East African Portland Cement Company commonly known by its abbreviation EAPCC, is a Kenyan based construction company specializing in the manufacturing and selling of cement and cement related products.

Overview

EAPCC's headquarters are located in Athi River, a small town about 30 km from

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

, Kenya's capital city. The company has operations in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

History

East African Portland Cement Company started as a trading company importing cement mainly from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

for early construction work in

British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...

(now

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

) as an agent of

Blue Circle Industries Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900 as the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd through the fusion of 24 cement works, mostly around on the Thames and Medway estuaries, toget ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The name ''Portland'' was given due to the resemblance in colour of set

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixe ...

to the

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building ...

that was mined on the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, England. In February 1933, the Company was incorporated in Kenya with the first factory in Nairobi's Industrial Area. The Company had one cement mill and used imported

clinker Clinker may refer to: *Clinker (boat building), construction method for wooden boats *Clinker (waste), waste from industrial processes *Clinker (cement), a kilned then quenched cement product * ''Clinkers'' (album), a 1978 album by saxophonist St ...

from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

for cement manufacturing. The production capacity was about 60,000 tonnes of cement at the time. In December 1956, construction of the Athi River facility started. The factory was commissioned in 1958 and consisted of a rotary kiln, a big cement mill which significantly increased production capacity to 120,000 tonnes per annum. Over the years, EAPCC greatly expanded its production capacity. The Company can presently produce over 1.3 million tonnes of cement per annum at reduced cost especially with the June 2014 announcement of the construction of a four megawatt power plant would run on waste gases generated by the company factory at a cost of KSh800 million. This plant would lower the annual cost of running the Athi River factory by KSh500 million.

Subsidiaries and Investments

The companies that comprise East Africa Portland Cement include, but are not limited, to the following: * East African Portland Cement Limited –

Athi River Athi River is a town outside Nairobi, Kenya in Machakos County. The town is named after the Athi River, which passes through. It is also known as Mavoko. Athi River hosts the Mavoko Municipal Council and is the headquarters of Mavoko division ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

- 100% Shareholding - The flagship company of the group. This unit engages in the production of cement. * East African Portland Cement Uganda Limited –

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and R ...

- 100% Shareholding - The principal activity of the Company is the sale of cement purchased from the parent company. It contributed to 1.24% of the group's revenue in the year ended 30 June 2012.

Ownership

The shares of East African Portland Cement are traded on the

Nairobi Securities Exchange The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...

, under the symbol: PORT. The shareholding in the company's stock as at 31 July 2014 was as depicted in the table below:

Board Room Wars

Cementia Holdings, Associated International Cement and Bamburi Cement are all direct or indirect subsidiaries of Lafarge SA. Giving Lafarge 41.7% of EAPCC. While the Government of Kenya claims to controls NSSF's stake, giving the Government 52.3% control of the firm. This ownership structure has led to boardroom wars on who controls the company. The government has challenged Lafarge's shareholding in EAPCC due to the fact that Lafarge owns 41.7 per cent of East African Portland Cement Company and a further 58.9 per cent of Bamburi Cement; two of three largest producers of the building material in Kenya. Government accuses the firm of violation of antitrust legislation. Lafarge on their part started that they are a financial investor in EAPCC and they do not exert any operational leverage on the EAPCC Board. The Kenyan courts ruled that EAPCC does not qualify to be a government

Parastatal A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the government ...

because NSSF shares do not belong to the State but to contributors. This means that the government of Kenya cannot control, hire or fire its management. The ruling also stopped attempts by the government to make Lafarge dilute its stake in EAPCC. These board room wrangles negatively impacted the EAPCC's share price and market share.

Governance

East African Portland Cement Company is governed by a seven-person Board of Directors with Edwin Muriithi Kinyua serving as the Chairman.

References

External links

East Africa Portland Cement Company Homepage

Lafarge Homepage

National Social Security Fund
{{Authority control Companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange Manufacturing companies established in 1933 1933 establishments in Kenya Cement companies of Kenya

Overview

History

Subsidiaries and Investments

Ownership

Board Room Wars

Governance

See also

References

External links