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NORZAGARAY, Bulacan—Cement manufacturer Holcim
Philippines Inc. is rolling out a new product—Holcim
Wallright, a cement mortar, as it steadily becomes
bullish over the future of construction, which it
expects to rise in the next several months after a
steady decline in demand for cement since seven years
ago.
“We
expect a 13-percent increase in demand for cement as
soon as government restarts its infrastructure program
after the elections,” said senior vice president Francis
C. Felizardo on Tuesday.
Felizardo, who heads sales, marketing and distribution,
said the shrinkage in the market was 2 percent from the
1997 Asian financial crisis that bogged down government
and private construction projects.
Now,
they have seen a slight pick-up in demand from December
last year and that as government goes into its planned
spending spree on infrastructure, the demand would
steadily go up. “That would be the second wind for the
industry.”
Vice
president for operations Ferdinand A. Pecson said that
while they are optimistic about the market, Holcim
management is still not keen on opening up its Line 1
for production. The company has two lines in its
20-hectare manufacturing base here operated by some 250
employees.
Line 2,
Pecson said, runs at 67 percent of capacity producing
between 18 million and 19 million tons of cement. The
company’s other plants are in La Union, Davao and
Misamis Oriental.
To ride
the past years’ slump in demand, Felizardo said Holcim
focused on producing new products mainly for the export
market: Wallright, for plastering, and Excel, a better
version of the company’s current Portland and Pozzolan
types.
Felizardo added that since the company rolled out Excel
in 2001, the brand contributed to its growing exports
business. Last year, Holcim exported 873 kilotons of
Portland and Excel while it sold locally 3,412 kilotons.
Competitor La Farge Cement Philippines Inc., according
to Felizardo’s data, still dominated the domestic market
at 3,691 kilotons sold but its exports were just 143
kilotons.
The
exports market is still dominated, however, by Cemex
Philippines Inc., posting foreign sales of 1,190
kilotons last year. It sold 2,399 kilotons in the
domestic market.
Felizardo said Excel is also priced the same as its
Portland type at between P173 to P175 for a 50-kilo bag
retail, and P170 for wholesale at a minimum of 600 bags.
The
cement companies had been reportedly asked by the
Trade department to submit their pricing in view of
allegations there is overpricing in cement. |
