01 April 2015
Ashaka Cement’s pre-tax profit rose by 84.5% in 2014 01 April 2015
Nigeria: Lafarge Africa's Ashaka Cement's 2014 pre-tax profit rose by 84.5% year-on-year to US$26m. However, its revenue declined by 2.58% year-on-year to US$106m.
Germany: Haver & Boecker has announced that its newest generation INTEGRA® Form-Fill-Seal design system for filling tubular film bags with cement, building products, minerals, chemical products, food and feed stuffs, will be launched by the end of 2015. The largest system is designed for speeds of up to 3200bags/hr.
In addition to speed, the INTEGRA is also able to handle a broader range of fillable product types, weights and packaging types and materials. In addition to powders, granulates and micro-granulates, the system is also able to fill liquids and special products (such as flakes or products with pieces) into valve-type or plastic tubular film bags. Every type of packaging can be used independently of shape and material. The weight spectrum ranges from 1 – 50kg. 2000kg is possible with Big Bags.
"We can find a solution for almost every possible 'product – packaging – weight' combination, completely customised to suit customer wishes," said Robert Brüggemann, business unit manager of Haver Chemicals.
ACICO Cement launches new white cement line 01 April 2015
Kuwait: ACICO Cement has launched new production lines for interlock tiles and white cement in response to the increasing local market demand.
ACICO Cement's CEO Ahmad Al-Khaled announced that the step came within the strategic plan that aims to place ACICO in the leading position among various construction materials manufacturers. "The new production lines came in response to the great need for these products in the local market, for both public and private projects," said Al-Khaled.
Al-Khaled said that white cement now accounts for 25% of the company's total production. "There is a demand from the government and private sides, especially from the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Housing," said Al-Khaled. "Despite the rise in diesel prices, which affected our transport costs by 60 – 70%, ACICO did not raise the prices of its products. We expect the government to continue subsidies on diesel," said Al-Khaled.
Global Cheese spoof goes viral 01 April 2015
Pro Global Media - publishers of Global Cement Magazine and Global Gypsum Magazine - has had a viral hit with its 2015 April Fools' Day hoax.
In announcing a foray into a new sector - 'Global Cheese' - the hoax pushed the bounds of credibility and credulity. In launching an associated fully-functioning cheese-themed mobile-optimised responsive website - www.Global-Cheese.com (produced within 24 hours and created by web editor David Perilli), the hoax had real depth and led to further SEO triumphs. "Appearing at No. 1 in Google's news ranking (for 'Global cheese') is quite an accomplishment," said Robert McCaffrey, editorial director.
The list of cheeses on the news release - given below - spells out A-P-R-I-L - F-O-O-L as an acrostic, while the pictures of cheeses on the www.Global-Cheese.com web site also indicates the prank.
For the avoidance of doubt, Pro Global Media is not launching Global Cheese!
The original news story is as below. Enjoy!
UK: Pro Global Media Ltd, the publisher of Global Cement Magazine, Global Gypsum Magazine and organiser of the popular range of associated conferences, is proud to announce that it will shortly be launching into a new sector: Global Cheese.
While the synergies between the cheese and building materials sectors are not immediately apparent, Editorial Director Robert McCaffrey points out that the subject areas share more than they may appear to. "Some will say that cement and cheese have as much in common as chalk and cheese," says cheese-fan McCaffrey. "However, both sectors concern commodity products that have some differentiation between world regions and suppliers. Many of the equipment producers supply both the cement and cheese sectors and cheese can also be heated into a tasty fondue. Indeed, as an example of a synergistic cement-cheese crossover product, Ciment Fondu is a type of calcium-aluminate cement much favoured in France although, strictly, it does not contain any cheese."
"I was also keen to start working in this exciting area," adds Paul Brown, Commercial Director, "since cheese is a lot tastier than cement or gypsum, especially with a nice glass of red wine."
Visit www.Global-Cheese.com for more details.
Pembrokeshire Extra Mature Cheddar
India: Vaishno Cement Company Ltd has appointed Sarita Agarwal as an independent non-executive director with effect from 27 March 2015.
LafargeHolcim merger receives clearance in India 01 April 2015
India: Lafarge and Holcim have received clearance from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for their proposed merger.
A package of asset divestments has been agreed with the CCI which includes Lafarge's Sonadih cement plant and its Jojobera grinding station, with a total of approximately 5Mt/yr of production capacity, in Eastern India. LafargeHolcim will have a cement capacity of around 68Mt/yr in India.
The divestment process will be carried out in the framework of the relevant social processes and ongoing dialogue with the employee representatives' bodies. The divestment process will be completed subject to the closing of the merger between Lafarge and Holcim.