Will Lafarge Cement withdraw from Slovenia?

Will Lafarge Cement withdraw from Slovenia?
24 November 2011


The daily Delo speculates on Thursday whether Lafarge Cement could exit Slovenia after the Environment and Spatial Planning Ministry revoked the company’s permit for waste incineration.

Judging by the response from Lafarge Cement, the company will not apply for a new permit, Delo says, wondering whether it will leave 130 people jobless and blame Slovenia, environmental movements, Zagorje Mayor Alojz Svagan and the media.

Lafarge has reiterated often that it will not be competitive without being able to incinerate waste in the cement production process. Between the lines, one could sense the threat of leaving this inhospitable country, closing 130 jobs in Lafarge and hundreds more at subcontractors, Delo says.

Lafarge has already built the new Királyegyháza cement plant in Hungary, a €270m joint venture with Austrian Strabag. This facility is to be able to sell cement to up to 300km away with profit, and Zagorje is only some 300km away from Hungary, Delo says in "The Hardest Battle Only Beginning."
Published under Cement News