The top executive at Colombian cement company Cementos Argos Friday said he expects acquisitions in the US to propel sales this year to $1.3bn, up from $942m in 2005.  
 
“Sixty per cent of our projected sales will come from the US," Jose Velez, company president said. "That is possible because we focused on purchasing concrete companies and because we bought companies that are located in fast growing cities such as Dallas, Atlanta and Houston. We are seeing a boom in the construction sectors there," he said.  
 
During 2005, Argos, Latin America’s fifth largest cement maker, purchased five companies in the US for a total of $257m. In first quarter of this year, Argos followed up with an agreement to buy RMCC Group Inc, a US ready-mixed concrete supplier, for $435m.  
 
Velez declined to provide net profit projections for 2006. The company’s net profit last year fell to COP225bn ($95m), from COP232bn in 2004.  
 
Velez reiterated the company’s continued hunt for acquisition opportunities in Latin America.