Maple Leaf Cement is a Pakistani cement manufacturer based in Lahore.[2][3] It is the fifth-largest cement manufacturer in Pakistan after Lucky Cement, Bestway Cement, Fauji Cement, and DG Cement.[4][5][6]
Maple Leaf Cement is a Pakistani cement manufacturer based in Lahore.[2][3] It is the fifth-largest cement manufacturer in Pakistan after Lucky Cement, Bestway Cement, Fauji Cement, and DG Cement.[4][5][6]
In 1967, White Cement Industries Limited was founded at the same location which was the first white cement manufacturing plant in Pakistan.[8] Initially, it had a capacity of 15,000 tpa which was later expanded to 30,000 tpa.[8]
In 1974, under the West Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation Ordinance of 1974, Maple Leaf Cement and White Cement Industries were merged into the State Cement Corporation of Pakistan, a holding company established by the Government of Pakistan to manage nationalized cement companies.[8]
In 1983, Pak Cement Company Limited was established at the same site with a clinker production capacity of 180,000 tons under a technical and economic assistance program with National Complete Plant Export Corporation of China.[8]
In January 1992, Maple Leaf Cement was acquired for Rs 486 million by Nishat Mills under the privatization scheme of the Government of Pakistan.[9] Later, it was transferred to Saigol Group in a swap scheme in which Nishat Group acquired DG Cement from Saigol Group.[10] Saigol family also acquired Pak Cement and White Cement Industries during the privatization scheme which were merged into Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited on July 1, 1992.[8]
In April 1994, Maple Leaf Cement began a project to expand its cement production capacity of annual grey portland cement from 0.6 million tons to 1.6 million tons.[11] The project had a total cost of US$160.8 million.[11] The International Finance Corporation (IFC) contributed US$45.2 million in financing to the project, which was part of a larger US$160 million investment program.[11] The financing provided by the IFC consisted of a US$5.2 million equity investment, a US$30 million loan for IFC's own account, and an additional US$10 million loan.[11] The remaining financing was raised by listing the company on the Karachi Stock Exchange on August 17, 1994.[12] The financing was used to acquire a new cement plant from FLSmidth.[11][13] The plant became operational in April 1998.[8]
In 2004, Maple Leaf Cement initiated a process conversion project, transitioning a wet process plant with a clinker capacity of 600 tons per day (tpd) for grey cement to a dry process plant with a clinker capacity of 500 tpd for white cement.[8] The project was completed, and commercial production commenced on April 1, 2006.[8] Following the conversion, white cement production capacity increased from 30,000 tpa to 180,000 tpa.[8] The total cost of the project was PKR 3,280 million.[8][14]
In November 2022, Maple Leaf Cement commissioned a new grey clinker production line at its brownfield site in Iskanderabad, Punjab, Pakistan.[15] The production line was supplied by Chengdu Design & Research Institute of China and increased the site's production capacity by 7000 tons per day.[15] The total cost of the project was PKR 20 billion (approximately US$90.2 million at the time).[15] The project was financed with a debt-to-equity ratio of 70:30, with funding obtained through the Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF) and Temporary Economic Refinance Facility (TERF) offered by the State Bank of Pakistan.[15][16]