Tarmac’s Dunbar cement plant hosts Ministerial visit

Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy takes a closer look at the cement-making industry

PAUL Wheelhouse, Scottish Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, recently took a closer look at energy use in industry through a visit to Tarmac’s Dunbar plant – the only cement-manufacturing facility in Scotland.

The visit allowed the Minister to get a closer look at the business at a time when the Scottish Government is actively developing its future energy strategy.

Oliver Curtin, manager of the Dunbar plant, said: ‘We were delighted to welcome the Minister to the site and share our experience with the Scottish Government at this important point in the policy-development process.

‘We are continually looking for ways to manage energy use to minimize our impact on the environment, reduce our carbon footprint and help with our overall costs. As we walked the Minister through the cement-making process, we were very pleased to update him on various aspects of energy use in our process.’

Commenting on his visit, the Minister said: ‘Tarmac’s Dunbar operation has a significant role in Scotland’s manufacturing industry, which makes it an important player in the wider Scottish economy. It’s an industry that the Scottish Government is keen to support, as demonstrated by the launch of our Manufacturing Action Plan.

‘We’re currently in the process of finalizing a new Energy Strategy for Scotland, which we will publish by the end of 2017, and this will underpin Scotland’s transition to a low-carbon economy.

‘Companies like Tarmac are essential to informing what that strategy will look like, and they represent a good example of an organization taking positive steps towards improving their energy and resource efficiency.’