Italcementi Group is an Italian multinational company that produces cement, ready-mix concrete, and construction aggregates.[1] It has cement plants, grinding centers, and quarries in twenty-two countries in four continents.[2] In 2015, Heidelberg Cement, a German multinational building materials company, acquired 45 percent of Italcementi shares, effectively becoming Italcementi’s parent company. With the acquisition, Heidelberg Cement became the number one producer of aggregates, number two in cement, and number three in ready-mixed concrete worldwide.[3] Today, following gradual acquisition, Heidelberg Cement is the sole shareholder of Italcementi and owns 100 percent of the share capital.
Italcementi operates in Western Sahara through Ciments du Maroc (CIMAR), with cement plants and grinding centers in Laayoune.[4] Company maps and reports indicate that Italcementi considers Western Sahara to be part of Morocco.[5] Since 1999, CIMAR has been the second-largest cement manufacturer in Morocco. In addition, in 2011, Italcementi Group inaugurated a $32 million wind-energy park in Laayoune. In attendance at the opening ceremony was the secretary general of Morocco’s Ministry of Energy, Mines, Water, and the Environment, Mohammed Yahya Zniber.[6]
[1] Italcementi Group, “Italcementi Group Profile,” December 31, 2014,
http://www.italcementigroup.com/NR/rdonlyres/0F6719F2-B57D-490C-A607-ADB130015C09/0/ItalcementiGroupprofile_311215.pdf; Italcementi Group, 2015 Annual Report, http://www.italcementigroup.com/NR/rdonlyres/F4FB6B44-0666-4D09-99E8-D4456C844987/0/ANNUALREPORT_2015_ITC04.pdf.
[2] Italcementi HeidelbergCement Group, “Italcementi Group Worldwide,” http://www.italcementigroup.com/ENG/Italcementi+Group/A+global+presence/.
[3] Italcementi Group, “HeidelbergCement Group at a Glance,” http://www.italcementigroup.com/ENG/Italcementi+Group/.
[4] US Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey, Minerals Yearbook, Area Reports: International Review 2012, Africa and the Middle East, vol. 3, pp. 31-37, https://books.google.co.il/books?id=sPAz7wrooUkC&pg=SA31-PA7&lpg=SA31-PA7&dq=lafarge+western+sahara&source=bl&ots=e5lDT3ak_a&sig=TJ1FBKovOBHrRYLaHpge6B04vf0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjY156htOfRAhVJSBQKHRATDPE4ChDoAQgiMAI#v=snippet&q=Cimar%20western%20sahara&f=false.
[5] Italcementi HeidelbergCement Group, “Italcementi Group Industrial Network,” http://www.italcementigroup.com/ENG/Italcementi+Group/Industrial+network/.
[6] Italcementi HeidelbergCement Group, “Morocco: Laayoune Wind Park, a Milestone on our Ambitious Road to Sustainable Energy,” October 25, 2011, http://www.italcementigroup.com/ENG/Media+and+Communication/News/Corporate+events/20111025.htm?ChannelID=%7B3F59DA2C-5B7C-40CE-A778-8F5739C3D173%7D.
