Aalborg Portland and Siam Cement Industry form white cement joint venture in Asia

23/07-2001
Aalborg Portland White - part of FLS Building Materials - and Siam Cement Industry have signed an agreement to establish a 50/50-owned sales company that will sell and market white cement in Taiwan, which is imported from the two companies' respective production facilities in Malaysia and Thailand.

The name of the joint venture company is ''Aalborg Siam White Cement Pte Ltd.''. It will be 50% owned by Aalborg Portland White through its Malaysian subsidiary, Aalborg RCI White Cement Sdn. Bhd., while the remaining 50% will be owned by The Siam White Cement Company Ltd., a subsidiary of Siam Cement Industry Company Limited and by Cementhai Trading (Singapore) Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of Siam Cement Trading Company Limited. For practical purposes the company will be established in Singapore with a branch office in Taiwan.

The joint venture company will significantly increase the opportunities for a concentrated development of technical application transfer of white cement usage from market to market, thus leading to an increased usage of white cement in the Asian region. The new sales company will help Aalborg Portland White to meet the anticipated demand in the Asian region.

''The signing of this agreement marks the first step in the co-operation between Aalborg Portland White and Siam Cement Industry in Asia and, if feasible, this co-operation can be extended to other markets in the Asian region'', says Søren Vinther, President and CEO of Aalborg Portland White and Chairman of Aalborg RCI White Cement.

''This is an important step in our expansion into the Asian region and will help to secure sales for our new kiln line, which will be operational next year'', states Bo Ankerfelt, Managing Director of Aalborg RCI White Cement Sdn. Bhd.

Mr. Sobson Ketsuwan, President of Siam Cement Industry and Chairman of Siam White Cement, summarizes that the co-operation will ''definitely expand the horizon for white cement applications in the region, as it offers the best solution from Aalborg Portland White, the world's renowned white ce-ment player, and from Siam White Cement, the regional leader in white cement business.''


FLS Industries A/S
Corporate Public Relations