Displaying items by tag: Additives
Chasing the building envelope
15 December 2021Saint-Gobain has headed back to the attention of the cement sector this week with a deal to buy GCP Applied Technologies and a joint-venture with Cementos Argos in Colombia.
The first development carries on the French conglomerate’s move into the construction chemicals market. In October 2021 it acquired Chryso for Euro1.02bn. Other recent deals include agreements to buy Romania-based construction chemicals company Duraziv in May 2021 and Mexico-based IMPAC in October 2021. The GCP Applied Technologies deal is valued at Euro2.3bn with closure planned by the end of 2022. As Saint-Gobain put it, “The combined platform of Weber, Chryso and GCP offers customers a highly comprehensive portfolio of construction chemicals solutions with strong complementary geographic footprints.” It says that it sees the planned acquisition as the “logical next step” to expand its market share in admixtures and additives. It also reckons that Chryso and GCP Applied Technologies are complimentary geographically with Chryso positions mostly in Europe, Middle East and Africa and with GCP’s positions in North America, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Once the deal goes through, Saint-Gobain will operate 75 production sites in the sector in 38 countries. The specialty building materials part of GCP will then be integrated into the CertainTeed subsidiary in North America.
The arrangement in Colombia concerns a joint-venture intended to focus on lightweight and sustainable building materials. Detail is scarce beyond an announcement by Cementos Argos on its website but the focus appears to be on bringing in Saint-Gobain’s mortar products and/or technology into the local market.
This move towards the lightweight building materials market may sound familiar. That’s because it is similar to what Holcim has also been doing recently, notably with its acquisition of Firestone Building Products earlier this year. It is interesting though to see both companies targeting the lightweight sector from different places. Both have also framed their intentions in terms of sustainability goals. Notably, Saint-Gobain has far lower carbon emissions than many cement producers. For example, Holcim reported sales of around Euro22bn in 2020 with absolute gross Scope 1 CO2 emissions of 110Mt. Saint-Gobain reported sales of around Euro38bn with total Scope 1 CO2 emissions of 7.9Mt.
At an investors event in October 2021 Saint-Gobain’s chief executive officer Benoit Bazin said that the group’s ambition was to become the worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction. Saint-Gobain’s business portfolio was diverse already before the GCP announcement, with its construction products focused on ‘lighter’ materials such as gypsum wallboard, insulation and glass. Its expansion into the construction chemicals market is of relevance to the cement industry directly through the supply of admixtures for cement and concrete. It’s also of interest to wider trends in construction because the acquisitions show another company chasing the lightweight building materials market. One expectation, as countries and companies have signed up to net zero carbon commitments, is that the demand for lightweight materials in the building envelope will grow and companies are reacting accordingly. The question at this stage is whether there is space in their growing market for all of them.
Betolar begins trading publicly
09 December 2021Finland: Betolar has announced the commencement of trading in its shares on the Nasdaq Helsinki exchange. Betolar launched its Geoprime alkali-activated slag and fly ash-based concrete additive in September 2021.
Tero Ojanperä, chair of Betolar’s board of directors, said “The company has so far been developed with a strong ownership with the aim of creating a significant position for Betolar in the global cement market. The share issue expands our shareholder base and provides a significant capital injection to accelerate Betolar's internationalisation.” He continued “The oversubscription of the share issue signals the market's strong belief that effective market-based solutions to the climate crisis can be found. We thank all the retail and institutional investors who participated in the share issue for their trust."
CEO Matti Löppönen added “The outstandingly successful share issue provides Betolar’s executive management with a supportive mandate to start promoting the green transition in various industries globally. At the same time, it also obliges us to steer the company in line with our strategy, in which trust is constantly strengthening among shareholders and customers, as well as society decision-makers.” He concluded “The Betolar team is strongly committed to taking the growth company to the next level.”
Vietnamese cement producers raise prices
10 November 2021Vietnam: Cement producers have raised their prices due to mounting coal costs. In October 2021 Bim Son Cement increased the cost of its products by 6%, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Other manufacturers have done likewise. Data from the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors shows that local coal prices have grown by 7 – 10% recently. Coal represents around 40 – 45% of the production cost of cement. Prices of diesel and additives have also risen.
Croatia: Holcim Croatia plans to invest Euro1.28m to upgrade the dosing equipment of its Koromačno cement plant’s kiln line. The planned upgrade will enable the line to increase the proportion of alternative materials used in its cement production, thus equipping the plant for low-carbon cement production. Innovation Norway has granted the producer Euro441,000 towards the cost of the project.
Managing director Nikola Kovačević said “Mineral admixtures in cement have a threefold benefit: on the one hand, different characteristics are created in the cement to meet the requirements of different types of construction; on the other hand, the exploitation of natural resources decreases. Thirdly, the carbon footprint of the cement is thus reduced through the lowering of the clinker factor.”
Betolar launches Geoprime alkali-activated slag and fly ash additive
15 September 2021Finland: Betolar has launched Geoprime, an alkali-activated additive for slag and fly ash used in concrete production. The company says that the product will enable concrete production from raw materials with 80% lower CO2 than ordinary Portland cement (OPC).It aims to meet the growing demand for sustainable and cost-effective construction materials. Geoprime enjoys fast global scaling potential thanks to Betolar’s intellectual property licensing business model, which enables the use of existing production facilities, according to the company.
Chief executive officer Matti Löppönen said “We have seen a massive shift in the concrete manufacturing and construction industries driven by investor pressure for environmental, social and governance data transparency and Net Zero commitments, and now people are keen to hear what we have to offer.”
Canada: Lafarge Canada has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with carbon utilisation company, Carbon Upcycling Technologies. The agreement allows for the potential integration of Carbon Upcycling’s CO2-embedded concrete additive into Lafarge operations and will explore opportunities to expand Carbon Upcycling’s operating capacity by developing larger processing facilities.
Carbon Upcycling produces an additive that makes concrete both stronger and more sustainable with the ability to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete by up to 25% on a lifecycle basis. Carbon Upcycling’s involvement into construction materials began in 2018 through its participation in the LafargeHolcim Accelerator program, which aimed to accelerate the growth of innovations in the building materials industry.
The deal aligns with Lafarge's Net-Zero 2030 pledge to accelerate green construction and combat the climate change crisis with low carbon concrete and circular economy solutions, and Carbon Upcycling goal to reduce overall CO2 emissions by 600Mt by 2030.
Saint-Gobain to buy Chryso
21 May 2021France: Saint-Gobain has agreed to buy Chryso for an undisclosed sum. It said that the construction chemicals producer had an enterprise value of Euro1.02bn, based on its recent earnings and anticipated synergies. Saint-Gobain intends to finance the acquisition from the proceeds of other divestments made by the group. Key benefits it expects from the purchase include a strengthened position in the construction chemicals market, market growth in the sector, further strategic movements towards sustainability goals through the use of additives, anticipated ease of integration and value for shareholders.
“The acquisition of Chryso is a unique growth platform opportunity for Saint-Gobain to further develop our already strong presence in the growing construction chemicals market. It is fully in line with our environment, social and governance strategy of providing a sustainable and performance driven value proposition to our customers,” commented Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain, and Benoit Bazin, chief operating officer.
Subject to consultation and approval with employee representative bodies and competition authorities the acquisition is expected to be finalised in the second half of 2021.
Chryso acquires majority stake in APTEX
19 October 2020Morocco: France-based Chryso has announced its acquisition of a majority stake in construction chemicals producer APTEX. The local producer operates an application laboratory and plant in Casablanca, Anfa-Settat Region. President and director general Mohamed Benlyamani said, “We are delighted to partner with an international structure offering significant means of development and a strong culture of innovation.”
Chryso chief executive officer (CEO) Thierry Bernard said, “By acquiring a majority stake in APTEX, we sustain our long-term relationship with our Moroccan customers and strengthen our local roots in Morocco. We will thus accelerate the deployment of new technologies and support producers in the development of high-performance, environmentally friendly building materials.”
Solidia Technologies partners with Chryso to further develop Solidia concrete product
15 September 2020US: Solidia Technologies and France-based Chryso have announced a collaborative partnership for the further development of the Solidia ‘ultra-low’ CO2 concrete product. The companies plan to use their “combined expertise to improve the sustainability performance and material properties” of the concrete.
“Incorporating Chryso’s exclusive water-reducing admixtures adapted to the specific chemistry of Solidia Concrete, will further reduce water consumption in the curing process,” said Tom Schuler, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Solidia Technologies.
India: Birla Corporation has entered the construction chemicals and additives business by launching three new products. It is promoting Perfect Plus IWP, Perfect Plus SBR Latex and Perfect Plus Wall Putty, according to the Business Standard newspaper. The products will have been released in Uttar Pradesh and further rollout will follow. The initiative is intended to create a new revenue stream for the cement producer.