the Arabian Cement Company in ready mixed concrete. The venture’s first plant will be built near the city of Jeddah, where it will benefit from high demand relating to construction of King Abdullah City, one of the six new cities planned by the State as part of an urban development program to foster new economic growth in Saudi Arabia. The new plant is scheduled to begin operations by March 2008 and will have an annual ready mixed concrete capacity of one million m³. The ARMC business plan projects rapid expansion in the west of the kingdom over the next three years, in the areas of Jeddah, Mecca, Taif, Yanbu and Medina.

Also in the Middle East, in August the Group acquired a majority share in Kuwait’s Hilal Cement, which owns two terminals in the south of the country. With a capacity of approximately one million metric tons/year, the company is one of the main producers in the emirate, which does not possess domestic raw materials for cement production.

As a result of these two operations, and the move into China with the acquisition of Fuping Cement in June, the Group now has operations in 22 countries in 4 continents.

“The Italcementi Group will be focusing on organic growth through continuous technological and environmental updating and enhancement of our production system, both in the industrialized nations and the emerging nations,” said Italcementi CEO Carlo Pesenti recently. “We shall pursue external growth through medium-scale acquisitions, especially in high-growth emerging countries and, where possible, in cooperation with local partners to accelerate integration and reduce country risk. Attention to innovation will enable us not only to offer new products and new services on the various markets, but also to introduce modern management models.”