Some 600 guests attended CMS Cement’s 30th anniversary gala dinner held in Kuching. Guests included State Cabinet members, politicians, industry leaders, construction materials dealers and representatives of cement bodies. Former CMS Cement company directors and long-serving employees were also in attendance.

The event served as a platform for CMS Cement to launch its new product, CEMPLAST masonry cement, and a new tagline for its Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), “Teguh & Tahan”.

In his speech, CMS Group Managing Director, Dato’ Richard Curtis said that CMS Cement has always been committed to building Sarawak in the most reliable and responsible manner possible.

“30 years in production has been about 30 years of cementing relationships with our stakeholders – customers of CMS Cement in urban town centers and in kampungs, with hundreds of our staff, with shareholders and the community around us,” he said.

According to Dato’ Richard, future plans of the company included expansion of production at CMS Clinker and the potential of export of CMS Cement’s products.

He gave assurances that CMS Cement would work with other cement manufacturers and trade bodies to periodically review and reduce cement prices in order to further develop the State in a cost-effective manner, whether in times of economic boom or hardship.

Starting as a cement grinding operation located in Kuching in 1978, Cement Manufacturers Sarawak (as it was known then) had an annual production capacity of 500,000 tonnes. Since then, the company has worked hard to meet operational challenges to ensure a consistent supply of quality cement for the local market.

Today, CMS Cement’s two plants in Kuching and Bintulu have a total annual production capacity of 1.75 million tonnes.

In November 2007, CMS Cement became the new owner of its own raw materials manufacturer, CMS Clinker. The acquisition reduces the company’s reliance on clinker imports and will help CMS Cement become an integrated cement manufacturer.