The cement industry as a role model

When I entered the cement industry 30 years ago, I couldn‘t have made a better choice. I was looking for a job that was technically diverse and offered plenty of contact with people from all over the world. The relatively small, yet fully international cement industry offered all of this perfectly.

Unfortunately, we are now seeing many countries around the world revert to archaic reflexes. There is a great fear of migrants, trade barriers, and wars. National borders are heavily guarded, in Europe, the freedom of travel guaranteed by the Schengen Agreement is being phased out, and in the USA, people are being hunted like cattle.

But fear is a bad advisor! Facilitating the free movement of goods and services has always increased the prosperity of societies. The USA has been a country of immigration since its founding! In these times, the world can learn from the cement industry! In our industry, we exemplify the exchange of goods and knowledge to perfection. Politicians should take a leaf out of our book!

Yours sincerely

Matthias Mersmann