The 8th International VDZ Congress 2018 held its inauguration ceremony on Wednesday in Düsseldorf, Germany. The three-day event will see representatives from the cement industry, its suppliers and the fields of science and research discuss current technical challenges and the conditions facing the future of cement production.

"Climate protection, digitalisation and the cement plant of the future: these are the key issues for the future of our industry, issues we are greatly committed to tackling", said Christian Knell, president, VDZ, at the opening ceremony.

The event hosts a number of plenary and parallel sessions looking at innovation and technology trends, digital transformation processes and manufacturing technology.

"The range of subjects is indicative of the global challenges we as the cement industry are facing. Our industry is well equipped to address these upcoming tasks proactively and play its part in shaping the future", said Mr Knell.