Holcim sees 31% turnover growth to 352m euros

Holcim Romania, the domestic subsidiary of Holcim Swiss group, last year saw its turnover go up by 31%, to some 352m euros, as a result of the 18.9% volume increase and the 12% price hike. Last year's figures topped the company's initial estimates that had pointed to a turnover increase of around 15-20%. As a matter of fact, sales in Romania, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan boosted Holcim's turnover in South-eastern Europe. The company is set to invest around 33m euros this year, in cement, concrete and aggregates, with the largest part of this sum being meant to bolster production capacities by around 600,000 tonnes, with the company due to reach installed capacity of 5.3 million tonnes. Thus, Holcim will get close to the biggest producer on the domestic market, Lafarge Ciment, with installed capacity of 5.5 million tonnes. "In 2009, we'll make further investments in our production capacities to maintain their productivity," Markus Wirth, Holcim Romania's CEO said in early 2009. Since it arrived on the Romanian market, Holcim group has operated investments of around 650m euros. The biggest part, of above 200m euros, was "swallowed" by projects related to the modernisation of cement plants in Alesd and Campulung. The company's representatives expect cement consumption to shrink this year, with the level of demand depending on infrastructure investments, in the context where the real estate market is falling. Holcim has 1,502 employees, 3 cement plants, 15 ecological concrete-mixing stations, a hydraulic binder station and 4 aggregates stations in Romania.