South Wales Central Member of the Senedd, Joel James MS, visited the Aberthaw cement plant to find out about how important this site is for the Welsh economy.
During his visit, Joel was briefed on the cement-making process at Aberthaw, Tarmac in the UK, and its place in the wider CRH Group. Joel was particularly interested to hear how important the site is for providing well-paid local jobs, how it supports the local populace, its Net Zero carbon commitments and how innovative the plant is in using biomass to manufacture cement.
Building on the major energy efficiency improvements that have already been made and the increasing use of alternative fuels at Aberthaw, Joel heard about the importance of clinker substitution in the finished cement and the longer-term ambition of carbon capture and storage, or usage, to achieve net zero.
Reflecting on his visit, Joel James MS said:
“I was delighted to be invited to visit Tarmac Aberthaw and to meet some of the team there. It is not until you get out on site that you appreciate the scale of the operation and the importance of it to local employment and the national economy”.
“Cement is often taken for granted, yet it is literally the foundations for our modern built environment. The cement plant at Aberthaw has been in our community for over 100 years and is in safe hands with Tarmac. I wish them well as they face up to the challenges ahead”.
Commenting on the visit, Stuart Escott, Plant Manager, said
“It was a pleasure to welcome Joel James to Aberthaw and to show him how we operate on a day-today basis. Ours is an industry with many challenges going forward and it is important that policy makers understand some of those issues and work with us on ways to tackle them”.
“I think that after his visit Joel is better informed of the importance of a major industry and employer in his Senedd region, and I am very grateful for the support he expressed for us. I look forward to continuing our very constructive dialogue in the future”.
