26 October 2016
Cemengal commissions a new Plug&Grind for Cemento Regional 26 October 2016
Guatemala: Cemengal has commissioned a new 12t/hr Plug&Grind portable grinding unit for Cemento Regional. The station will supply cement to south and central Guatemala including the capital, Guatemala City. First cement production at the site was marked by the attendance of Roberto Díaz Durán, president and CEO of Cemento Regional, Antonio González Gallego, president and CEO of Cemengal and Moisés Rodríguez Núñez, sales and marketing manager of Cemengal.
Eugenio Correa defends role in Cemex Maceo project 26 October 2016
Colombia: The broker named in an internal probe by Cemex Latam has defended his involvement with relation to the purchase of land and mining rights for a cement plant project in Maceo, Antioquia in comments to the La Republica newspaper. Eugenio Correa, representing Calizas y Minerales, says that he has only received US$6.85m from Cemex despite claims by Cemex that he is holding US$20.5m in funds for the project. He adds that Cemex conducted at least 25 visits from its engineers, lawyers and accountants at the Maceo site between July 2011 and December 2015 keeping it up to date on the project’s progress.
Correa says that he originally signed a memorandum of understanding with Cemex for the sale of 340 hectares, economic free zone and the mining rights for US$22.20m in August 2012. He adds that the contract was extended in April 2016 to June 2019. In late September 2016 Cemex dismissed several senior staff members in relation to the project and the subsidiary’s chief executive resigned.
President inaugurates new cement grinding plant in Mozambique 26 October 2016
Mozambique: President Filipe Nyusi has inaugurated a new US$24m cement grinding plant in Metuge, Cabo Delgado. The plant has a production capacity of 0.25Mt/yr. Cement produced at the site will be sold under the ‘African Elephant’ brand, according to the Mozambique News Agency. Once construction is complete the plant will employ 67 local workers alongside Chinese technical staff.
India: The shareholders of Jaiprakash Associates approved the sale of the group’s cement business to UltraTech Cement. According to the deal, arranged earlier in 2016, UltraTech Cement will buy Jaiprakash Associates' cement plants in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh, which have a total production capacity of 21.1Mt/yr, at an enterprise value of US$2.4bn. In addition, it will acquire a 4Mt/yr grinding plant being built in Uttar Pradesh.
Approval has been obtained from the Competition Commission of India, according to the Press Trust of India. The next step involves seeking approval from the concerned High Court and the final approval from capital markets regulator.
Emami Group plans 20Mt/yr expansion drive by 2021 26 October 2016
India: Emami Group is planning to build a cement production capacity of 15 – 20Mt/yr by 2021. It started operations at its 5.5Mt/yr cement plant in Chattisgarh in July 2016. In addition, two cement grinding plants are set to open in West Bengal and Odisha, according to the Press Trust of India. The West Bengal plant is due to open in January 2017.
"We aim to be among the top few players in the cement industry. Emami Cement plans to have a manufacturing capacity of 15 – 20Mt/yr over the next three to five years," said Aditya Agarwal, director of Emami Group.
Emami Cement has a limestone mine in Andhra Pradesh where it also plans to build a 2Mt/yr plant with an investment of US$225m. It also plans to build a 6Mt/yr plant in Rajasthan for US$524m.
Initially, the company plans to target markets in Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha and eastern Maharashtra's Vidharbha region. It sells cement under the 'Double Bull' brand.
New cement plant in Tunisia to open in 2018 26 October 2016
Tunisia: A new 1Mt/yr cement plant in Sidi Bouzid is set to open in 2018, according to Director General of Manufacturing Industry Brahim Chebili in an interview with African Manager. The project is budgeted at US$220m and will create 300 jobs.
Eagle Materials revenue rises slightly in first half of 2016 26 October 2016
US: Eagle Materials’ revenue has risen by 2.6% year-on-year to US$630m in the first half of 2016 from US$614m in the same period of 2015. Its net earnings rose by 56% to US$106m from US$67.6m. Revenue from its cement business rose by 10% to US$252m from US$229m. The company singled out the strong performance of its cement business in the second quarter of 2016 with record earnings. However, it also noted that average net cement sales price at its joint venture declined year-on-year due to the shift from oil well cement to construction-grade cement over the past year. Overall cement sales volumes remained static at 2.23Mt in the first half of 2016.
Holcim US Hagerstown cement plant celebrates US$96m upgrade 26 October 2016
US: Holcim US has officially completed its US$96m upgrade project to its Hagerstown cement plant in Maryland. The two-year modernisation project has helped the plant to adhere to NESHAP environmental rules and has increased production capacity at the site by 0.2Mt/yr.
"A cornerstone of the regional community for 113 years, we recognise the importance of this facility to the Hagerstown community," said John Stull, chief executive officer of US cement operations for LafargeHolcim. "Our investment to modernise clinker production represents our continued commitment to our customers and local manufacturing. The facility will continue to be a strong and reliable partner to the community for many more years to come."
The upgrades to the plant should deliver a more than a 60% reduction to nitrogen oxides (NOx), approximately a 50% reduction to sulfur dioxide (SO2) and more than a 75% reduction to Particulate Matter (PM) emissions from the plant.
Belgium: HeidelbergCement has completed the sale of its operations in Belgium, primarily consisting of Italcementi’s subsidiary Compagnie des Ciments Belges (CCB) to an affiliate of Cementir Holding. The European Commission has approved the agreement.
“With the disposal of the Belgium assets we fulfill the obligation of the European Commission and improve the net financial position of HeidelbergCement after the acquisition of Italcementi,” said Bernd Scheifele, CEO of HeidelbergCement.
HeidelbergCement and Cementir Holding announced the sale on 25 July 2016. The transaction has an enterprise value of Euro312m on a cash and debt-free basis.