16 September 2015
Zambezi Portland Cement on the backfoot following Dangote launch 16 September 2015
Zambia: Zambezi Portland Cement (ZPC) says it has been losing US$2.5/bag (50kg) of cement it has sold since Dangote Cement entered the market. Operations director Daniele Ventriglia said that, despite maintaining its market share, the competition in the cement business was stiff.
Ventriglia said that ZPC would invest US$4m in new state-of-the-art block-making machinery, which will provide a higher proportion of value-added products. "The machines are expected to arrive from Italy in the next three months, before the year ends. Production of blocks will increase by 20%. An additional 25 people will be employed," he said. Ventriglia added that ZPC had remained competitive in block production because its product was of high quality and at an affordable price.
Sengileevsky Cement sends first cement batch by barge 16 September 2015
Russia: Sengileevsky Cement Plant has begun sending cement by barge. The company sent its first batch of 1700t of cement to a distribution centre in Cheboksary during the last week of August 2015.
"Our company is developing further opportunities to ship, not only cement in bulk, but also bagged cement by water transport," said Mikhail Skorokhod, President of Eurocement.
The Sengileevsky Cement Plant is situated on the bank of the Volga River, making it easy to transport cement to the Ulyanovsk region and surrounding areas, as well as further afield. Shipping by barge is relatively low cost, which should help to stabilise cement prices.