Cement is one of the most coveted commodities on the planet. It is used extensively in the development of the world’s global infrastructure. Cement production in 2007 pushed through the 2.5 billion tonne barrier, with North America accounting for 4% of global production from approximately 160 plants.

Industry analysts have forecast that global production will reach 5 billion tonnes by 2050. As a result, the market is investing significantly in expanding existing operations, as well as building new production facilities to cope with the increasing demand for cement.

Consequently, the growing demand for cement is placing escalating pressure on the environment, with emission and pollutant levels at significant highs. Therefore, the industry is seeking to reduce the amount of energy required to produce a tonne of cement, as well as identifying alternative, renewable materials that can be used within the production process.

Cement operators are striving to identify technologies and solutions than can help police and control emissions, reduce maintenance and ownership costs and reduce wear on systems and their respective components.

During the period under review, Clyde Process Solutions combined the pneumatic conveying and air filtration expertise of its subsidiary companies, Clyde Materials Handling and MAC Equipment, to target the North American cement market in an effort to address and solve some of the critical issues impacting on this industry.

Our marketing campaign was deployed through MAC’s extensive representative network which yielded tens of appointments with some of North America’s leading cement producers. This marketing campaign has contributed to several significant orders for the Group, which will be recognised in the next financial year.

The combination of the Group’s technologies and expertise in this market has created a powerful provider of process solutions and we are focused on marketing and communicating these strengths to the entire North American cement market in 2008 and are confident in the returns we will generate.