IN Brief:
- The Mineral Products Association has appointed Martin Casey as senior director for cement and lime.
- The appointment comes as UK cement production remains under pressure from power, labour, and regulatory costs.
- Imports, carbon-border shifts, and weak domestic competitiveness continue to shape the materials outlook.
The Mineral Products Association has appointed Martin Casey as senior director for cement and lime, handing him responsibility for advocacy and technical guidance at a difficult point for domestic production. Casey succeeds Diana Casey, who is leaving the association in April, and joins the role after more than 20 years at CEMEX and a period working with the MPA as a consultant.
The timing is the story. Cement remains central to concrete supply, infrastructure delivery, housebuilding, renewable energy projects, and climate-adaptation work, yet UK production has been heading the wrong way. The MPA says national cement output fell to a 75-year low in 2024, with manufacturers squeezed by some of the world’s highest industrial electricity prices alongside labour and regulatory cost pressure. It has also warned that imports could rise further in 2026 as new EU carbon-border charges reshape trade flows.
Casey steps into the post with the sector trying to defend both capacity and strategic relevance. That makes this more than a trade-association appointment. If domestic cement continues to lose ground while imports rise, the pressure will not stay confined to kiln operators. It will move down the line into concrete supply resilience, project pricing, and the industry’s ability to rely on local production for major civil and building work.
