About the Westport Cement Plant

Holcim New Zealand operates a cement manufacturing plant at Cape Foulwind, Westport, which produces approximately 500,000 tonnes of cement each year.

The plant commenced operating at Westport in 1958 with one kiln. In the next 12 years two new production kilns were commissioned to treble its capacity to meet the continued growth in demand for cement. The plant uses wet process technology.

Today the Westport plant employs around 130 staff. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The cement from the Westport plant is distributed around New Zealand in two bulk cement ships, which are owned and operated by the company. These ships deliver cement to marine terminals at Lyttelton, Dunedin, Onehunga (Auckland), Wellington, Nelson, New Plymouth, and Napier.

Bulk cement is delivered from terminals to customer sites by a fleet of Holcim specialised road tankers. 90% of all cement sold in New Zealand by Holcim is in bulk, with bagged cement representing 10% of sales.

If approved to proceed, the proposed new cement plant at Weston, near Oamaru would replace the current Westport plant.