23 January 2018
Halla Cement sold to Asia Cement for US$723m 23 January 2018
South Korea: Baring Private Equity Asia has sold Halla Cement to Asia Cement for US$723m. The combined business will be the third largest cement player in Korea, with a combined market share of 19%.
Baring Private Equity Asia bought Lafarge Halla Cement from LafargeHolcim in 2016. It took full control of the cement producer in 2017. It was then reported to be shortlisting potential buyers for the company in September 2017.
Halla Cement operates one cement plant at Okgye and three slag cement grinding plants. It has a cement production capacity of 7.6Mt/yr. It also runs 11 distribution centres in the country, consisting of seven coastal and four inland centres.
Nuvoco Vistas to spend US$157m on power plants and waste heat recovery for cement plants 23 January 2018
India: Nirma Group’s subsidiary Nuvoco Vistas plans to invest US$157m on captive power plants and waste heat recovery systems for three of its cement plants in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. The cement producer plans to save around US$15m from the upgrades over the next two to three years, according to the Hindu newspaper. Nirma Group purchased three cement plants and two grinding plants from Lafarge India with a total production capacity of 11Mt/yr in 2016.
Pakistan: Mian Saqib Nisar, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, has said that the Supreme Court will prevent the construction of any new cement plants or upgrades to existing plants near Katas Raj Temples in Punjab. However, he said that no existing plants in the area would be shut down, according to the Business Recorder newspaper. The investigation by the court had been taken in response to media reports that the pond at the Hindu heritage site was drying out due to water consumption by nearby cement plants. The local government has also been taking steps to stop new cement plants being built in parts of the province.
Aumund to supply equipment for upgrade at LafargeHolcim’s Martres-Tolosane cement plant 23 January 2018
France: Aumund has won an order to supply equipment for an upgrade at LafargeHolcim’s Martres-Tolosane cement plant. Aumund Fördertechnik is supplying a package including belt bucket elevators to feed the 96m tall heat exchanger and the raw meal silo at the plant. Two Aumund BWZ chain bucket elevators will be used to convey raw meal and filter dust, and for silo feed. An Aumund KZB pan conveyor with a vertical lift of 9m will be installed under the clinker cooler.
Seven Aumund Louise-type drag chain conveyors with short centre distances of 13 m and conveying capacities between 7 and 50t/hr will extract filter dust. Two Centrex machines (25 – 250t/hr) will be extracting a mixture of limestone and clay as well as iron ore from silos up to 7m high.
The Euro100m modernisation project at the Martres-Tolosane works is part of LafargeHolcim’s Euro300m investment project in France. Once upgraded, the plant will be equipped to burn alternative fuels, and energy consumption and CO2 emissions will be reduced. Work on the project will start in the final quarter of 2018 and be completed by mid-2020.
Cem'In'Eu to open first grinding plant in May 2018 23 January 2018
France: Cem'In'Eu intends to open its first cement grinding plant in May 2018. The 0.24Mt/yr plant is located at Tonneins in Lot et Garonne, according to Les Echos newspaper. It has had an investment of Euro18m. The company is planning to open new grinding pants at the rate of one per year.
New locations include Chalon-sur-Saone in Saone-et-Loire, Portes-lès-Valence in Drôme, Montreuil-Bellay in Maine-et-Loire and Mulhouse-Ottmarsheim. Internationally the company is also considering new plants in London in the UK, Poland, Switzerland and Germany. Financing for the company is provided by Pergam, a French private equity firm that has already raised Euro33m.
Big Boss Cement appeals against investment board rebuff 23 January 2018
Philippines: Big Boss Cement has appealed against a decision by the Board of Investment (BOI) denying its application for registration because it lacked ‘proof of concept’. Big Boss’ president Gilbert Cruz said that the new cement company’s application was turned down in 2017 because it was not producing clinker, according to the Manila Bulletin newspaper. It plans to open a cement grinding plant in Pampanga in March 2018.
Entreprise des Ciments et Dérivés d’El Chellif to open new production line in June 2018 23 January 2018
Algeria: Entreprise des Ciments et Dérivés d’El Chellif (ECDE) plans to open a new 2Mt/yr production line at its plant in Chlef in June 2018. The project covers an area of 15ha and has been presented as a new cement plant, according to the El Watan newspaper. Overall the new line will increase the plants production capacity to 4Mt/yr. The company plans to increase its exports to make a return on its investment.
Tunisia: Ciments de Bizerte’s cement and lime deliveries rose by 3% year-on-year to 0.63Mt in 2017 from 0.61Mt in 2016. Overall the cement producer’s turnover increased by 3.74%, according to African Manager. It reported a total turnover of US$25m in 2016. Upgrade work to the plant’s wharf is expected to increase exports in 2018 as well as receives petcoke supplies.
UK: Fairport Engineering has been awarded a corporate social responsibility rating. The accreditation provides a measure of the engineering company’s corporate citizenship and its business practices. In the cement sector Fairport offers a number of systems including materials handling, bulk raw material intake and processing to clinker grinding, and blending, cement storage, packing and palletising.