| Wed 24 Feb 2010, 9:00 | | PPC - Pretoria Portland Cement Company - PPC Celebrates 100 years on the JSE - |
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PPC
PPC
PPC - Pretoria Portland Cement Company - PPC Celebrates 100 years on the JSE -
118 years of production
Pretoria Portland Cement Company Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Company registration number: 1892/000667/06)
JSE Code: PPC
ISIN: ZAE000125886
("PPC" or "the company")
PPC Celebrates 100 years on the JSE - 118 Years of Production
24 February 2010 - Pretoria Portland Cement ("PPC") is proud to celebrate its
100th year as a listed company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange ("JSE"). Over
the past 118 years PPC developed into a leading cement, aggregates and lime
production and distribution company, which has played a vital role in the
history and overall development of southern Africa.
Established in 1892 with a factory in Pretoria, the company has grown to include
operations across the country and in Botswana and Zimbabwe. It is a reliable
supplier of cement and materials into the civil, commercial and residential
sectors throughout South Africa. The company continues to play an integral part
in the construction of the country`s infrastructure, monuments and national
landscape as well as contributing to our daily lives in cities, towns and rural
communities.
Paul Stuiver, CEO of PPC said: "What strikes one when you study the history of
the company is the courageous and visionary leadership over the years, which
resulted in a number of long term decisions that greatly benefited the company."
Our longstanding customers and suppliers have been an integral part of PPC`s
success. All our stakeholders have contributed to the company becoming a
recognised national brand and a significant ingredient in many of South Africa`s
monuments and landmarks. We are proud of these associations and relationships,
many of which date as far back as the early 1900s.
Stuiver added; "One of the reasons for our longevity is the calibre of our
people. It is not only those in leadership positions, but all of our people in
PPC factories, depots and offices, as well as the communities in which we
operate. Team PPC has built the company and made it the long-term success it is
today. Their vision, passion and commitment ensures that PPC remains a market
leader. We are looking forward to the next hundred years with confidence,
resolve and determination."
For further enquiries contact:
PPC +27 11 386 9000
Paul Stuiver
Kevin Odendaal
College Hill +27 11 447 3030
Jacques de Bie +27 82 691 5384
Nandile Ngubentombi +27 82 815 1862
24 February 2010
Sponsor
Merrill Lynch South Africa (Pty) Limited
Notes to Editors:
Conceived in 1888 during the early gold rush days on the Witwatersrand, the
growth and development of both PPC and the JSE were marked by many memorable
periods of coping with major internal and external influences - including two
world recessions, two world wars and a great deal of national political turmoil
leading to democracy in 1994.
Today, 118 years after its inception, PPC Cement has eight manufacturing plants
and three milling depots in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Together these
facilities are capable of producing almost eight million tons of cement products
a year. Related products include aggregates from the company`s Gauteng and
Botswana quarries.
PPC Lime is southern Africa`s foremost supplier of metallurgical-grade lime,
burnt dolomite, limestone and related products. The company`s Lime Acres
operation in the Northern Cape is one of the largest lime plants in the world.
12 Decades of Milestones
1888 - Edouard Lippert gets permission from Paul Kruger, President of the
Transvaal Republic, and the Volksraad to set up a local cement factory on the
outskirts of Pretoria, which was to become PPC.
1890 - President Paul Kruger formally opened the cement factory outside Pretoria
named Hercules, which still exists today.
1892 - The Eerste Cement Fabrieken Beperkt is registered as the company to
operate the factory.
1902 - The Eerste Cement Fabrieken changes its name to The First Portland Cement
Company.
1908 - The First Portland Cement Company changes its name to the Pretoria
Portland Cement Company Limited and declares its first dividend. The company has
not failed to pay a dividend since.
1910 - Eighteen years after its inception, PPC is listed on the Johannesburg
Stock Exchange.
1916 - PPC`s new Slurry factory in the North West Province produces its first
cement.
1921 - PPC establishes the Cape Portland Cement Company and builds a factory at
De Hoek.
1927 - PPC floats the Eastern Province Cement Company and builds a cement
factory on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth.
1937 - PPC`s Jupiter factory in Germiston produces its first cement.
1946 - PPC purchases property in the Western Cape, which will eventually become
the Riebeeck operation.
1949 - PPC commissions its new factory in Orkney.
1956 - PPC begins the planning and construction of the Riebeeck cement factory.
1958 - The Slurry operation converts from the wet-process to the more efficient
and cost effective dry mix system.
1960 - The Riebeeck cement factory at Riebeek West is commissioned.
1977 - PPC becomes a subsidiary of the Barlow Rand Group. The Cape Portland
Cement Co with its De Hoek and Riebeeck works becomes a full subsidiary of PPC
and the company diversifies into the lime industry with the acquisition of the
Northern Lime Company, which was started in 1907.
1984 - PPC`s new Dwaalboom cement plant is completed but mothballed due to
recession.
1992 - PPC celebrates its centenary year with many commemorative projects for
staff and communities throughout the country.
1996 - PPC launches SureBuild, the first branded general purpose cement on the
market.
1998 - The mothballed Dwaalboom plant is commissioned and hailed as the most
technologically advanced cement plant in SA. The `Kambuku` way of life is
introduced and enthusiastically embraced by PPC.
2001 - PPC acquires ownership of Unicem, Zimbabwe`s top cement company.
2002 - PPC`s Annual Achiever Awards function is introduced.
2003 - PPC is included in the FTSE/JSE Top 40 Companies index. PPC enters
Deloitte`s `Best Company To Work For` awards for the first time and goes on to
win the manufacturing category, as well as making it in the top ten overall, for
the next five consecutive years.
2006 - PPC becomes a constituent on the JSE Socially Responsible Investment
Index. 2007 - PPC is officially unbundled from Barloworld having become a
subsidiary in 1977.
2009 - PPC establishes its Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment transaction
which directly benefits approximately 3,5 million people in South Africa, the
majority of whom are black.
2010 - PPC celebrates its 100-year listing on the JSE.
Date: 24/02/2010 09:00:06 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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