HeidelbergCement expands in the greater Moscow area

HeidelbergCement has acquired a majority stake in the Russian company Gurovo Beton in the Tula region – approximately 130 km to the south of Moscow. The company, which has around 400 employees, produces aggregates and prefabricated concrete elements. HeidelbergCement plans to build a cement plant there with a cement capacity of two million tonnes in order to supply the Moscow area – Russia’s most important cement market. The commissioning of the new state of the art plant built in accordance with the latest environmental standards is scheduled for 2008. The planning and approval procedures are under way and will be soon finalized. The measures are still subject to the approval of the cartel authorities.

“The Tula region is strategically very well located“, explains Dr. Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. “The region has a good infrastructure of roads and railways providing an excellent base for supplying the dynamic Moscow market.” After the recent acquisition of a majority stake in a cement plant at Volsk in the Saratov region, this investment underlines HeidelbergCement’s target of strengthening its market position in the Russian Federation. ”In the St. Petersburg area we operate the highly efficient Cesla plant, which restarted operation in mid-2005 after it has been completely modernized and its capacities increased. Our growth strategy focuses on the countries in Central and Eastern Europe,” says Dr. Scheifele. At the end of 2005, HeidelbergCement has already acquired the cement companies Buchtarma Cement in Kazakhstan und Doncement in the Ukraine. In May 2006 followed the market entry in Georgia.