Carmeuse: Production is double the demand, so no new investments will be made

Belgian group Carmeuse, the world's leading lime producer, with 1.2 billion euros in annual turnover, says the three plants it holds on the Romanian market in Campulung Muscel, Deva and Fieni are 30-45% unused and is not considering building new plants any more. "It is hard to talk about development on the Romanian market. Romania's lime production capacity is more than double than demand. Under the circumstances, a new investment is not justified. Such a project would take more than ten years to pay off under the current market circumstances," Marius Nastase, commercial manager of Carmeuse Holding, the local subsidiary of the Carmeuse group, told ZF. Lime consumption fell by around 40% this year compared with last year, to one million tonnes, equivalent to 60 million euros, due to the fall in consumption in two sectors that influence lime consumption - the steel industry and the construction market.