By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat Henry Sy Jr.’s Big Boss Cement, Inc. (BBCI) has appealed a decision by the Board of Investments (BOI) denying its application for registration because it lacked “proof of concept” on what it claimed to be a game-changing cement manufacturing technology. In an interview at the product launch, BBCI President Gilbert Cruz said they filed Friday a motion for reconsideration to the BOI to show their “proof of concept.” The company is set to start cement operation in March this year to produce 1.5 million bags of cement a month at its proposed plant in Pampanga. Big Boss cement will be sold at  a pick-up price of R183-R185 per bag. According to Cruz, their initial application filed last year was disqualified by BOI because their process does not produce clinker, which is produced from the kiln that cooks the cement ingredients in high heat. Once the clinker is cooled, it  grinds it and mix with small amounts of gypsum and limestone to produce cement. Cruz, an inventor and claims to have tweaked the rugby compounds to remove its addicting element, said that BBCI will actually produce clinker but in a different way: No kiln, no cooking. “DTI/BOI perhaps saw that probably this game changing began to communicate with us again,” Cruz said, noting that since government people are not scientists they only see that “black is black and white is white.” He said their technology, which he claimed to be the first in the world and a Filipino invention, is a completely green technology. Cruz said that 5 percent of bad emissions have been attributed to the traditional cement manufacturing. “This is what we are trying to avoid, that is why we don’t use kiln,”  he said. “This is truly different from the traditional,” he said noting this technology makes their processes very environment-friendly because there is no carbon dioxide emission from the kiln. Cruz explained that his invention allows the blending of pozzolan and portland processes to come up with type 1B cement for general construction purposes. But Cruz said his invention will prove it can meet or even exceed the required standards. Cruz also claimed that Big Boss cement will have a compressive strength of 40-day megapascal, double that of the standard 21-day megapascal. 21 megapascal is equivalent to a strength of 3,000 PSI (pounds per square inch). “BBCI has 40 plus PSI. Big Boss has unlocked the standards to break the barrier,” he said noting that their cement passes the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. Because the process does not need kiln, he said, the investment would be a lot cheaper. He indicated an investment of P3 billion-P4 billion only as against P17 billion to P20 billion for a greenfield traditional technology. BBCI is Sy Jr.’s personal investment. Following their market introduction, Cruz said the BOI is now more receptive and would like them to come back.  He said they have already applied for patent for this new technology. In fact, he said, a lot of people (investors) are already “knocking on our doors” but said they would like to get the right partner. He was confident that Big Boss will serve as a general construction cement and even in high-rise buildings. BBCI will also follow all the standards requirements of the Department of Trade and Industry. “If it works in the lab, it works in the field,” he stressed. Demand for cement is expected to further grow on strong growth in the construction sector, especially with the implementation of the government’s massive infrastructure program. Demand has already outstripped local supply. Local plants were expected to have produced only 24 million metric tons in 2017, while imports contributed 6 million MT.