United Cement launches new product

Category: Business Published on Monday, 28 January 2013 11:05

United Cement Company of Nigeria (UNICEM), based in Calabar, at the weekend launched a new product called ‘UNICEM 42.5 produced basically for heavy construction works.

Managing Director of the company, Mr. Olivier Lenoir, said the new product is produced for specialized construction works like high-rise buildings, long-span bridges, dams, flyovers and silos.

Lenoir said the new product is already recording high demand owing to series of infrastructural developments going in the country, adding that it is introduced to serve this need in line with its core requirement for high strength performance cement.

He said: “This product should address strategic requirement of our customers for infrastructure for this market. As you know in Nigeria, infrastructures are really needed and we are confident that this product will make 10-50 percent of the total cement consumption.”

He also said that plans are on to increase its production capacity from 2.5 to 2.30 metric tons this year.  “This is necessary owing to the supply gap in the market,” he said.

On whether his company intends to sell cement outside the shores of Nigeria, he said it is presently focusing on the existing gap in its core market which is the South-South and South-East regions of Nigeria.

He said: “The cement demand in these markets is still high and we need to meet the requirement in these regions first.”

On the cement market and prospect of the cement industry in Nigeria, he said that the yearly per capita cement consumption in the country of 111 kg is still low compared to other developing countries.

He expressed hope that the demand will rise as the country meets its housing and infrastructure needs.