Mr Luis Guillermo Solís, President of Costa Rica, visited the new Bekaert Dramix® plant in Costa Rica, where he was hosted by Mr Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of Bekaert and the Regional Bekaert Management Team. The President was accompanied by Mr Mora, Minister of Foreign Trade Affairs and representatives of the Government of Costa Rica.

The inauguration ceremony that took place last Friday was attended by Mrs Montero Jiménez, Mayor of Orotina, several diplomatic, governmental and business association representatives, the members of the Board of Directors of Bekaert Costa Rica SA, and key customers and business contacts.

Bekaert Costa Rica SA manufactures Dramix® steel fibers for the construction sector. Dramix® is a Bekaert designed and patented steel fiber for the reinforcement of concrete in industrial flooring and building projects, as well as in infrastructure applications such as tunnels and mine shafts. Bekaert took the decision to invest in a Dramix® manufacturing platform in Costa Rica to serve infrastructure and construction markets in the Americas.

Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of Bekaert, commented: “Establishing a foothold in Costa Rica is consistent with our strategy of investing in markets with growth perspectives. This location is excellent as an export hub to both North and Latin America, where we expect continued growth opportunities for advanced solutions serving the construction markets. We highly appreciate the Government’s commitment in providing support and guidance to investors. This has been demonstrated in all phases of Bekaert’s investment projects in Costa Rica, and by the visit of the President and the Minister, which was a great honor to our company.”