An international presence

Over the past 30 years, the cement industry has witnessed an accelerated internationalisation.  European cement companies, albeit operating predominantly through regional markets, have positioned themselves as key actors throughout the world.  The largest operating companies in the world with cement interests in the European Union are generally regarded to be (in alphabetical order): CEMEX (Mexico), HeidelbergCement (Germany), Holcim (Switzerland), Italcementi (Italy) and Lafarge (France). Like many other key players, these groups have also branched out into trade and several building materials subsectors such as aggregates, concrete products, plasterboards, etc. where they are also successful.

All of the above-mentioned European groups are part of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSIⁱ) which works with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSDⁱ) toward sustainable development.  The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) is a global effort by 18 major cement producers with operations in more than 100 countries who believe there is a strong business case for the pursuit of sustainable development. Collectively these companies account for about 30% of the world’s cement production and range in size from very large multinationals to smaller local producers.

CEMBUREAU also maintains regular contact with the Australian Cement Industry Federation (CIF), FICEM (the Federación Interamericana del Cemento), the Japan Cement Association (JCA), and the Portland Cement Association (PCA).