Cementos Mexicano's beginnings can be traced back nearly a century, with the opening of the Cementos Hidalgo plant in northern Mexico in 1906. By 1920, Cementos Portland Monterrey had begun operations with 20 000 tons of annual production capacity. In 1931 these two companies merged to become Cementos Mexicano, which now goes by the name Cemex. By the mid 1960's, Cemex had become a regional player by acquiring Cementos Maya's Merida plant and building two new plants in different Mexican cities. By 1973, Cemex had established a national presence by installing new kilns or furnaces in their Merida and Monterrey plants.For the first time in 1976, Cemex goes public and is listed on the National Stock Exchange. That same year, they acquire three plants in Guadalajara to become the country's leader in the market. By 1982, Cemex had already begun focusing on markets outside of their borders by doubling the volumes of their exports. In 1987, Cemex had acquired another large competitor which gave them increasingly more access to the lucrative Mexican central market. That same year they establish CEMEXnet, a satellite communications system that connected all of their production facilities. This was the company's first real use of technology to improve their market position, but it definitely would not be the last. From 1989 to 1992, Cemex had become one of the ten largest cement producers in the world, and by acquiring Spain's two largest cement companies, they had shown their strengths on an international level. By 1994, Cemex had established their own in-house information technology supplier, had entered into new markets by acquiring plants in the Caribbean, Central America, as well as in Texas. These acquisitions positioned Cemex perfectly for exports in other key markets. ...