End in sight for ENCI?

The future of the ENCI cement factory, at the foot of the St Pietersberg in Maastricht, is keeping the minds of the local community busy. It is a hot issue on the local political agenda, both at city and provincial levels, and it is sparking off passionate discussions in the streets.

ENCI’s 60-year concession is expiring at the end of 2008, and the factory wants to ask the Provincial government of Limburg for an extension until 2020. All the heated debates are centred around one crucial question: Should the extension be granted or not?

What is actually the problem?
ENCI delves its own marl, which is the core element for the production of cement. The cement factory therefore greatly depends on digging concessions to be able to continue its operations.

These concessions have been a source of constant struggle in the past, and remain so today. In 1938, when ENCI obtained a 50 percent share of the Dutch cement market, the provincial government decided that it was time to have a say in the factory’s marl digging activities and adopted a provincial regulation one year later binding these activities to concessions. As a result, ENCI’s future became uncertain. The company wanted to expand, but the Province wished to first consider the implications that the exploitation of the marl would have for the surrounding area. The cement factory was forced to work with a renewable three-month concession.

ENCI however continued to develop its plans for expansion during the Second World War. This was used as a pretext to give the German occupants the impression that the factory’s employees were working on important tasks and must be exempt from ‘Arbeitseinsatz’ or forced labour. The plans included erecting a new factory in the quarry around the fifth oven.

ENCI eventually informed the Dutch minister of Trade and Industry about its plans in December 1945, sparking off a national debate about the legitimacy of the exploitation of the St Pietersberg marl for industrial purposes. It was a polemical topic, which was discussed in tourist magazines just as much as in Parliament.

After critical negotiations, ENCI finally obtained a concession in 1948. The factory was authorised to exploit the St Pietersberg over an area covering 100 hectares for a period of 60 years. The annual amount of marl that could be dug was fixed at 600,000 tons.

As the demand for cement increased faster than expected, the provincial authorities in 1966 allowed ENCI to expand the digging area with another 31 hectares.

The main problem facing ENCI today is that its 60-year concession is now coming to an end.

Should ENCI get a new concession until 2020 as requested?

Opinions vary greatly between Maastrichters and other parties involved, and the debate is taken on in many different levels.

Diverging standpoints

Sint Pietersberg Adembenemend
After collecting several thousands of signatures from voters registered in Maastricht, the civil-society group Sint Pietersberg Adembenemend (Breathtaking Sint Pietersberg) recently presented a citizens’ proposal (burgerinitiatief) to both the Provincial Council (6000 signatures) and the the City Council (4300 signatures) to bring the subject on the agenda and (re)start a political debate on the future of the mountain. (source: Party for the Animals)

The Sint Pietersberg Adembenemend group is a collective of various environmental and/or anti-ENCI associations, such as ENCI-Stop, Kloar Loch and Stichting MilieuDefensie. It is asking for a closure of the ENCI cement factory at the latest in 2010.

Some of the group’s arguments can be described as follows:
- the 60-year concession granted back in 1948 is now over and it’s time for the provincial government to keep its word and put an end to the industrial exploitation of the area.
- Maastricht used to be an industrial city in the past, but it is now gradually changing into a knowledge city. Because of space limitations, what is left over from the St Pietersberg should be used in a sustainable manner. Opening the area for cultural and leisure activities can also create new and sustainable forms of employment.
- Next to marl, ENCI also burns great amounts of industrial waste; its incinerator is located very close to the city, causing heavy pollution.

Liberal party
On the political spectrum, opinions differ greatly as well. John Aarts, who is both a member of the Maastricht City Council and of the Limburg Provincial Government for the liberal party VVD has an outspoken opinion against the closing of the factory: “When you get your driver’s license, you can prolong it after 10 years. Why shouldn’t this be possible for the ENCI concession?” Aarts emphasises the importance of the ENCI factory for the city of Maastricht: “In its 80 years of existence, ENCI has been the livelihood of many people in Maastricht, and it has always been known as a very social employer.”

Moreover, argues Aarts, ENCI’s activities have led to the creation of positive side products, such as the Enci-wood and the “D’n Observant” recreation area, which even ENCI-opponents would like to keep: “They apparently appreciate the side products of marl digging a lot!” Aarts also points out that it was thanks to the ENCI quarries that the famous mosasaur fossil Bèr was discovered in the marl of the St Pietersberg.

Christian-democrat party
The Christian-democrat party CDA does not want to issue premature statements on the matter, preferring to wait until provincial deputy Bert Kersten is in a position to make a well-informed decision. However, CDA city-council member Peter Geelen stresses that employment is a very important aspect for the Christian-democrats. Next to this, the CDA party claims that it also wants to pay attention to the environment. Geelen sums up his party’s position by stating that “thoroughness comes first, and setting an end date for the ENCI should not be part to a worthy farewell for the factory.”

Green party
The Green party Groen Links believes however that the citizens of Maastricht would be better off if the ENCI area would be used for sustainable and clean activities. It set up a contest to collect ideas from the public for possible activities and granted the winning prize to a proposal by Start-Enci-Nu, which envisioned the building of bridges between humankind and nature in the quarry. While acknowledging that ENCI might stay active in some parts of the area, the proposal suggests that the main marl digging area would become available for the creation of a new centre of industry for young, innovative and sustainable businesses. This project would have the potential to become a leading model for total self-sufficiency in energy, water and heat usage.

 

Democratic party
The Democratic Party D66 pleads for a closure of ENCI in 2010 because it believes that ENCI is damaging the environment. D66 argues that it is actually advocating for the same option put forward by ENCI itself a couple years ago, when it proposed to close down the factories and return the quarry to nature. According to D66, the company’s main reason for wanting to carry on its activities now is linked to economic factors. D66 argues however that a closure of the factory would not mean that all its employees would find themselves without work from one day to the other. In fact, the quarries will take years to close down. For the D66 party in Maastricht there is no ground for the often heard argument that a closure in 2010 will directly put all the factory’s employees on the streets.

Other views
On the non-political side, the workers’ organisation FNV Bondgenoten is of the opinion that employment is the most important aspect in the discussion. “If ENCI gets a ‘no’ or a limited concession, a great amount of jobs will get lost at ENCI and at some of its subcontractors. This is unnecessary, since Maastricht has long proven that living and working can go hand in hand.” (source: Maastricht city website, ENCI dossier)

According to Maastricht University Professor of Economics and UNU-MERIT director Luc Soete, ENCI’s reasons in asking for an extension are purely motivated by financial gains. He writes on his weblog that ENCI, which is now part of the German Heidelberg Cement group, is making a profit of EUR 18 million a year, or EUR 50.000 every single day. He explains that there are only 14 workers currently engaged in the excavation activities, but that these 14 workers are bringing a profit for the ENCI of more than EUR 1 million per person, every year.


ENCI Director Frans Erens claims that the factory is taking its social responsibility seriously. He says that ENCI will not dig for more marl than the amount stated in the current concession, nor go beyond the horizontal borders of the current quarry. Next to this, the company has established a plan for the quarry, to be implemented at the final date of closure in 2020. In this plan, called ‘Hidden Valleys’, the area will be given back to nature and left to grow as freely as possible, creating a rough landscape. (source: Maastricht city website, ENCI dossier)

 

In short, there are many different ideas and opinions about the future of the ENCI and the St Pietersberg. This month, ENCI will introduce its request for a new concession at the Province. The Province will ask for the advice of the Court of Mayor and Aldermen, which will first consult with the city council.

It will therefore take some before a decision is reached and until then, the debate will continue in Maastricht and surroundings.

By Nynke Salverda

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Supplement: The history of cement in Limburg

The use of cement is nearly as old as stone building. The Romans and Egyptians already used a natural kind of cement for their constructions. The need for a strong and sustainable binding material became especially urgent at the time of the Industrial Revolution, when the demand for more roads, bridges, tunnels and canals dramatically increased.

Cement factories arose in all industrialising countries, with England, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the United States taking the lead in this process. The establishment of ENCI in 1926 was the first big step of the Netherlands into the cement market.

The idea to exploit the Limburg marl for the production of cement was first conceived by a man from Delft named Ellerius Hermanius Roggenkamp in 1870, who wondered whether “there is good chalk in Limburg for the making of cement?” Yet, his question remained open and his dream of a cement factory in South Limburg didn’t came true at the time.

During the First World War, the Netherlands, who had remained neutral, experienced the lack of an own cement industry. Cement prices rose by more than 100 percent and with Belgium and Germany eliminated as providers, the Netherlands were confronted with a shortage of cement. Many building contracts had to be cancelled at the time.

The birth of ENCI
It was not until 1924 that serious action was taken. The ‘NV Kalkmergel Mij Sint Pieter’ decided to sell its chalk quarry and a Belgian-Swiss coalition formed by the Belgian industrial Martin Verbeeck obtained a concession from the city of Maastricht to establish a cement factory in the Maastricht district of Sint Pieter. The Eerste Nederlandse Cement Industrie (First Dutch Cement Industrie) or ENCI was created on July 15, 1926.

It had a projected annual capacity of 300.000 tons of cement, and became right away one of the largest enterprises in Europe. The construction of the first factory started in January 1927 along the Maastricht-Liege canal and a year and a half later, on September 27, 1928 the first of four ovens became operative. Around that time, the factory employed 250 to 300 workers from Maastricht. ENCI was the largest and best-equipped cement factory in Europe.

ENCI introduced a social policy as early as 1942, by creating a pension fund scheme for its employees, quite a unique initiative for that period. ENCI also established a child support policy, hired a social worker and employed a cook in the canteen.

After the war, ENCI was given the task to help rebuild not only the area around Maastricht, but also the entire country. Demand for cement kept increasing throughout the years and in 1970, the factory produced more than 2.5 million tons of cement and clinker, compared to 300.000 tons in 1928. Along with the increased production, ENCI’s social policy also improved over the years. A five-day workweek was introduced in the 1960’s, and ENCI’s new pension plan, which granted 70 percent of their final wage to all employees, was described as revolutionary.

Downgradings
Yet, ENCI also experienced less flourishing periods. After the oil crisis of 1973, ENCI saw its sales decrease, and was forced to shrink. In 1975, 100 employees lost their jobs. In coordination with the workers’ unions however, ENCI agreed to a social plan allowing employees to be transferred to other companies or to get a departure premium. A new downgrading took place after the economic crises of 1981 and 1982. This time again, employees and the ENCI agreed to share the burden in order to avoid direct dismissals. ENCI lost half of its employees between 1974 and 1996. Currently, there are around 86 people working at the ENCI factory, only 14 of whom are actively involved with the delving of marl.

This is one of the great points of the current debate: what will happen to these workers if the factory has to close? The average worker is 48- years old and has no other work experience than at the ENCI, so finding a new job might not be easy.

Yet, Economy vs. Environment is a complicated debate, and in the case of Maastricht’s cement factory, it will last until the Province reaches a final decision.

By Nynke Salverda

An intern at the European Journalism Centre, Nynke Salverda graduated from the University College Maastricht, with a bachelor in international relations, and plans to study at the University of Uppsala in Sweden to get a masters in peace and conflict studies.