Cemex 1997 Annual Report Download - page 26

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20
Coming on line
Ibagu plant in Colombia.
The Ibagu plantÕs second kiln is
expected to come on line during
the first half of the year, increas-
ing the plantÕs total capacity to
3.0 million metric tons per year.
CEMEX COLOMBIA
Colombia Sees Signs Of Recovery
Colombia’s construction sector did not begin to
see signs of the country’s economic recovery
until the fourth quarter of 1997. For the year,
domestic cement and ready-mix demand
dropped 7% and 25%, respectively, compared
to 1996. This decline resulted from a lack of
confidence in the nation’s current political situ-
ation which, in turn, led to decreased public
and private sector construction spending.
In 1998, we expect the country’s construc-
tion sector to show marked improvement over
1997. Election-year spending, the nation’s
housing deficit, planned public infrastructure
projects and private sector highway construc-
tion should spur this growth. Major projects
include the Miel hydroelectric dam, the first
line of Bogota’s metropolitan subway system
and Bogota’s US$110 million street refur-
bishment project.
A Technological Turnaround
We installed CEMEX’ information management
systems in the finance, transportation and
sales operations, as well as in the cement,
ready-mix and corporate facilities. Now, all of
our cement, concrete and sales points are
interconnected through a communications net-
work that enables us to respond more effi-
ciently to our clients’ needs and changes in
production schedules.
On the operations side, we implemented
CEMEX’ organizational structure with central-
ized purchasing, human resources, accounting
and warehousing. During the integration
process, we also dropped the companies’ local
brand names, highlighting the strong Samper
brand in central Colombia (especially Bogotá)
and the Diamante name in the rest of the
country.
We expect the Ibagué plant’s second kiln to
come on line by the end of the second quarter
of this year. This kiln will have about 1.6 mil-
lion metric tons of annual installed capacity,
increasing the plant’s total capacity to 3.0 mil-
lion metric tons per year.
We have significantly reduced the waiting
time for our trucks, which once exceeded 24
hours. The Ibagué plant’s increased capacity,
coupled with the installation of CEMEX’ proven
“SDO” computerized tracking system, will sig-
nificantly minimize the waiting time and maxi-
mize the productivity of our trucks.
Safety First
The regrettable kiln accident at the Ibagué
plant was an important lesson for CEMEX, as a
whole, and Colombia, particularly. In light of
this incident, we have implemented many of the
safety practices that we take for granted in
CEMEX’ other markets. Our goal is to receive
ISO 9002 certification for the Ibagué plant by
the end of 1998.