Cementos Molins cuts back in Spain while expanding in foreign markets

As the Spanish construction crisis shows no sign of abatement, Cementos Molins expects to continue the adjustment in its Spanish workforce. The company’s vice-president and CEO Joan Molins said the company would be restructuring its operations, cutting back in Spain and increasingly shifting its focus to foreign markets. 

He announced new projects in Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico and Tunisia. Over the past five years, the firm increased its number of employees abroad from 2500 to 3200. 

In addition, he said the company was also considering possibly entry into Bolivia although he regarded this as a medium- rather than a short-term project. 

In Spain, Cementos Molins has reduced its workforce by 800 between 2007-12. While he did not specify further cuts needed, he predicted a difficult year for the construction sector in Spain. "We thought that in 2012 we had hit bottom, but this year will be worse, " he lamented. 

Cementos Molins expects to close the year of 2012 with sales of EUR918m, up from EUR831m last year. Of this total, EUR734m were generated outside Spain while EUR184m were accrued inside the country’s borders.