Cemex 1997 Annual Report Download - page 19

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13
Barrientos Receives ISO 14001 Certification
The Barrientos plant became the first cement
plant in the Americas to receive ISO 14001
certification. The Torreón, Barrientos,
Mérida, Guadalajara, Huichapan and
Ensenada plants further received national
certification for completing the Mexican gov-
ernment’s voluntary environmental audits
program. The Torreón plant also implement-
ed CEMEX’ calcination technology to enhance
energy efficiency and minimize emissions.
As part of a company-wide prevention and
risk reduction program, CEMEX Mexico
launched its industrial safety plan. This plan
includes plant-by-plant audits that are
designed to raise employees’ awareness and
reduce the probability of workplace acci-
dents.
A concrete opportunity
New ready-mix facility in Dallas.
To capitalize on the cityÕs enhanced freeway
construction, we opened a new ready-mix
facility in Dallas, Texas. Now, we have 48
ready-mix facilities across the southwest
United States.
NORTH AMERICA OPERATIONAL REVIEW
CEMEX USA
CaliforniaÕs Cement Demand Jumps 12%
The United States GDP growth led to increased
construction sector activity across the U.S.,
including CEMEX’ three core markets,
California, Arizona and Texas.
California’s 1997 cement and ready-mix
demand increased 12% and 9%, respectively,
versus 1996. Los Angeles, San Francisco and
San Diego all began major public infrastructure
projects and improvements. In contrast with
last year’s record growth, Arizona recorded a
more moderate 2% increase in cement and
ready-mix demand. After poor construction
weather during the first quarter of the year,
Texas cement consumption improved 6% com-
pared to 1996.
Looking forward, we expect that increased
public sector spending in CEMEX’ core states
should more than offset a slight decline in com-
mercial and industrial activity. Overall, we
expect total cement and ready-mix demand to
increase 3% across our three primary markets.