building a STRONGER foundation - Cemex
building a STRONGER foundation - Cemex
building a STRONGER foundation - Cemex
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Competition. Our primary competitors in the U.K. are Lafarge, Heidelberg, Tarmac, and Aggregate Industries (a subsidiary of<br />
Holcim), each with varying regional and product strengths.<br />
Our Operating Network in the U.K.<br />
Products and Distribution Channels<br />
Cement. Our cement operations represented approximately 16% of net sales for our operations in the U.K. before eliminations<br />
resulting from consolidation for the year ended December 31, 2010. About 82% of our U.K. cement sales were of bulk cement, with<br />
the remaining 18% in bags. Our bulk cement is mainly sold to ready-mix concrete, concrete block and pre-cast product customers and<br />
contractors. Our bagged cement is primarily sold to national builders’ merchants. During 2010, our operations in the U.K. imported<br />
approximately 40 thousand metric tons of clinker from our cement operations in Spain.<br />
Ready-Mix Concrete. Our ready-mix concrete operations represented approximately 27% of net sales for our operations in the<br />
U.K. before eliminations resulting from consolidation in 2010. Special products, including self-compacting concrete, fiber-reinforced<br />
concrete, high strength concrete, flooring concrete and filling concrete, represented 15% of our 2010 U.K. sales volume. Our readymix<br />
concrete operations in the U.K. in 2010 purchased approximately 67% of their cement requirements from our cement operations<br />
in the U.K. and approximately 77% of their aggregates requirements from our aggregates operations in the U.K. Our ready-mix<br />
concrete products are mainly sold to public, commercial and residential contractors.<br />
Aggregates. Our aggregates operations represented approximately 25% of net sales for our operations in the U.K. before<br />
eliminations resulting from consolidation in 2010. In 2010, our U.K. aggregates sales were divided as follows: 49% were sand and<br />
gravel, 41% limestone and 10% hard stone. In 2010, 15% of our aggregates volumes were obtained from marine sources along the<br />
U.K. coast. In 2010, approximately 44% of our U.K. aggregates production was consumed by our own ready-mix concrete operations<br />
as well as our asphalt, concrete block and precast operations. We also sell aggregates to major contractors to build roads and other<br />
infrastructure projects.<br />
Production Costs<br />
Cement. In 2010, fixed production costs were reduced by 6% and variable costs by 2% in the U.K. We continued to implement<br />
our cost reduction programs and increased the use of alternative fuels by 15% in 2010.<br />
Ready-Mix Concrete. In 2010, we reduced our total U.K. production costs by approximately 8% by continuing to implement our<br />
cost reduction plans and down-sizing to match lower sales.<br />
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