BIG BOSS Cement Inc., a firm that uses a different kind of technology to produce its products, is investing with its sister firm some P10 billion for its new plant lines in Pampanga and Zamboanga as the companies ride on the huge demand.
Company President Gilbert S. Cruz told reporters the firms are building a total of four cement lines in Pampanga, while their sister company, Petra Cement Inc., is building two lines in Zamboanga del Norte.
Both firms have the same shareholders led by Cruz and company Chairman Henry Sy Jr., who has investments in the firms in his personal capacity and not with the SM Group, where he is one of the directors.
Cruz said they will spend a total of P7 billion for the Pampanga plant and P3 billion for the Zamboanga plant, or an average of about P1.5 billion per line.
The Pampanga plant is more expensive because it includes prototypes as the firm perfects its technology, which Cruz said they may export to other countries when the right time comes.
He said each line has a capacity of 1 million bags of cement a month and Big Boss has already completed two lines in Pampanga, with two more lines to be finished by the first quarter next year for a total capacity of 4 million bags a month.
There are about 25 bags of cement for every metric ton.
Meanwhile, the company will complete the first production line in Zamboanga in November and will soon be investing for the next line. There is no cement manufacturing plant in Zamboanga, he noted.
Cruz said they also plan to put up more plants in areas, such as General Santos, Negros and Iloilo, with the aim of reaching a total capacity of between 10 million and 12 million bags a month in five years, and, in the process, pull down its own cement prices to just P100 per bag, or half of the current prices. The company claims it has the cheapest cement price at P150 to P160 per 40 kilogram bag.
With the completion of the second line in Pampanga, Cruz said it now allows them to sell bulk cement, being used by ready mix concrete makers and precast firms, usually used in infrastructure projects such as bridges.
“We see a lot of potential in the market for bulk cement that is environment-friendly and guarantees a minimum strength of 40 MPa [megapascal],” he said.
“Highly industrialized countries like the United States and most countries in Europe use cement which are 40 MPa and above. allowing for more sturdy and durable buildings, houses, bridges and roads,” he said.
The company claims it is using cement manufacturing process called G-ASH (Grinded Activated Sand by Heating), which enables it to produce a binding material for concrete that does not use imported clinker, one of the main ingredients on all of the cement manufacturers.
“We are trying to change the rules of the game and we are confident that our product is a game changer. During a recent global cement conference I attended, we were able to establish that no other company in the world is doing what we are doing, which says a lot about Filipino ingenuity,” Cruz said.