18,000 people will return to work on Monday after the summer break. The construction sector will take up tools once more, with massive amounts of concrete to be used - one of the primary components thereof is cement. In Esch, the only manufacturer in the country, tons of cement will have been produced over the summer - a divisive, yet necessary substance in building work.
Cement production in Luxembourg is closely linked to the history of the steel industry. Although the blast furnaces are no more, 1.2 millions of tons are produced in Esch each year. Just 10-15% of this is used to fill 25 kilo sacks.
The area around Rumelange is mined 3 times a week. There is sufficient chalk and red marl to allow Luxembourg to produce cement until 2050.
Raw materials are then transported on the last conveyor belt in the Minette region down into the valley, where the 90 metre long oven works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The product is stored in two silos, each holding 50,000 tons, before it is transported to the factory in Esch by train, where 3 enormous mills turn day in and day out.
The finished cement is then kept in 20 silos on the Esch site.
In Luxembourg, the manufacturing of 1.2 million tons of cement per year creates 625,000 tons of CO2, 6% of national CO2 emissions. But without cement, there can be no concrete...
Video in Luxembourgish
