Ahead of the UK Budget announcement tomorrow, the chairman of the country’s leading independent cement producer is calling on the government to stimulate demand to ensure sustainable growth.

Amit Bhatia, chairman of Hope Construction Materials, told CemNet News: “I’m a firm believer in British manufacturing and think the government should seek to stimulate demand in the economy to allow UK firms to do what they do best – make things, innovate, invest and develop.
 
“Suppliers to the construction industry have been hit by a range of tough and rising regulatory costs which if continued will hinder essential production. Instead we need policies which ensure steady, sustainable growth, allowing us to invest in both plants and people in the long term, increase economic output and reduce unemployment.”

Hope Construction owns the UK’s biggest cement plant in Hope Debyshire with up to 1.5Mta of capacity. Today it operates from 180 nationwide depots from the South Coast to the Scottish Highlands and from West Wales to East Anglia.