Cerro Negro goes from strength to strength in Argentina

Canteras Cerro Negro is a Buenos Aires-based Argentine group with a history dating back more than 100 years. Operating since 1896 in the construction materials segment, it has around 1,100 employees working at its facilities in Olavarría, Campana and Pacheco (province of Buenos Aires) and Córdoba.

Originally part of the Irish group CRH Europa, in October 2015 a 55% stake worth US $150 million was acquired by Sociedad Comercial del Plata (SCP).

The remaining 45% participation was divided between the Ferro family (30%), founder of the Cormela brickworks, and the Spanish fund Beyelex (15%).

The acquisition also included the merger of four previously independent companies involved in brick and tile production: Ladrillos Losa Olavarria (roof tiles), Cormela (bricks), Superglass (glass and allied products) and Arcillas Mediterraneas, a raw materials supplier which operates its own quarries.

Together with Cerro Negro, which runs the core business of porcelain tile, the group is expected to report a consolidated turnover of 120 million euros in 2016.

We discussed the group’s new organisation and its future plans with Ignacio Noel, Chairman of Sociedad Comercial del Plata.

• Read the complete interview with Ignacio Noel published on Brick World Review 2/2016