Oldteck,
If you type cement into the search on that site, this interesting artical about increased investment in this area and suspected price-fixing involving a cartel of 11 cement producers is one of the articles that comes up -
Cement producers plan big investments, see 7-10% growth
According to forecasts, cement sales will grow 7-10 percent this year. Last year, 14.5m tons of cement were sold in Poland. Luc Callebat, Lafarge Cement CEO, believes that sales may double within several years.
Cement producers plan big investment projects. "We estimate that the sector will have to invest EUR 800-1,000m", Luc Callebat said.
Lafarge Cement produces 3.3m tons of cement annually. This year, it plans to increase capacity by 15 percent and will spend PLN 100m (EUR 25.5m) for this project. "Detailed strategy will be presented at the end of this year. We are going to spend dozens million euros altogether", Luc Callebat said.
Since 1996, his company has spend PLN 1 billion in Poland. These costs will influence cement prices. "We plan a price increase of PLN 25-30 a ton", Luc Callebat said. He is not afraid that this will discourage the clients. He believes that cement constitutes 3-4 percent of the cost of building 1 square meter of a flat or 1 km of motorway.
UOKiK, the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, sees potential danger. In January, the office launched an investigation concerning a cartel of 11 cement producers. Lafarge Cement is also among the suspected producers.
AI
