Holcim Philippines to spend P210M in bid to cut down fuel consumption

Cement maker Holcim Philippines will spend some P210 million to reduce fuel consumption of at least two of its plants, in efforts to boost its sustainability performance.

Holcim said the investment will finance projects to cut down consumption and increase mineral additive usage of plants in Bacnotan, La Union and in Lugait, Misamis Oriental.

“More efficient operations will help us deliver better financial results and improve our environmental footprint,” President and Chief Executive Officer Horia Adrian said in a regulatory filing.

“We look to continue implementing these improvements to meet our objectives of delivering greater value to our shareholders and business partners while becoming better stewards of the environment,” he added.

Holcim last week had a signing ceremony to award Sinoma CBMIPH Construction Corp. the contract for the installation of a drying facility in La Union.

This will reduce fuel consumption of the La Union plant by reusing hot gases from operations to dry materials, instead of using a separate equipment.

A similar contract was inked with Sinoma CBMIPH for the installation of a drying facility at the Misamis Oriental plant to reduce moisture of raw materials and increase mineral additives to cut down the carbon footprint.

The Misamis Oriental project is scheduled to be completed by October this year, while the La Union facility is targeted to be done in the first quarter of 2022.

Holcim is involved in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of cement, dry mix mortar products, clinker, and aggregates. Its products include Holcim Premium, Holcim 4x, Holcim Excel, Holcim WallRight Cement, and Holcim Salido.

Its subsidiaries include Holcim Philippines Manufacturing Corp., Excel Concrete Logistics Inc., Holcim Philippines Business Services Center Inc., HuBB Stores and Services Inc., and Mabini Grinding Mill Corp.

Shares in the company closed Thursday at P7.48 apiece, up by 30 centavos or 4.18% from Wednesday’s finish of P7.18. —KBK, GMA News