CBR, part of
“This announcement can be explained by the structural difficulties faced by the plant as well as the deterioration of the white cement market. If it is confirmed, this could generate for the collective dismissal of 97 workers at the site,” said the works’ management.
Structural issues such as too high production and logistics costs, the plant’s poor location, low production capacity, increasing competition and a fall in white cement demand.
“Various measures have been taken in recent years to try to maintain the profitability of the plant, including restructuring in 2007 and 2013, as well as significant investments to reduce production costs of the site. But these measures and efforts have unfortunately not been sufficient to ensure the sustainability of the group at the Harmignies plant, which is no longer competitive enough and no significant improvement can be expected in the future.”
CBR is the leading cement producer in Belgium and the only manufacturer of white cement in the Benelux, with the Harmigniesplant producing 220,000tonnes/year.
