2 GHACEM FACTORIES TO INCREASE PRODUCTION CAPACITIES (PAGE 22, DEC 30, 2010)

GHACEM Limited is to increase the production capacities of its two factories in Takoradi and Tema at a cost of 20 million Euros, to produce quality cement to meet the rising demand, particularly in the Western Region as a result of the oil find.
The management of the company has anticipated that various forms of infrastructure relating to housing, road construction, offices, bridges and more would be undertaken to support the emerging oil and gas industry.
The current capacity of the Takoradi plant is in excess of 1.2 million tonnes per year, which is the same as that of the present production capacity in Tema.
The expansion will provide additional 650,000 tonnes to increase the capacity in Takoradi to 1.9 million tonnes per annum.
Similarly, the Tema factory would be expanded with additional 650,000 tonnes per annum and it is expected to take off from the first quarter of 2011 and will be commissioned in the third quarter of 2012, while the expansion of the Takoradi factory is expected to take off soon.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ghacem Limited, Mr Jean Marc-Junon, announced this at the meet-the-press session in Takoradi.
He said the board and management of Ghacem would like to associate themselves with the success of the emerging oil and gas industry.
“In this context, we see a clear need to increase the production capacity of the Takoradi plant,” he stated.
Mr Marc-Junon said the expansion programmes in Tema and Takoradi demonstrated Ghacem’s efforts in consolidating its position as the leading cement manufacturer in Ghana.
“Ghacem has been in existence for the past 43 years and is committed to the production of quality and affordable cement in Ghana,” he emphasised.
Mr Marc-Junon said as already demonstrated for the past six years, Ghacem was committed to the use of local raw materials for the production of cement in the country.
“Ghacem’s first use of local limestone was in 2004 with supplies from the Eastern Region and our cement has since that time been produced with local component of about 25 per cent,” he explained.
Mr Marc-Junon said Ghacem had already started mining and supplying limestone from the Jomoro District in the Western Region to the Takoradi factory, in collaboration with Multiwall Paper Sacks Limited, a company belonging to Dr J.A. Addison, an Industrialist.
He said the combination of regional limestone supplies and considerable expanded capacity at Takoradi factory clearly showed Ghacem’s commitment to the Western Region.
The board chairman emphasised that Ghacem would continue to value the importance of corporate social responsibility and uphold the donation of cement to deprived communities in respect of education and health infrastructure development through the initiative of Ghacem Cement Foundation.
According Mr Marc-Junon, since the inception of the Ghacem Cement Foundation in 2002, a total of 270,000 bags of cement with an equivalent market value of about GH¢2,700,000 had been donated to about 1,600 deprived communities across the length and breadth of the country.
He stated that Ghacem was not against competition, adding “indeed competition enables every producer to improve on its productivity for the betterment of the final consumer.”
Mr Marc-Junon, however, stressed that what Ghacem was appealing for was competition on a level playing field for all competitors, adding “Ghacem will therefore continue to petition where there is a clear case of unfair trade practices culminating in unfair competition.”
Giving a brief background of Ghacem, the Managing Director, Mr Morten Gade, said the company was established in 1967 as a joint venture between the government and Norcem, and later became Scancem.
He said Scancem became the majority shareholder of Ghacem in 1992 and that in 1999, Scancem became part of Heidelberg Cement Group I Germany.
Mr Gade said the company recognised the importance of good partnership with key stakeholders in its business such as the media.