13 November 2015
Loesche supplies two vertical roller mills to Arabian Cement Company 13 November 2015
Saudi Arabia: Arabian Cement Company (ACC) is planning to build a new 10,000t/day brownfield cement line in Rabigh.
In order to increase the cement grinding capacities in phase 1, prior to the completion of the new line in Phase 2, ACC placed an order with China National Building Materials Group Corporation (CNBM) for a grinding plant, including two Loesche vertical roller mills.
The project execution will be done on a fast-track concept, which ensures a project schedule of only 13 months. Loesche will supply two large vertical roller mills of Type LM 63.3+3 with a table diameter of 6.3m and a main drive size of 7400kW. Under the fast-track concept, Loesche will not only supply the mills, but also all process related equipment like process filters, process fans, hot gas generators, as well as the complete basic engineering of the grinding plant to ensure a state-of-the-art plant design.
Semen Indonesia commissions new cement packing plant in Indonesia 13 November 2015
Indonesia: PT Semen Indonesia will commission a new cement packing plant in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, according to company Sales Department Chief Bambang Djoko.
"The packing plant will strengthen the position of Semen Indonesia in the cement industry in West Kalimantan and in the country in general. Currently the company has a 35% share of the cement market in the province," said Djoko. "Infrastructure development in Pontianak and West Kalimantan in general has been especially fast, opening better opportunities for the cement market in this region."
Mukhamad Saifudin, the Commercial Director of Semen Gresik, the parent company of Semen Indonesia, said that sales of Semen Gresik in West Kalimantan had increased by 0.5% year-on-year to 117,000t tons in the first 10 months of 2015. Saifudin attributed the increase in sales to construction of road infrastructure, shopping malls, hotels and tourist resorts in Singkawang. Starting in August 2015, sales of Semen Gresik in the province have continued to increase. Saifudin said that bagged cement accounts for 75% of the company's cement sales, indicating that the property sector accounts for the largest part of sales.
Tianrui Group will help fix Shanshui debt if EGM vote passes 13 November 2015
China: The largest shareholder in Shanshui Cement, Tianrui Group, has said that it could help solve the debt woes of Shanshui Cement, if it is successful in a bid to change the company's board at an extraordinary general meeting on 25 November 2015, according to Bloomberg.
Shanshui, which is at the centre of a shareholder scrap for control, failed to pay US$314m of onshore notes due on 12 November 2015. It is at least the sixth Chinese company to default in the local bond market in 2015 as borrowers struggle amid an economic slowdown. Shanshui, which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, has decided to file a winding up petition and seek the appointment of provisional liquidators there. Two banks have asked for early repayment of Shanshui's loans and the default scare has spread to the asset-backed securities market.
Li Heping, Vice Chairman of Tianrui, said that Shanshui's filing for a winding-up petition has raised potential costs for his company because it now faces finding a debt solution. Tianrui, which holds 28% of Shanshui, would get 'nothing in return' from its stake if it didn't help, he said. China National Building Material Company and Asia Cement Corporation are also shareholders in Shanshui with 16.7% and 20.9%, respectively.
Shanshui's Chief Financial Officer Henry Li said that noteholders could try and get their money back by asking the court to liquidate Shanshui's assets, which would be the worst outcome. In addition to the US$314m that Shanshui failed to repay, the company has another US$800m onshore notes outstanding, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
Barbados government wants reduction in tariff on cement 13 November 2015
Barbados: The Barbados government has said that it stands by its decision to lower the 60% tariff rate on cement to protect Arawak Cement Limited (ACL), a subsidiary of Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL).
Commerce Minister Donville Inniss explained the rationale behind the government's decision, as both companies have expressed concerns over the decision to lower the tariff. Inniss said that the intent was not to cause any harm, but to help drive efficiencies in the system and to ensure consumers got a better price on the much-needed raw material. "We have our differences on the methodologies employed and the policies being pursued, but at the end of the day, we want to ensure that ACL remains a viable entity in Barbados," said Inniss.
Inniss said that he was supportive of the company's restructuring plans, as well as its efforts to bring its prices down, praising the company's commitment to increasing exports of Portland grey cement from Barbados. Earlier this week, ACL's Manager Rupert Greene said the company would announce the number of workers to be made redundant as part of the restructuring programme by the weekend. Greene said that at least 40 workers would be sent home and that discussions are continuing with the Barbados Workers Union (BWU) and the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW). Greene said that with a 65% drop in the Barbados market demand for cement over a 10-year period, there was a need to 'restore some balance to the equation.'
Holcim Romania to have new CEO soon 13 November 2015
Romania: Holcim Romania will announce its new Chief Executive Officer shortly, as its current CEO, French Francois Petry, was put in charge of Agreggates Industries, LafargeHolcim's operations in the UK, from 1 December 2015.
Petry has run Holcim Romania for almost two years. He took the helm of the company on 1 February 2014, after having run France's Aggregates division since 2008. Holcim Romania runs two cement plants, one grinding plant, 14 concrete stations, three aggregates stations, two special binders stations and one cement terminal. It employs around 800 people.