Eco-friendly cement maker Ecocem sees profits jump

Income at Ecocem, the Irish low carbon cement producer, rose sharply last year as the company increased investment in the development of new products.

The company, whose US subsidiary Orcem Americas’ plan for a new €45 million factory in California, has run into planning difficulties, recorded income of €2.3million in 2015, up from €1.5 million a year earlier.

Turnover for the group totalled €63.7 million last year, up from €61 million in the prior year as the company’s operating profit jumped to €2.6 million from €1.5 million.

The company employed 87 people in 2015 in total with staff costs totalling €7.2 million, up from €6.6 million in 2014.

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Ecocem, which was established in 2003, produces GGBS or ground granulated blastfurnace slag cement using slag from steel furnaces in a process that entails less carbon production than traditional production methods.

The company opened its first UK import terminal in Runcorn, on the Manchester Ship Canal, in August following a £2 million investment, with plans to open a second facility shortly. The company also has manufacturing plants in Dublin Port, France and the Netherlands.

In September, Ecocem announced a €30 million joint venture with the steel giant ArcelorMittal, its partner for the UK terminal, for a new production facility in the north of France.

Orcem Americas has been involved in an ongoing planning dispute over plans to build a $50 million (€45 million) grinding mill in Vallejo, close to San Francisco, in the group's first venture in the US.

Residents have expressed concern regarding air pollution from the proposed facility.