Construction, Estonia, Latvia, Markets and Companies

Cemex and Sakret cooperation envisages packing cement produced at the Broceni cement factory at the Sakret plant in Estonia and then sell it to the consumers in Estonia.

"Over the past several years, Sakret has been growing steadily and has the reputation of a reliable partner in not only Latvia but the entire Baltic region. So far we have cooperated by supplying cement for production of Sakret ready-mix concrete both in Latvia and in Estonia, but today we made a completely new step to become yet more effective through combining both companies' potential," said Cemex's board member Maris Gruznins.

"We have become more attractive to Estonian customers who now can buy ready-mix concrete as well as cement from one outlet. Besides, our plant in Estonia will have more work to do now," said Sakret Director Andris Vanags, stressing that the cooperation with Cemex will promote Sakret sales and sale of cement in Estonia.

The structure of the Estonian cement market is similar to that of Latvia. The joint project of Cemex and Sakret is targeted at small construction companies and private individuals in Estonia. Cemex estimates that the Estonian cement market is just 20-25% smaller than the Latvian one.

The joint project of Cemex and Sakret presents a good example how companies launch cooperation to tackle the crisis and promote exports, said both companies' representatives.

The Mexican company Cemex is one of the largest cement production companies in the world, its branches are operating in 50 countries in various continents. In 2005, the holding company bought the Latvian producer RMC Baltic and the concrete factory "Broceni", uniting them as Cemex.

Sakret is a 100% Latvian company; the first Sakret plant in Latvia was unveiled in 2004; the Sakret plant in Estonia launched in 2007, and a plant in Lithuania in 2008.