Brussels 12 June 2017 – Mr Gonçalo Salazar Leite (Vice Chairman Secil), has been elected as President of CEMBUREAU for a two-year term at the Association's General Assembly held on 9 June in Paris (France) after having completed his mandate of Vice-President over the last two years. He takes over from Mr Daniel Gauthier, former CEO Western Europe-Africa and Member of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. In addition, Mr. Raoul de Parisot, Advisor to Vicat’s Chairman and CEO, has been elected as Vice-President of CEMBUREAU for a two-year term.
Upon his election, Gonçalo Salazar Leite stated that “each Presidency of CEMBUREAU has its own challenges and opportunities, simply because of the rapidly changing and very demanding context in which our industry operates.” In terms of the three broad priority areas he intends to focus on, he summarised these as “supporting the industry on the path towards its low-carbon targets, framing our EU policy discussions in a wider international context, where everyone’s contribution is necessary, and contributing to the true image of the industry”. He concluded by underlining the need to “communicate the priorities of our industry and the sustainable characteristics of its products, within in a forward-looking and engaging narrative that sets out the role of our industry in meeting people’s needs in housing, infrastructure and overall well-being”.
“Gonçalo and I have already worked intensively together within CEMBUREAU”, added Daniel Gauthier. “He is well aware of the key priorities for our sector and has already shown enthusiasm, creativity and strong commitment. His constant drive to address the fundamentals of the policy areas we chose to prioritise, of our way of communicating and of positioning ourselves in response to the larger societal challenges will undoubtedly give a new impetus to the organization”.
“I sincerely thank Daniel for his commitment to CEMBUREAU which has been driven by passion for the industry and its contribution to the sustainable construction challenges” states Mr Koen Coppenholle, CEMBUREAU Chief Executive. “I very much look forward to working with Gonçalo and Raoul to identify opportunities to position our industry in a constantly changing policy environment.”
According to CEMBUREAU’s 2016 Activity Report published today, European cement production in the EU 28 further slightly recovered in 2015 (167.2 Mt), confirming the cautious upward trend started in 2013 (166.6 Mt) after the dramatic fall in the crisis period. Cement consumption has risen slightly from 2014 to 2015 within both the EU28 and the CEMBUREAU region. Total world cement production is estimated at4.6 billion tonnes. The CEMBUREAU region’s share of world production fell by 0.1% to 5.3%, with China and India topping the list. Developments in terms of cement and clinker imports and exports in the EU28 have shown a sharp surge in exports over the last 5 years, as producers searched for new markets after the crisis. This development stabilised just below the 50Mt mark, with 48Mt exported in 2014 and 47Mt in 2015. Imports remained at 20.5Mt, translating into a net export of 26.3Mt for the EU28, slightly down from 2014. Expectations for a growth in cement consumption in the EU28 and major consumer countries can be seen in the table below, with the data showing an expected EUROCONSTRUCT area (19 countries) increase of 1% in 2016. For the EU28, 2015 consumption grew by 4.9%, with France at -5.5% and Spain at + 6.1% in 2015. To end the report on a positive note, EUROCONSTRUCT expects cement consumption to rise by 2.4% and by 3.5% in 2018. Download our 2016 Activity Report to find out more about 2015 European cement production and the issues tackled by CEMBUREAU!
About CEMBUREAU: The European Cement Association based in Brussels is the representative organisation of the cement industry in Europe. Currently, its Full Members are the national cement industry associations and cement companies of the European Union (except for Malta and Slovakia) plus Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. Croatia and Serbia are Associate Members of CEMBUREAU. A cooperation agreement has been concluded with Vassiliko Cement in Cyprus.
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