03 October 2016
Flexicon opens new office in Germany 03 October 2016
Germany: Flexicon (Europe) has opened a new office to provide factory-direct engineering services and technical sales support to customers throughout Germany.
“The Aschaffenburg location will fuel Flexicon's rapid growth in the region by providing a dedicated German-language staff with full access to corporate resources," said Keith Bourton, Managing Director.
The Aschaffenburg office is headed by Christian Löchler, Regional Sales Manager. He holds an Engineering degree in Plastic Processing Technology from Fachhochschule Darmstadt (University of Applied Sciences), and possesses 20 years of experience in plastics processing, compounding and recycling, most recently as a Sales/Project Engineer for a consultancy specialising in gravimetric and volumetric dosing for granulates, powders and liquids. At Flexicon he will be responsible for building relationships with plant engineers, managers and other equipment specifiers in facilities that handle bulk solid materials across the mineral, food, pharmaceutical, plastics and general chemical industries.
Flexicon specialises in bulk handling equipment. Flexicon (Europe) is located in Whitstable, UK and is a fully owned subsidiary of Flexicon Corporation of Bethlehem, US. In addition to the Kent manufacturing location, Flexicon Corporation owns and operates manufacturing facilities in Brisbane, Australia and Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and maintains factory-direct sales offices in Barcelona in Spain, Santiago in Chile; and Singapore.
Pakistan: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has fined four cement producers for deceptive marketing practices in violation of the Competition Act 2010. Fines of US$1.8m each have been levied on Al-Abbas Cement, Attock Cement, Bestway Cement and Lucky Cement.
A CCP official said that the commission is mandated under the Competition Act 2010 to ensure fair competition in all spheres of commercial and economic activities. The Competition Commission of Pakistan is committed to maintain transparency for enhancing economic efficiency and to protect consumers from anticompetitive practices, including deceptive marketing.
West China Cement reports loss for first half of 2016 03 October 2016
China: West China Cement Limited has reported that its made a loss of US$17m in the first half of 2016 down from a profit of US$0.36m in the same period in 2015. Its revenue fell by 4% to US$244m from US$253m. Its gross profit fell by 29% to US$22.9m from US$32.3m.
Palestine Investment Fund launches cement plant project 03 October 2016
Palestine: The Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), the investment arm of the Palestinian Authority, has launched the first phase of a new cement plant, the first in the Palestinian areas. Investment in the plant is expected to reach US$310m and production will start in 2018.
The opening ceremony took place at the Jaser Palace in Bethlehem under the patronage of President Mahmoud Abbas. PIF chairman of the board Mohammad Mustafa attended the event with Louai Kawas, chief executive officer of Sanad Construction Industries Company, a PIF-owned company in charge of the plant.
Sanad Construction Industries Company was established in 1994 for the purpose of meeting the needs of the Palestinian construction market such as the provision of building material. The cement plant is intended to provide 90% of the cement needs for the Palestinian construction market. At present cement for the territory is purchased from Jordan and Israel.
Cemex to sell 23% stake in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua 03 October 2016
Mexico: Cemex wants to sell its 23% stake in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua through a secondary public offering. Cemex has asked the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores, Mexico's banking and securities regulator (CNBV), to approve the planned transaction, under which the Mexican building materials company will offer the shares to domestic and foreign investors in a concurrent private placement. The sale will be part of Cemex’s previously announced asset disposal plan. The company wants to sell up to US$2bn worth of assets to reduce its debts.