Quinn Building Products and Lagan Cement Group have signed a memorandum of understanding that may lead to them joining parts of their operations.
The businesses that would become part of the JV are the combined cement and building products businesses based in Ballyconnell, Derrylin, Kinnegad, Belfast, Cork and Benelux.
Lagan Cement Group would put in its cement, concrete, quarrying and roof tiles businesses.
Quinn Building Products would put in its cement, roof tiles, quarrying, pre-stress and lightweight blocks.
Quinn Therm, Quinn Litepac, Quinn Tarmac and Lagan Sand are not included in the proposal.
In a joint statement, Quinn Manufacturing CEO Paul O’Brien and Lagan Cement Group CEO Jude Lagan said: “By combining two stable Irish businesses the proposed JV will create a sustainable independent cement manufacturer that can continue to support its customers on a competitive basis.”
The companies said that the joint venture discussions are likely to take up to three months to complete and will involve the development of a business plan to combine the Quinn/Lagan cement and building products operations. This proposal would be subject to approval by the competition authority.
In a separate development, Quinn Manufacturing has announced a €15m investment to upgrade its Ballyconnell cement plant, which, when completed, will facilitate the use of alternative fuels thereby replacing coal as the primary fuel. The use of solid recovered fuel (SRF) as an alternative fuel is long established in the cement industry. Quinn said that using SRF would bring its production costs more into line with its Irish and European competitors.
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