According to reports in MTI, Holcim originally planned to wind up the 144-year-old plant by 2010, but its lifetime had since been extended by environment-friendly investments of almost HUF500 million (about €1.78 million) to 2016. However, the downturn of Hungary's construction industry has now made closing unavoidable, Ms Marta said.
Holcim employed more than 500 people at cement, concrete and aggregates plants around Hungary in 2010, and 413 at the end of 2011. Its combined revenue in Hungary exceeded HUF24 billion (€85.2 million) in 2010, and it fell to HUF17.9 billion (€63 million) last year.
According to the report, in response to the crisis in the construction sector, Holcim Hungary initiated an extensive restructuring process, and in other markets of Eastern Europe, the production of aggregates and ready-mix concrete was also adjusted in line with lower demand.
At the end of last year it indefinitely shelved a plan to build a cement factory in Nyergesujfalu, which was designed to replace the plant in Labatlan, and postponed also until further notice the construction of a cement distribution base in Dabas, near the capital Budapest.
