building a STRONGER foundation - Cemex

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