Awakening of the Lafarge Republic

In 1960, a cement manufacturing facility called the Universal Cement was established in Danao City. It was located along a stretch of road (only Danao City then had streets paved with cement!), in an industrial estate which also had factories for ice production, sugar mill, power generation, telecommunications and even a car assembly plant.

In 1998, the cement plant was renamed the Republic Cement after having been bought by the Lloyd Richfield Industries Corporation and in 2007, Lafarge, a French industrial company which is only, excuse me, the world’s largest cement manufacturer, acquired the factory. Today, the Danao plant is Lafarge Holdings’ sixth cement facility in the Philippines, with five plants in Luzon and one in Mindanao.

Because of the rapidly expanding economy of the Philippines, there is an upsurge in the construction industry so Lafage decided to resume operations and I was fortunate to join the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Lafarge Plant in Danao last March 21.

H.E. Gilles Gerachon, French Ambassador to the Philippines, Honorary French Consul Michel Lhuillier and Alliance Francaise de Cebu Director Louis Thevenin flew in by helicopter from the airport to the plant in a mere five minutes’ ride while lesser mortals like me had to drive by car for an hour from Cebu City.

Top executives from the Lafarge group were in attendance like Lafarge Holdings, Inc. President Don H. Lee, LRI President Renato Sunico, Lafarge Cement Services (Philippines), Inc. Senior Vice President - Industrial, Christophe Riout including representatives from the local government and the business community led by Cebu Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI) president Lito Maderazo and the French Chamber of Commerce President Cyril Rocke.

Lunch was served and your favorite food columnist joined his media colleagues from the Business section and I saw the very familiar food labels that came from Creative Cuisine. We had Clam soup, Mesclun greens with tinapa, mango and cashew nuts and a Seafood corner with Grilled Tangigue ala Pobre, Prawns with Aligue Sauce and Baked Scallops.

While my colleagues were busy lining up at the main buffet laden with the Spareribs with Mexican Corn, Pandan Chicken, Pancit with Chicharon and Paella Valencia, I was all alone at the Carving Station which served the Litson Turkey with Sweet Soya Sauce. It is not an everyday dish and the last time I had eaten turkey was nearly five months ago; paired with the Jasmine rice, my appetite was satisfied.

In his speech, French Ambassador Garachon said, “progress of Lafarge, particularly in the Philippine market, strengthens the trade relations between Europe and the Philippines”. With the core values of safety, integrity, integrity and respect at Lafarge Republic Inc., this mission will definitely succeed. [email protected]