FICEM-APCAC

With the latest initiation of the new plant in Pueblo, Colorado, the Chihuahua Cement Group, with presence in United States, Mexico and Bolivia, adds an installed capacity of 5 million tons in the cement production, of which 2.5 million are produced in North America and two and a half in the Mexico and South America plants.

Since GCC started its activities in 1941, the company has had a dynamic growth specially based on “a clear definition of its trend, passionate and talented personnel, as well as vanguard processes and leading technology”.

GCC works committed in the continuous improvement of its premises and community environments. It identifies, prevents and controls the environmental aspects in all its processes through the application of an environmental management system and a strict compliance of the regulations in environmental matters.

Even though GCC is publishing its Social Sustainability report for the first time, Federico Terrazas, president of the Management Council, points out in its report presentation that the commitment with the community and the different interest groups was born sice the company was founded, and for a long period of time, the impact actions were referred to the benefit area.

Parallel to the launching of this publication, Chihuahua Cements established three fundamental action axis: People, Community and Environmental Quality; initiatives which correspond to a series of commitments of the company with the planet, with the improvement of the quality of life of its employees and with the community progress and of inhabitant´s which daily interact with the business.

In 2007, the Foundation created by the GCC with the purpose of promoting the Chihuahua State and Mexico's development, patronized 14 scholars to conduct university studies at the Masters and PHD levels in the United Stated, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Specialists in Urban Development, Landscape Architecture, Bio Information, Alternative Energies and Economic Development, among others, have satisfactorily re integrated themselves to the State's economy. This effort represents an annual investment of USD. 492.877,92300. The second stage, will consist in continuing the promotion of new professionals and to bind them to productive activities of the region.

Last year two disasters afflicted the Trinidad Region in Bolivia and Tabasco in Mexico. GCC and its employees collaborated hand in hand with the beneficial institutions to face the situation and to give, in solidarity, material resources to the injured families.

Quality Education is an initiative implemented since year 2000 in the Chihuahua State under GCC's leadership. The program implemented a quality management model in several public schools of primary education. Today, there are 527 schools inscribed and model's success is given by the growing number of schools which have been incorporated to the system which reached tangible improvements in their performance, seen in better qualified students.

Also, the Juárez Limpio and Escuela Sol programs, resulting from the aid of entrepreneurs, Municipal and State Governments, universities and citizenship, have the mission to develop security, order and clean values to make Juarez city the cleanest and most organized one in Mexico. The company, as part of its social programs, actively participates through the GCC Foundation providing resources and volunteer- worker groups.

Co- Processing and Alternative Energy: 2 million tires co- processed in 2007

As a response to the accelerated growth in the vehicular park in the frontier in 2004, the Samalayuca Plant established a cooperation agreement for the Chihuahua Juarez City's storing center, signed by the Environmental and Natural Resources Secretary and the Environmental Protection American Agency

The agreement allowed GCC to have an availability of 620 thousand used tires per year for its co processing. Up to date, one million dollars have been invested in the processed and more than two million tires have been transformed.

Besides, the Chihuahua Plant is on its study stage to start the disposition of internal waste material.

After the rehabilitation and urbanization of the areas next to the Chihuahua Plant, today there are new housing and commercial development lands, located in areas of high population and vehicle flow growth.

After the experimental rehabilitation of 12 hectares of the Tijeras concrete block plant area in New Mexico, GCC started the restoration of a third section of 15 hectares whose mining started as of 1959. From 1994 on, GCC is trying to restitute a total of 185 hectares in a long range project, with average 12 year rehabilitation periods.

The incorporation of clean technologies is implemented in GCC in a systematic way in all of its productive premises.

At present, the new businesses and modernizations developed by the company include, with no exception, the investment in high technology equipments for: energy consumption and environmental impact minimization, compliance of the legislation in force, optimal use of natural resources and to keep a harmonious relation with the community.

FACILITY	EQUIPMENT	INVESTMENT (mexican pesos)
BLOQUERA 4	investment silo 1, 2, 3	190,200.00
PRE- PRODUCED	powder collector	127,422.00
TOLEDANO PLANT	filtering bags	184,000.00
JARUDO PLANT	filtering bags	184,000.00
PUEBLO PLANT	collectors	89´990,208.00
TERMINALS	Collectors	928,422.00
PLANT MODERNIZATION	collectors	13,353,362.00

The Samalayuca plant has a permanent reforestation master plan in order to keep and restore the region´s native flora in the quarry areas and in the premise´s green areas through the recollection and programmed planting of native and adapted species. For this purpose a greenhouse is kept, which, between 2003 and 2007, has produced 20 thousand new desert plants and 6 thousand units of major species adapted to the local climate.

The ISO 14001 regulation implemented in GCC´s cement Plants, is designed to establish an environmental management system. Its main objective is to make a continuous improvement in the environmental performance in the processes, products and /or services. From this point of view, the ISO 14001 regulation environmental management system, has led the company to attain an environmental performance which is better than those required by the national and local legislations in force.

GCC´s environmental management system in the Samalayuca Plant has been evaluated by the Federal Environmental Protection Attorney, PROFEPA, since 1996 and improved ever since.

• Recognition from SEMARNAT for public inventory of green house effect gas emission (GEI), of the operations in 2004 , 2005 and 2006

Certification of the Environmental Management System under the ISO 14001 International Standard since January 2002 up to date.