Displaying items by tag: Gorazdze

Poland: The Swiss-based Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC) has acknowledged Górażdże Concrete’s sustainable management of resources in the concrete production process. Przemysław Malinowski, Górażdże president, stated that the company has sought to ‘minimise its impact on the environment in all areas of the supply chain.’ This included sourcing its cement from producers who demonstrate effective waste heat recovery and alternative fuel substitution practices, with a view to promoting the circular economy.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) established the CSC to promote care for the economic, social and environmental impacts of concrete production by auditing the entire production process. In a Polish concrete sector of 25Mm3/yr total production capacity, Górażdże is the sole holder of CSC certification.

Poland: Gorazdze Cement has forecast that sales of cement in the country will grow by up to 7% year-on-year in 2014 to 15.5Mt up from 14.5Mt in 2013. Similar sales growth is expected in 2015, provided more projects co-financed by the European Union are started. The Institute for Market Economics (IBnGR) expect sales to reach 15.2Mt in 2014 and then 16.4Mt in 2015. The research institute attributes the sales growth in 2014 to an improving situation in the rail, energy, residential and road construction sectors.

Poland: The Court of Competition and Consumer Protection (SOKiK) has upheld a decision by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) to fine seven cement companies for forming a cartel. However, the SOKiK lowered the total fine from Euro100m to Euro80m. According the UOKiK the cartel fixed prices and divided the Polish market among themselves for at least eleven years.

According to the UOKiK the cartel activities could have had negative consequences for the construction sector and had affected consumers. The cartel had almost 100% share of production and sale of grey cement in Poland.

During the investigation two cartel members decided to co-operate with the UOKiK in exchange for leniency. Therefore UOKiK decided not to fine Lafarge Cement and lowered the fine for Gorazdze Cement. The remaining five cartel members - Grupa Ozarow, Cemex Polska, Dyckerhoff Polska, Cementownia Warta and Cementownia Odra - were fined to the full legal extent, 10% of annual turnover.

Poland: Gorazdze Cement is set to become the largest cement production site in Europe thanks to the installation of a new mill. The new investment will see the company's production capacity grow by 25% to 5.5Mt/yr. Company president Andrzej Balcerek said that within three or four years cement demand in Poland will exceed 20Mt/yr.

Poland: On 5 July 2011 Gorazdze launched its newly completed investment, which will enable it to become the 'biggest cement producer in Europe.' The project consumed nearly Euro125m, which makes it the biggest investment in the company's history.

The project was initiated in May 2010, which Gorazdze helmsman Andrzej Balcerek considers to have been the best possible moment. "At that time, the demand for cement was slightly lower, with the whole economy slowing down. At present, it is sky-rocketing; in May 2011 growth was the highest in the last 100 years," he says.

Bernd Scheifele from HeidelbergCement, which is the owner of Gorazdze, sees the investment as a major step forward not only for the Polish firm but for its mother company too and a perfect example of Polish-German economic co-operation. He underlined the fact that over the last 17 years HeidelbergCement has invested around Euro450m in Gorazdze.