Who is Cemex and what is their reputation?
Cemex is a giant Mexico based producer of cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates and related building materials operating in more than 50 countries. It is the largest supplier in the US with 57 quarries operating here as of 12/31/2005. They have been cited for air and water quality violations in this country numerous times. A March 2007 internet search of “Cemex violations” netted over 2300 websites. The most recent Federal lawsuit over air and water quality violations was in February of this year (2007), this time concerning the Cemex plant in Victorville, California. The City of Santa Clarita has spent over $7,000,000 trying to fight expansion of the Cemex plant in their area and appears poised to fail. With billions of dollars in financial assets, Cemex is able to pay fines for violations and, once established, withstand challenges to its operations.
