Juan Esteban Calle, Cementos Argos CEO

In an exclusive interview with CemWeek Magazine, Juan Esteban Calle, CEO of Cementos Argos, discussed the main drivers behind the company's rapid overseas growth. ArgosÔÇÖ main operations, sustainability issues and expectations for the future of the business and the industry were also addressed

Q: Cementos Argos has expanded rapidly over the last decade, from a local Colombian company to a multinational cement, concrete and aggregates player. What were the main drivers for Argos's rapid overseas growth?

A: Our expansion has been driven by our conviction to participate in the construction of a better world and a more equitable society. Cementos Argos has the fundamental values, discipline, experience and financial flexibility not only to execute strategic acquisitions in our area of influence, but to integrate them to our logistic network, increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of our assets and impacting communities in a positive way. Similarly, we have a know-how that allows us to grow organically in a sustainable way. We promote the transfer of best practices in two ways, which enriches Argos's course of action as a multinational company and allows us to strengthen our presence in the Americas. In 2005, after the merge of its regional cement companies in Colombia and decades of exporting to different countries, Argos started its internationalization strategy defining the Americas as its target geography and looking to generate synergies through the interconnection of its assets, with the objective to look for markets with potential to increase the cement consumption per capita and maximize the utilization of its installed capacity in markets with different business cycles. In this way, Argos has been able to not only achieve rapid overseas growth, but also create a privileged footprint all interconnected, with flexibility to integrate new operations and diversification of the business-related risks.

Read the full article in CemWeek Magazine 40