Transformation(s)

Dear readers,

It was an excellent event and a great reunion with many old acquaintances, start-ups and new contacts, the 9th International VDZ Congress from November 6-8 in Düsseldorf. It is a forum for cement manufacturers and the supply industry to exchange views on all current topics, and there are a number of exciting, challenging and urgent tasks. The internationality was also visible in the program and the speakers. It is certainly interesting and inspiring to see that the cement industry is facing very similar challenges worldwide. Even where the demands for sustainable cement production have not yet come to the fore, this will be the case in the coming years.

The VDZ and Cembureau roadmaps define clear goals and targets to be achieved at the individual stages. And the various stages are no longer as far in the future as they first appeared. This means that clear transformation steps are necessary, both in the efficiency of the plants and in the use of low-carbon binders or the technology for capturing and injecting CO₂. With all these challenges, we are living in an exciting but also challenging time, which is certainly not easy, but will hopefully also unite the industries to find the necessary solutions together. And as the well-known journalist and documentary filmmaker Dirk Steffens made very clear yesterday (27.11.) at the FORUM:BAU in Essen, organized by HOLCIM, without our environment and the large but also the very small creatures, such as the millions of microorganisms, we humans cannot survive either. It is therefore important for all of us to tackle the challenges of the future TOGETHER.

With this in mind, the team at ZKG CEMENT LIME GYPSUM wishes you a happy, reflective and peaceful Christmas season and a good 2025!