Cementir's story begins in 1947 when the IRI (Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale, or Institute for Industrial Reconstruction) enters the cement industry, opening the ILVA (Italsider) facility in Bagnoli, followed by the new cement plant in Naples in 1954.
Years of reconstruction and recovery for Italy, with a number of major building projects. Contributing to this process is Cementir-Cementerie del Tirreno SpA which, after listing on the Stock Exchange in 1955, completes a series of acquisitions that enable it to produce 2,351,000 tonnes of cement in 1964.
Cementir is purchased by the Caltagirone Group, which already boasts a strong presence in the construction industry. This moment marks a real turning point for the development of the company, which, after a major process of reorganisation, is ready to break into the international market, becoming one of the leading companies in the industry.
The first operation which contributes to transforming Cementir into an international business takes place in Turkey, with the purchase of both Cimentas and Cimbeton, two companies engaged respectively in the production of grey cement and ready-mixed concrete. Both companies are listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange and are among the leading manufacturers in the country.
Cementir continues to pursue a strategy of geographical diversification, becoming a truly multinational company with the acquisition of two renowned and historic Danish firms, Aalborg Portland and Unicon. Following these two operations, Cementir becomes a global leader in the production of white cement, courtesy of the control over a number of factories in China, Malaysia, Egypt and the United States resulting from this new purchase.
The increasingly international presence requires an organisational and strategic realignment which results in the creation of a holding company, Cementir Holding SpA, with full control of the three major operating companies of the Group: Cementir Italia, Aalborg Portland and Cimentas.
Cementir Group enters the recycling industry, acquiring Sureko in 2009, and Recydia and Hereko in 2011. This enables the Group to start exploiting municipal and industrial waste disposal in order to produce alternative fuels, thermal energy, and sell the recycled materials.
The recycling sector leads the Cementir Group to expand through the acquisition of Neales Waste Management Holding, a British company active in the county of Lancashire and in the Manchester and Liverpool areas.
In July, the acquisition of Sacci, a company dedicated to the production of cement, concrete and aggregates, enables the Group to double its production capacity in Italy. A few months later, the acquisition of CCB-Compagnie des Ciments Belges S.A. – a Belgian group with vertically-integrated operations in the cement, aggregates and concrete industry – is finalised. CCB boasts the largest cement factory in the France-Benelux region, equipped with cutting-edge technology and over 80 years of limestone reserves.