Materials firm invests £49m in cement grinding and blending facility
Building materials company Cemex today opened a cement grinding and blending plant in the Thames Gateway in Essex.
The £49m investment, which has been under construction for the past two years, is the largest in the UK cement industry for five years, and the 1.2 million tonne plant will increase Cemex UK’s cement capacity by 20%.
The plant, which is the only cement plant in the South East of England, was officially opened by Shahid Malik, Minister for the Thames Gateway.
The basis for the products made at Tilbury is cement clinker, which is ground to a powder and blended with by-products from other industries to make cements for use in buildings and infrastructure projects.
The plant has the first vertical cement mill in the country, which uses 20-40% less energy than traditional horizontal mills. The mill combined with the blended cement capabilities, shipping, barge and rail loading facilities mean that the plant’s carbon footprint per tonne of finished product is further reduced.
Gonzalo Galindo, Cemex UK’s president, said: “I am immensely proud of this plant, which truly demonstrates our commitment to the construction industry and confidence that the UK economy will bounce back.”
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