17 August 2015
UK: Established UK liquid waste and industrial services tanker specialist, Greens Environmental, has launched a new high vacuum air conveying plant called the iVac.
The iVac is believed to be the only British-made deep vacuum and pressure discharge unit on the market. It was designed to uplift heavy wet and dry industrial materials, including cement, aggregate and powder products and is particularly suitable for product recovery. The iVac has a 16.5m3 capacity tank to maximise payload and can operate with airflow up to 8000cfm (cubic feet per minute) with a vacuum level down in excess of 90%. It also features an automatic filter media cleansing unit to maximise operating time.
Additionally, for the first time, Greens Environmental has made its range of vehicles and equipment available to hire for short, medium and long-term projects, a move made in response to customer demand.
"The iVac is the result of an ambitious year's investment of around Euro280,000 in design and development, culminating in the release of the iVac Series," said Paul Cutter, director of the iVAC project. The tanker will be manufactured in-house, so that the iVAC team can retain full technical control.
"We wanted to make a product that not only met our customers' technical requirement, but made commercial sense to all parties. We have simplified the technical characteristics of the units without compromising on quality or results, which has resulted in much lower manufacturing costs. This cost saving is, quite simply, passed down the line to the client," said Phil Green, director of Greens Environmental.
CCNN reports US$9.64m profit in 2014 17 August 2015
Nigeria: The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), part of BUA Group, has declared a post-tax profit of US$9.64m for the 2014 financial year, some 23.1% higher than in the 2013 financial year.
CCNN chairman, Abdulsamad Rabiu, said that despite lower cement sales recorded in the last quarter of 2014 mainly due to pockets of unrest in CCNN's business markets, the company's focus on efficiency and strategic investments resulted in steady growth during the period. From a high of US$13.9m in 2013, CCNN's production and operational expenses significantly declined to US$12.1m in 2014. CCNN also announced plans to expand its cement plant to 2Mt/yr of cement capacity with a US$241m investment.
Fosroc invests in Idea Kimya 17 August 2015
Turkey: Fosroc, an international construction chemicals group, has announced a major step in its global growth strategy with the agreement to acquire, subject to regulatory approval, a substantial majority shareholding in the Turkish market leader for cement additives, Idea Kimya.
Andre Ladurelli, CEO of Fosroc, said that the acquisition signals a highly ambitious phase of growth. "Our strategy is to continue achieving double-digit organic growth in existing businesses and enter new territories through the formation of new ventures as well as through acquisitions. The acquisition of Idea Kimya is an excellent example of this strategy, demonstrating our commitment to growth while providing a substantial platform for further development in Turkey and its neighbouring countries. Our attitude is that we want to seize the day, lead the market and out-class our rivals on product, expertise and service," said Ladurelli.
Having recently completed new ventures in Myanmar, Vietnam and Iraq and with a host of other projects currently being developed, Ladurelli cited the example of Kenya as one of Fosroc's key future strategic ventures, through which it aims to open up the East African market. Fosroc's sales in the first half of 2015 increased in line with expectation. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 18% year-on-year.
"The integration of Idea Kimya into the Fosroc Group will create new high growth opportunities. Fosroc will provide a thorough range of construction chemicals products and solutions, with the support of their global organisation," said Hakan Gulseren, managing director and one of the founders of Idea Kimya.
LafargeHolcim to expedite merger process in Indonesia 17 August 2015
Indonesia: Holcim Indonesia and Lafarge Cement Indonesia have sped up their merger process, slated to finish by the end of 2015, in a bid to increase the companies' market shares. The companies have remained under different management and targeted separate market segments despite the merger of their parent companies.
"We hope to finish the merger process by the end of 2015. As Holcim is listed on the bourse, we are still waiting for the permit from Bapepam (Capital Market Supervisory Agency) and KPPU (Business Competition Supervisory Commission)," said Holcim vice president of sales Juhans Suryantan.
The speedy merger process is part of Holcim's efforts to expand its share of the Indonesian cement market, which stood at 15% before the merger, after Semen Indonesia with 43.7% and PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa with 30%. Meanwhile, Lafarge Indonesia had a 3% market share, placing it in fifth place.
Juhans added that both product brands would stay separate after the merger. "We have not decided on the brands. We might still use our own brands for the next one or two years," he said. The brands are deemed not to overlap due to the different target markets of both companies, as Holcim has a stronger grip on Java and southern Sumatra, while Lafarge Indonesia was stronger in Aceh and northern Sumatra.
Xinjiang Tianshan Cement’s net loss widens 17 August 2015
China: Xinjiang Tianshan Cement's net loss grew to US$39.7m in the first half of 2015, compared to from US$3m in the same period of 2014. The company intends to invest US$19.9m in a power plant, according to Reuters.
Birla Corporation profits drop sharply 17 August 2015
India: Birla Corporation has witnessed a sharp drop in its first quarter profit to US$2.55m from US$15.2m a year ago. Income stood at US$119m against US$132m.
Harsh V Lodha, Birla Corporation chairman, said that poor demand in the company's major markets in the north and central regions put cement prices under severe pressure. He added that, though realisations during the quarter were very low, BCL could partially mitigate its impact on profitability by improving operational efficiencies in various areas. The resilient markets in east provided some relief. Lodha said that the company was installing equipment to set up the alternative fuel and raw material system to increase the use of alternative fuel on a continuous basis at its clinker units. This initiative to utilise agricultural waste and will be operational by the first quarter of its 2017 fiscal year, which ends on 30 June 2016.
India: LafargeHolcim has entered into a letter agreement with Birla Corporation Limited, subject to approval by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), for the divestment of certain assets in India as part of the merger for US$768m. The proceeds from the sale of the divestment business will be used to further reduce debt.
The assets include Lafarge's Sonadih cement plant and Jojobera grinding plant in Eastern India, which have 5.15Mt/yr of cement production capacity. The transaction with Birla Corporation will be submitted to the CCI for approval and is subject to other regulatory approvals and customary conditions. Following the divestment, LafargeHolcim will have around 68Mt/yr of cement capacity in India.