Photo: RL Hevia
Text: Editorial Cuba Noticias 360
They say that time does not forgive, that its passage leaves indelible marks, and Cuba knows that very well. The island, a pioneer in many advances in times past, has been left last in the queue of modernity.
Did you know that the first cement factory in Latin America was in Cuba? It would seem incredible if we take a look at the housing stock of Havana, just to mention one province. But it is enough to do a little search for that construction material to realize that, like many other items, today it is conspicuous by its absence.
According to Bohemia magazine, Cuba was the first country to produce cement in Latin America, with the first Portland cement factory located on Zanja Street No. 137, corner of Hospital, in Centro Habana.
Its inauguration dates back to July 1895 and since then, using Belgian technology, it began to market its product under the “Cuba” brand in 130 and 150 kg barrels, as well as 75 kg bags.
The factory was owned by the brothers Ladislao and Fernando Díaz, natives of Asturias, Spain, and its location was not coincidental, since it was very close to “La Cubana”, the largest producer of hydraulic tiles existing at that time on the island. and of which the brothers were also owners.
Its daily production capacity was 20 tons and in its best times it manufactured up to 6,000 tons of cement per year.
Documents from the time indicate that the company was registered in Spain as a ‘Brick factory of all kinds’, because at that time the category of ‘cement factory’ did not exist. It remained this way until it closed definitively in 1910 as it could not compete with the new structural cement factory “El Almendares”.
As its name indicates, this new industry, also dedicated to the production of Portland cement, was located on the banks of the Almendares River and already in 1911 it had four large rotating kilns, 1,500 horsepower, its own generation plant electrical and own carpentry and mechanical workshops.
Its brand was “Volcano Cement” which at the time competed advantageously with other imported cement. In addition, it had an annual production capacity of 200,000 barrels.
“The Commander arrived and ordered it to stop”
Statistics offered by the Foresight Cuba project indicate that by 1958, the island had reached a record production of 4.27 million tons. Two years later, in 1960, the government nationalized all cement factories and after several investments, rock processing was allowed to increase from 2.5 million cubic meters to 47.6 million in 1980.
Later, the fall of the Socialist Camp, which had previously reduced subsidies to the price of oil supplied to Cuba, resulted in a drastic reduction in cement production in the country.
Added to these elements are the few interventions carried out in the industry during the following years and the obsolescence of its technologies. In addition, we must take into account the export of the material, a factor that made it increasingly less accessible on the island. In the period 1997-2010, according to the aforementioned project, the Cuban State exported 59% of cement production.
In the statistics of the Inter-American Cement Federation on its consumption in the countries of America, Cuba only produced and consumed 0.8% of the continent’s cement production in 2017, thus occupying last place in terms of per capita consumption. , excluding Haiti, which does not appear in said ranking.
What is happening today with cement in Cuba?
At the end of last year 2023, the Cuban authorities reported that the Cementos Cienfuegos SA factory, the largest of its type on the island, would begin to implement a program with the aim of recovering that industry from exports of the material.
Despite the government’s claims, it was learned that the nominal capacity of the factory at that time was only 30%, despite the fact that it is designed for an annual production of 1,600,000 tons of cement.
Exportation would be an alternative to alleviate the country’s financial and energy crisis and rescue the obsolete technology of a plant that produces 60% of that material, according to state media.
Company officials reported that they are currently exporting to Mexico and Grand Cayman, while contracts are being negotiated with other nations for future sales. They also added that just this month of May, the factory would make a major stoppage to carry out a major repair and achieve recovery parameters for its production capacity, which is far below what is currently designed and required.
In the midst of this scenario, it was announced two months ago that the Siguaney Cement Company of Sancti Spíritus found itself with limited productive capacity that brought with it a large reduction in its plan for the year.
The situation occurred due to the high energy consumption of the factory, which at the end of 2023 contributed 47,000 tons of this material, while the plan for 2024 has been reduced to 20,000 tons.
In Cuba there are currently six cement industries: Cemento Cienfuegos, Mariel, Siguaney, Artemisa, Nuevitas and Santiago, the latter currently makes alternative mortar, a product that, although it has different uses, is not considered cement due to its composition and lower resistance.
The scenario does not show improvements, and that is seen day by day by Cubans who try to find a bag of cement for any repair. The problems of the cement industry remain “the same”; In addition to technological obsolescence, there is a shortage of fuel for high consumption and a lack of financing for necessary maintenance or the purchase of new technologies, among other factors.
