Lafarge starts construction on US$120m plant in Mexico

Lafarge has kicked off construction works on a new US$120m plant in northern Mexico’s Hidalgo state, local press reported.  The company is looking to launch operations at the 600,000tpa grey cement plant by the end of this year, according to Lafarge Mexico head Máimo Dolman.  This will be the company’s second plant in Mexico, where it currently operates a facility also located in Hidalgo state.  With the new factory, Lafarge hopes to grow by five per cent this year. 

Lafarge currently produces 330,000tpa of cement and employs some 300 people in Mexico. The French giant entered the Mexican market in 1999 when it bought a local cement company that controlled around one per cent of the market.  Today it has an annual revenue of about US$35m and a two per cent market share.