Following the rebrand of the long-standing cement operation in Cookstown, Northern Ireland as Cemcor Ltd, the business is now looking to make the most of the considerable experience it has behind it, led from the front by David Millar, Co-Owner.
The operation, which boasts a Lepol preheater kiln with Aerofall mill and two cement mills, dates back to 1968 when the plant opened as part of APCM, which rebranded as Blue Circle in the early 1970s. The company became Lafarge in 2001 and over the next two decades went through various mergers before shares in the business were transferred to new ownership on the 21st January 2022. The rebrand as Cemcor Ltd was subsequently completed on 1st November, overseen throughout by Mr Millar, as he explains: “I’ve been here since 1970 and using my mechanical engineering background I worked my way up through the company with their full support. I operated in different parts of the world for Blue Circle and when Lafarge took over, I was Northern Ireland Director. From there I was offered the position of Sales Director for Lafarge Cement UK & Ireland and I’m looking forward to the next chapter in our story.”
This wealth of experience has proven essential to the development of the business over the years but there is no danger of the company resting on its laurels as it constantly strives to improve in all areas.
“Following the rebrand, we’re going to continue as a cement manufacturer and our customer base has been very consistent down through the years, proving extremely loyal and supportive to the plant,” says Mr Millar. “We intend to build the company along vertical integration lines and we will be taking whatever opportunities become available when appropriate. It’s a growing company and is privately owned, which means we can make decisions quickly, and that’s what we intend to do.
“Our loyal customer base has been very supportive of our plans and collectively we feel there’s a great future for the plant. We have committed a great deal of investment into its development already and we’ve subsequently seen improvement in all areas. It’s a plant that’s going to take a great deal of investment, but at the same time the long-term opportunities are immense.”
Today the company produces cement in bulk form as both OPC (CEM I) and PLC (CEM II) for shipping by road or sea. Packed cement product is available in paper and weatherproof plastic packaging and as befits its standing within the marketplace, Cemcor has been developing a range of value-added products to ‘cement’ its position within the industry.
Around 115 employees support the activities of the company, which has a limestone quarry at the site and shale quarry eight miles south on the Dungannon Road, both of which have many years of materials left. It also has a terminal for import and export in Belfast Harbour, with significant work ongoing to improve these facilities.
To ensure its market-leading position, Cemcor has undertaken significant investment across the operations, focusing on environmental and housekeeping/safety improvements. The biggest current project is the installation of a new bag filter and final fan to help control process variations and maintain compliance with its permit to operate. It is also in the process of installing an ARM (alternative raw material) feed system. Prior to that the last major investment was in 2016 with the installation of an SRF feed system (solid recovered fuel) and a plastic packer. It is also exploring various options to optimise and develop plant performance (new preheater fan, indirect firing, alternative fuels feed systems).
Thanks to the breadth of its range of services and products, Cemcor Ltd has an equally wide and varied customer base that includes local builders’ merchants and pre-cast manufacturers.
From an acquisition perspective, the company is looking at a number of opportunities relating to its operation. It is also proactive from a development standpoint, as Mr Millar outlines: “We are conducting tests on various new products for the company and we feel strongly that there are opportunities for added value products as we go forward. These will still be on the cementitious side, as this is where our specialism lies. This is a mixture of our own innovation and listening to demand from customers. Our client base is very keen on the tests that we’ve completed so far within our laboratories so it looks very positive as our customers are fully onboard.
“Improving their environmental performance is something that all manufacturers have to look at and we are certainly no different. We are working with various cluster groups to see what other opportunities we can focus on in order to reduce our carbon output. We’re also looking towards replacing fossil fuel-based systems with alternative fuels. It’s all part of a wider approach and this process is fully supported with any investment that is required.”
In terms of challenges, sustainability is proving to be a key area. “There are certain issues associated with carbon reduction and from a wider perspective the economy as it stands at the moment does look uncertain. It’s a challenge regardless of what industry you’re involved in, as energy and material prices continue to rise. This has had a serious impact on all businesses and we haven’t been immune to that. To be honest, industry can talk itself into a recession if it’s not careful but I’m confident that we’ll see a positive turnaround quicker than expected.
“We’re very dependent on electricity as we’re probably one of the biggest users in Northern Ireland, so it’s a very important factor. Even with my extensive experience I have never seen anything like this with the cost of energy going up as rapidly as it has in the past 12 to 18 months. It’s very much unprecedented times.”
Despite the challenges it faces, thankfully the wealth of experience that Cemcor Ltd can draw upon and the long and valued links with its supply chain have proven invaluable. “We have extremely close working relationships with our own suppliers, a number of which have worked with us for many years,” says Mr Millar. “They have all been very supportive and we work closely with them and with our clients. I’m a great believer in striving for total quality in everything we do. We’re here to support the likes of our own customers, as well as our suppliers. It’s a chain of business that we all depend and rely on every day.”
While its relationships with suppliers have been integral to its development, Cemcor Ltd’s own staff will be the ones that provide the foundation for its future success. “At the end of the day we are only as good as our workforce and we’re fortunate that we have an excellent team. We give them whatever training they require and in return they are extremely supportive. We particularly encourage young people coming through the business and they are very committed to the company and want to learn more. Myself and the rest of the team are keen to provide whatever help and assistance is needed, so they have all the necessary tools to carry out their roles to the best of their abilities. We have a very flat management structure and we give our people accountability and responsibility for the job they do, which is how they develop and grow.
“Obviously there’s been a number of changes taking place within the business and we have been careful to take every member of staff on the journey with us, keeping them fully briefed every step of the way. If you take your employees with you this ensures there are no surprises and this helps generate high levels of loyalty. As a private company we can make decisions very quickly and this is a great asset whenever you’re moving a business forward.”
Evidence of this ability to make quick decisions is demonstrated by Cemcor Ltd’s plans to develop a new central control room, a significant investment that is due to become operational in May. It is also installing a bag filter system on its kiln process, which is essential for the future of using alternative fuels and meeting all the company’s environmental targets. “There is considerable investment going into these two initiatives alone. In addition, there are a number of other investments we’re in the process of introducing at the same time to upgrade our systems and improve the quality of our products and services. It’s a really holistic approach that we’re taking, as we strive for improvements in all areas of the business.”
Looking to the year ahead, Mr Millar is committed to 12 months of further development. “I’m hopeful that the next range of investments will have been fully bedded into the business and will be generating benefits by the end of 2023. From a day-to-day perspective we will have online systems analyzing the materials on an automatic basis to get results much quicker and make the necessary changes more rapidly. I’m constantly looking at new ways to improve, as is the workforce that we have here. If it’s something that we feel will be beneficial then we will consider it.
“We’re looking at opportunities across the UK and Europe to make the most of these improvements. We have a well-established plant that still has the potential to keep manufacturing high quality products. We are very much looking forward to utilizing new technology and new ideas to achieve our objectives. Even with all our experience we are committed to keep learning.”
This ethos has served the operation well down the years and is sure to see Cemcor Ltd thriving in the future too.