Vertua low carbon products' portfolio launched by CEMEX in Egypt

Carlos E. Gonzalez, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Assiut Cement Company and President of CEMEX in Egypt and the UAE, said the company launched the Vertua's product portfolio in Egypt. 

Carlos E. Gonzalez said that CEMEX is a global construction materials company, operating in more than 41 countries. The company’s objective is to provide sustainable and innovative building solutions that provide greater efficiency and are compatible with the future needs. We came to Egypt in 1999 during the privatization of public sector facilities when we acquired Assiut Cement Plant. Today, we own the Assiut Cement brand for our cement products, we also have CEMEX Ready-Mix, CEMEX Admixtures, CEMEX Pavements, Assiut Cement Hotel, Assiut Cement Farm, Assiut Cement Sports Club and of course Assiut Cement Football Club that play in the Egyptian third division.

“Recently, in Egypt, we launched Vertua's portfolio of state-of-the-art sustainable products with the collaboration of our CEMEX Research Center in Switzerland. Under the Vertua label, our products are manufactured using the latest and most advanced technology, with processes that produce less carbon emissions per ton of cement. Vertua's products range is one of several initiatives undertaken by CEMEX to achieve the environmental commitments we set for carbon reduction for the years 2030 and 2050 through the global "Future in Action" initiative launched by CEMEX. Vertua is the one that focuses on lower carbon footprint products, other initiatives deal with other areas like production efficiency, digitalization, alternative fuels etc he added.

CEMEX Egypt President stated that Vertua was introduced worldwide in October 2020 in many markets similar to the Egyptian market with great success. We know that the Egyptian consumer is knowledgeable and is able to recognize value when they see it. The whole world is aware of climate change. It is a very worrisome situation and accordingly we need to act quickly if we want to save humanity. We are witnessing radical changes in weather between high temperatures everywhere, severe droughts, floods and hurricanes, melting glaciers and their impact on agricultural crops. There are also risks affecting the Egyptian Delta and some coastal cities in Egypt, such as Alexandria. Like they say, you are part of the problem if you are not working on the solution. Vertua is our contribution to the solution. We are certain that the customers’ awareness and urge to contribute in fighting global warming will direct them to favoring sustainable products over traditional ones specially since sustainable products have a quality similar, if not superior, to traditional products.

He pointed out that CEMEX introduced pozzolanic cement in Egypt in 2018. This type of cement has a lower carbon footprint than standard OPC cement which was the norm until then. Our clients adopted the product rather quickly because of its characteristics and advantages, as it is suitable for the different construction needs of our customers and the climate variances in different Egyptian governorates with the added benefit of producing less carbon. Since that date, we continued introducing more low carbon cement in the local market like our A1 finishing product launched last year and our Al Primo blocks product launched 2 months ago. It is worth mentioning to you that CEMEX standard OPC cement production in Egypt constitutes now only 4% of its products portfolio, all our products are low carbon footprint cements. Today, Vertua comes as a large umbrella that brings together all the more environmentally friendly products together, so the consumer can easily recognize our products.

With regards to the greenwashing accusations that some industries are facing, Carlos Gonzalez stated that “the truth is that we are not discussing Earth survival, the planet will survive with or without us, it is the Human species that is at risk, and it is happening very fast and in front of our eyes. It is possible that if we do not fix this problem, civilization will collapse within the next few generations. So, whoever is playing a marketing game now is fooling themselves, today profits will be useless if the world is unhabitable for humans.”

He also added “Let’s talk data and facts in here and now. Our structural pozzolanic cements were launched in 2018, these cements emit today on average 296 Kg CO2 less per ton versus the OPC we produced before 2018. The latest additions to the portfolio "A1" and "Al Primo" emit 516 Kg CO2 less than ordinary OPC, per ton. These changes in the composition of our products had reduced CEMEX Egypt CO2 emissions by 781 million KG of Carbon in the first 10 months of year 2021 alone! To put in perspective that is the equivalent of the carbon captured by seeding 13 million trees and let them grow for 10 years, or carbon emission avoided by installing 163 wind turbines and letting them work for a year! That is really action not marketing! That is the difference in CO2 on the ground between what we were doing in 2017 and what we do now in 2021. In just 4 years of hard work by this Egyptian company!”

He noted that the goal is ZERO emissions and let me tell you that we already have in some markets in the world some concrete with net ZERO emissions and we are willing to bringing them to Egypt, but they are rather expensive right now for a developing market. Leading this effort is not an easy task, one must research the local materials available, design the products, test them, invest in new equipment, get them certified by the authorities, introduce it into the market and be cost competitive, all while keeping quality standard or improving them and facing any discredit that usually surrounds new products, due to the lack of know-how.

Gonzalez stated that “We are fully committed to our road to ZERO emissions in our products, it will require a lot of innovation, investment, hard work and courage but we will lead the way and we will get there sooner than later.”

“Just as we provide our customers with resilient products, we have a solid, strong and resilient organization that have managed to overcome the latest Industry challenges. Our resilience enabled us to conduct a thorough analysis of all our operations, study all possibilities, and then develop an action plan. I am not exaggerating when I say that we have the best skillset in the building materials industry in the country. In addition to the team, we received from the parent company the necessary financial support to make the needed change and transformation to keep pace with the times and avoid the impact of the crisis on our employees and their financial obligations, and on our communities, which we are keen to be near and to support. As a strategic industry, the approval of the Competition Authority to reduce the production of manufacturers was a glimmer of hope for a rebalancing of the cement market, and we look forward to the market's response to the new mechanisms that contribute to the rise of the industry, after a long period of challenges.” CEMEX President added.

Carlos Gonzalez pointed out that CEMEX has been here for 20 years and strives to continue providing its products and services to the Egyptian citizens. We consider ourselves partners of Egypt in the development journey. Today, in the presence of Egypt's Vision 2030 and the plans set by the state to build a strong and more sustainable infrastructure, CEMEX, thanks to its policy towards research and development and its plan for carbon neutrality, can be a supportive partner for the country's objectives.

“Let me tell you that we I landed in Egypt, the most pressing question my people back in 2017 asked me was: “Things are very challenging, and they are going to be worse in the short term, is CEMEX leaving Egypt?” My answer was simple: No, we are not leaving, we believe in Egypt’s future and its people, unlike most other international cement players we come from a developing country, others may not be used to economic turbulence as we do, these are our markets, and those are our people. We know things will get better eventually but not everybody is going to survive, only the strong ones, so let’s take advantage of the crisis and become an innovative and hyper efficient company. I hope I do not sound arrogant because it really was a team effort, and that is exactly what we did, Gonzalez also said.

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© Press Release 2021