Heidelberg is cementing its presence in Morocco

Heidelberg Materials is expanding its presence in Morocco by buying the assets of Votorantim Cimentos.

Having held an existing minority stake in Asment de Témara, a cement and ready-mixed concrete producer, Heidelberg Materials is increasing its holding to 63% of the company’s shares, and 100% of the shares in Grabemaro, a supplier of aggregates.

The acquisition is being carried out through Ciments du Maroc, Heidelberg Materials’ subsidiary in Morocco.

With this investment, Heidelberg says it is strengthening its positioning in one of the company’s core growth markets in Africa. By taking control of Asment de Témara and Grabemaro, Ciments du Maroc will expand its operations in the attractive Northern region of the country to include a cement plant with an annual capacity of 1.4 Mt of cement, two aggregates sites, and eight ready-mixed concrete plants.

“Our latest investment marks an important step as part of our ongoing portfolio optimisation to strengthen our core markets,” said Heidelberg chairman Dr Dominik von Achten.

“Expanding our presence in the attractive Moroccan market while increasing our use of alternative fuels will generate substantial financial synergies and thus help us accelerate our decarbonisation efforts throughout our sites in the country and grow our local offering of sustainable solutions.”

Asment de Témara will benefit from access to an alternative fuels platform. It provides an innovative approach to the pre-treatment and recovery of industrial waste, which helps to reduce the environmental impact and optimise production-related energy costs. This will enable the company to enhance the alternative fuel rate at the newly added cement plant to 70% by 2027.