Cement
Artificial cement, the mysteries of which were unveiled by Louis Vicat in 1817, is our historical core business.
Today, our production capacity amounts to over 30 million metric tons. As its most important ingredient, cement gives concrete a number of properties, especially its strength. It is a fine mineral powder obtained by firing and milling a mixture of crushed limestone and clay.
Focus on
titre
Prompt quick-setting cement
Not only is Prompt natural quick-setting cement practical for works requiring serviceability in the shortest possible time, due to the very high speed at which it sets and hardens, but it also has a low environmental footprint. It is unusual in that:
- it is mined rather than extracted from open-air quarries
- it is fired at a low temperature, which means low CO2 emissions.
Its properties take the knowhow of craftsmen to higher spheres and enable heritage architects to have 19th and 20th-century works of historical interest restored using the original methods.
The different kinds of cement available
Vicat's cement expertise
The Vicat group produces a broad range of solutions:
- several kinds of artifical cements
- natural cement
- hydraulic road binders
The different types of cements are for different applications such as housing, bridges, tunnels, and situations where the concrete is subject to aggressive environments.
The different properties of these cements depend on:
- the chemical composition of the raw materials
- where applicable, the addition of complementary ingredients during milling (limestone filler, pozzolan, fly ash, blastfurnace slag, and gypsum)
- the fineness to which they are milled.
The main types of cements produced by the Vicat group correspond to and comply with European standards:
CEM I (Portland cement) and CEM II (Portland composite cement): these are the cements most commonly used in conventional reinforced-concrete structures—bridges, industrial and commercial buildings, and housing. Some special formulations of these cements are also used in underground works in aggressive environments or under the sea.
CEM III (blastfurnace cement) and CEM V (composite cement): cements giving off low heat during hydration and with low sulfate contents, used for underground works in aggressive environments or for maritime works
CEM IV (pozzolanic cements): cements using mineral ingredients of volcanic origin that display hydraulic properties. We manufacture and market this kind of cement only in Italy
Natural Cement Prompt : a special quick-setting, rapid-hardening cement used for fast masonry work, underwater work, and drains and sewers, and also for restoration and decoration of heritage assets and in eco-construction. It is the Group’s historic cement, having been produced since 1970 from a natural Alpine rock. Its performance is exceptional, developing high strength immediately and with little shrinkage.
Hydraulic road binders were developed to reduce the demand for quarrying of prime materials and to encourage the use of site materials for roadworks.
Did you know? >All our standard cements are certified against the specifications of standard EN 197 1 by AFNOR Certification. Our special cements are certified in accordance with complementary characteristics defined in the requirements for the NF LH mark and associated standards.
Locations
Our facilities
- Brazil
- France
- Switzerland
- Italy
- United States
- Egypt
- Senegal
- Mauritania
- Mali
- Turkey
- Kazakhstan
- India