In February, the Podilskyi Tsement company (Khmelnytskyi region, Ukraine), which is one of the three largest producers of cement in Ukraine,  in which Ireland’s CRH Poland BV owns 94.7 per cent of the shares, reduced cement production by 2.4 per cent compared with February 2004, to 83,000t.   As Ukrainian News earlier reported, in January the Podilskyi Tsement company reduced production by 14.3 per cent or 15,000t compared with January 2004, to 90,000t.  

The Podilskyi Cement company, which owns six kilns for cement production with combined capacity of 3.7Mta, is behind only the Baltsem cement plant (Balakliia, Kharkiv region) in terms of production capacity (Baltsem has a production capacity of 4Mt).  

In February, the Baltsem plant (Balakliia, Kharkiv region) increased cement production by 0.8 per cent. According to spokesmen, in February the plant increased the production of clinker by 20.4 per cent or 13,850t compared with the same period of 2004, to 81,798t.  In 2004 the company produced 1.753Mt of cement and 1.314Mt of clinker.  

Baltsem belongs to Barrington Industries Ltd (Great Britain), 12.47 per cent to Verblud Traders and Consultants Ltd. (Cyprus), and 14.47 per cent to Occidental Management Co. Ltd (Cyprus).