Holcim Apasco - Holcim Apasco Awarded Distinction as Socially Responsible Company for Eighth Straight Year

Mexico City, March 11, 2008. Holcim Apasco was awarded the Socially Responsible Company distinction by the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (CEMEFI), becoming the only cement company to receive the award for eight years running.

Among the indicators evaluated by CEMEFI in granting the award is the "quality of life at the company." Holcim Apasco has created programs and benefits that contribute to the personal and professional development of people working at the company, including: the Holcim Apasco Leaders Program, development seminars for middle management, training courses for sales executives, Holcim Apasco international exchanges, financial aid for master's degree studies at the IPADE Business School, and aid for open education through the Mexican Institute of Adult Education, among many others.In the area of social responsibility, the company has Training Centers for Agriculture and Forestry (CECAF), which, since their inception in 1986, have benefited more than twenty thousand people in the communities surrounding cement plants; DesarrollaT, a program in support of business management development for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which has so far trained around 1,000 construction material distributors and has benefited approximately 5,000 people directly, and over 12,000 indirectly; and Mi Casa, a program involving Holcim Apasco product distributors, aiming to give training for people who build their own homes and provide support through financing the purchase of cement and other building materials; through this program, from 2000 to date, more than 200,000 housing units in regions covering approximately 84% of Mexican territory have been built.

Activities of Holcim Apasco to insure that operations respect the environment were also evaluated, and these include the reduction of emissions, decreased energy consumption in cement plants, restoration of quarries, and protection of endangered animal and plant species.

Pierre Froidevaux, company CEO, expressed that "social responsibility is part of our vision and our strategy, because of the way it benefits society, and because it contributes to the development of competitiveness in Mexico."The Socially Responsible Company distinction is awarded annually by the Mexican Center for Philanthropy, a non-governmental organization dedicated to providing tools that enable firms to monitor their actions for social responsibility.
For further information about the social responsibility programs at Holcim and Holcim Apasco, please visit:
www.holcimapasco.com.mx
www.holcim.com

######Holcim Apasco produces and markets cement, mortar, ready-mix concrete and other products and services for construction. The company has a presence throughout Mexico, with 6 cement plants and a current installed capacity of 11.3 million tons per year, more than 100 ready-mix concrete plants, 5 aggregate plants, 23 cement distribution centers, 2 maritime terminals and a Concrete Technology Center.Holcim Apasco is part of the Holcim Group, a world leader in cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates (crushed stone, sand and gravel), asphalt, and related contracting services. The Group holds majority and minority interests in more than 70 countries on all five continents.