Cemex Lloseta exported 40% of output to Maghreb

Cemex’s Lloseta cement works in Mallorca, Spain, exported 40 per cent of its output to Maghreb countries last year.

The rise in exports proves a turning point for the plant which was on the verge of closure one year ago as the Spanish construction sector faces one of the worst recessions in known history. The opening up of new national and foreign markets has, however, enabled the continued operation of the cement facility.

This year, Cemex plans to export 40 per cent of its Lloseta output. José Antonio Cabrero, Cemex’s new representative for the Balearic Islands confirmed that “the survival of the plant is now guaranteed and there is an encouraging level of work.”

At present, Mallorca is supplying cement to Ibiza, Menorca, Catalonia, Ceuta, Melilla and the Maghreb countries. The output of the Lloseta plant is 300,000tpa, of which 120,000t were sold in North African countries in 2012.

Of the eight works Cemex owns in Spain, only Alicante, Mallorca and Zaragoza have maintained production. The remainder have been scaled down to grinding or distribution units.