Dramatic end for Cemex site

643 Cemex brought to an end a 150 year history of cement making at its Rochester site in the UK with the demolition of the 114m chimney last week. A controlled explosion was used to bring down the reinforced concrete structure that was built in the 1970s.

The button triggering the 10kg of nitroglycerine-based explosive was pressed by former plant employee Dave Dark who won a competition to raise funds for the 4617 Wisdom Hospice in Rochester, a local charity, which provides palliative and end of life care for patients with life-limiting illness.

Demolition of the plant, which covered 11ha, started last March and will be redeveloped for residential use. The plant has been replaced with a hi-tech grinding facility further west along the Thames at Tilbury.

Cemex UK president Gonzalo Galindo said, “This marks the end of end of an era for our cement manufacturing in Kent, at a plant which has provided employment and a livelihood for many local people for more than a century, but our Tilbury plant now provides a more environmentally friendly option for cement making. We also hope the new mixed-use lakeside development will be of great benefit to the local community."