11 February 2016
Gorazdze to raise thermal substitution rate to up to 80% 11 February 2016
Poland: Gorazdze Cement intends to cut costs partly by increasing its usage of alternative fuels, according to its CEO Ernest Jelito. As the Polish cement producer is currently operating at a 60 – 70% capacity utilisation rate it has no plans to increase its capacity. Gorazdze Cement has a thermal substitution rate of around 50% at present and it intends to raise this to 70 – 80%.
Hope Construction Materials to launch bagged cement product 11 February 2016
UK: Hope Construction Materials has announced the launch of a new bagged cement product scheduled for later in 2016. The new product, called Professional Grade Cement, will be marketed in the south of England.
“Hope Works has been making cement for more than 80 years and has an outstanding reputation for consistent quality and service. We are delighted to be able to offer our product in our own branded bag to customers for the very first time,” said Hope’s Commercial Director for Cement, Gary Brennand.
The new product packaging will feature a large ram, paying homage to the company’s origin in Derbyshire, which is transparent to ensure the consistent colour of Hope cement is always clearly visible. All the bags will be plastic, weatherproof and packed to give end users confidence that they can store the bags outdoors.
Hope cement had previously been available in bags through a third party supplier. This launch marks the first time Hope cement will be on the company’s packaging. The new product follows an 18-month research and development process with consultation of merchants and professional builders.
Renold Couplings to launch new coupling ranges in April 2016 11 February 2016
UK: Renold Couplings has announced it will launch two new product ranges of couplings at the Drives & Controls exhibition in April 2016. Both couplings are designed for industrial couplings such as those in mines and quarries.
The Hi-Tec RBI range will extend the existing RB range by incorporating a new block profile to increase torque throughput by 50%. As with the existing industrial RB range, the new Hi-Tec RBI will be available off the shelf.
The new Hydrastart range will now come complete with Renoldflex coupling. This addition will be ‘drop-in’ so the drive assembly can remain in place, allowing the Hydrastart to be swapped out. The only bespoke machining will be the bores at the end of the couplings reducing lead times.
“We are pleased to say that the Hi-Tec RBI and Hydrastart are just the first of our scheduled product launches in 2016. We listened to our customers and recognised that Renold Couplings not only needed to expand our current offering and reduce lead times, but also become more price-competitive in the market. The introduction of new ranges throughout 2016 will go some way to address this,” said Tom Hattersley, Commercial Director for Renold Couplings.
Cementir profit rises by 3.1% to Euro103m in 2015 11 February 2016
Italy: Cementir Holding has reported that its profit rose by 3.1% year-on-year to Euro103m in 2015 from Euro100m in 2014. Its revenue rose by 2.2% to Euro969m from Euro948m. It attributed the growth to good performance of operations in the Scandinavian countries, Malaysia, Italy and Egypt.
“The Group ended 2015 with earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in excess of the target of Euro190m. Improved performance in Scandinavian countries and Italy, plus the stable contribution of the Far East, offset the lower earnings in Turkey and Egypt caused by socio-political tensions across the Mediterranean and the Middle East, as well as the negative impact of the depreciation of some foreign currencies,” said Francesco Caltagirone Jr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cementir. He added that the group reduced its net debt to Euro222m in 2015.
The Italy-based building materials company produced 9.37Mt of cement in 2015, a decrease of 2% year-on-year from 9.56Mt in 2014.
Buzzi Unicem sales revenue rises by 6.2% to Euro2.66bn in 2015 11 February 2016
Italy: Buzzi Unicem has reported that its revenue rose by 6.2% year-on-year to Euro2.66bn in 2015 from Euro2.51bn in 2014. Clinker and cement sales volumes increased by 1.7% to 25.6Mt from 25.1Mt. It attributed the growth to market recovery in the US and Eastern Europe and an additional contribution from the Korkino cement plant in Russia.
Following a sharp drop in business during the first six months of 2015, the group reported that the recovery in international trade recorded in the second half of the year was weaker and less than expected, especially in mature countries. Subsequently, its growth in 2015 was half of its previous estimate. Construction activity in the last quarter of 2015 was bolstered by a dry and mild climate in Italy, Central and Eastern Europe allowing construction activity to remain at levels above the seasonal average.
The group’s net debt fell to Euro1.03bn in 2015 from Euro1.06bn in 2014. It expects from preliminary data that its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) will be Euro470m in 2015.