15 October 2015
Oman Cement posts 4% revenue increase 15 October 2015
Oman: Oman Cement's revenue increased by 4% year-on-year to US$31.6m for the third quarter of 2015. On a quarter-by-quarter basis, its revenue grew by 12.4%. Oman Cement's net profit was US$4.02m compared to US$6.03m in the third quarter of 2014.
Tanzania: Mbeya Cement, a LafargeHolcim subsidiary, has launched a higher strength cement and stated that its production capacity will triple to 1.1Mt/yr at the end of October 2015. The company, which is 35% locally-owned, said that the cement 'Tembo Supaset 42.5' is used by civil contractors and pre-casters.
Lafarge Tanzania's CEO Catherine Langreney said that the product specifically addresses the needs for block making, concrete mix, mega-structures and high visibility infrastructure projects like bridges, roads and stadiums. "This brand is the result of almost one year of careful research and development by our cement technical experts," said Langreney. "Supaset CEM II is a specially-formulated Portland composite cement that is engineered to meet the fast-setting requirements of block makers."
The introduction of Supaset is likely to assist Mbeya Cement to increase its market share in the block making segment, improve customer satisfaction with Lafarge brands and reinforce its position as a leader in innovation within the Tanzanian construction industry. Langreney said that, before the end of 2015, Mbeya Cement will launch two new innovative products to meet demand of fast growing construction industry and the economy at large.
To cater for future demand, Mbeya Cement plans to start a new vertical grinding production plant, the first in sub-Sahara Africa, at the end of October 2015. "The new 700,000Mt/yr plant will elevates our capacity to 1.1Mt/yr," said Langreney.
Court ruled in favour of Cementos de Chihuahua 15 October 2015
Bolivia/Mexico: A civil court in La Paz, Bolivia has ruled to suspend the damages sentence imposed by the Inter-American Commercial Arbitration Commission (CIAC) that obliged Mexican cement company Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) to pay Bolivian investment company Compania de Inversiones Mercantiles (Cimsa) compensation. The decision, announced on 9 October 2015, sets the arbitration court to issue a new resolution and cancels the embargo sentence ruled by a court in Colorado, US. This resolution obliged GCC to provide information about its properties in Colorado and to cancel any assets sales in that area.
INC could be turned into cement importer immediately 15 October 2015
Paraguay: Paraguay's Industry and Trade Minister Gustavo Leite has revealed that the possibility of turning Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) into a cement importer with immediate effect is being considered by the authorities, which are concerned about on-going cement supply issues and cement prices.
A public-private partnership to increase capacity to 1Mt/yr is being sought, but this will require a new cement plant, which takes between three and four years, so it will not solve the existing problems. A tender process to import cement could be organised before the end of October 2015 and the product could arrive in November 2015.
Secil to build new 2Mt/yr cement plant in Brazil via Supremo 15 October 2015
Brazil: Portugal's Secil plans to upgrade its production capacity in Brazil by 2Mt/yr by the end of 2015. The move results from the addition of a new US$149m plant by its local division, Supremo, in Adrianopolis, Parana. Supremo also runs another plant in Pomerode, Catarina. The new plant will increase Secil's total cement production capacity from 7.65Mt/yr to 9.65Mt/yr, a 26% rise.