Har Tuv Cement plant to face closure?

Har Tuv Cement Ltd is reported to face the closure of its cement plant near Beit Shemesh, Israel.

Reduced exports and an increase in competition in the local market due to Turkish and Greek cement imports were quoted by Israel Valley by as the main reasons for the challenges faced by the cement works.

Har Tuv Cement Ltd operates a 1Mta integrated cement works. Until 2015 it was owned by market leader Nesher Israel Cement Enterprises, but the Director of the Antitrust Authority, Prof David Gilo, required Nesher to divest the plant to prevent a monopoly in the Israeli market. The company was acquired by the Weil family and Shimshon Precision Mechanics Ltd.

The imports of Greek and Turkish cement has also seen Nesher Israel Cement Enterprises under pressure, laying off 20 workers at its Haifa plant last November.