Displaying items by tag: Cementos Argos
Argos appoints new managers in Panama and Honduras
17 February 2021Honduras/Panama: Cementos Argos has appointed Gustavo Adolfo Uribe as its manager in Panama and Central America. He has been succeeded by Luis Eduardo Tovar as the manager in Honduras.
Uribe studied civil engineering at the School of Engineering of Antioquia (EIA) and followed this with graduate training in economics at the University of Los Andes in Colombia and business at the École Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC). He has worked for Argos for over 15 years in a variety of management roles, including being the general director for the business in Honduras.
Tovar studied business at the University of Lincoln in the UK. He has also worked for Argos for over 15 years in various managerial and strategic roles.
Cementos Argos transports 50,000t of cement by train in 2020
17 February 2021Colombia: Cementos Argos transported around 50,000t of cement by train in 2020. It plans to increase this by 30% year-on-year to 70,000t in 2021 as part of its sustainability strategy. The cement producer has started using the Belencito - Bogotá and Puerto Triunfo - Puerto Wilches routes as the country has started to revive railway lines in recent years.
Colombia: Switzerland-based finance company RobecoSAM has listed Cementos Argos in the Silver Class in its Sustainability Yearbook 2021. It chose the producer from among over 7000 companies from 61 industries on the basis of its Dow Jones Sustainability Index score.
Cementos Argos Legal and Sustainability vice president María Isabel Echeverri said, “Being included for the eighth consecutive year in the RobecoSAM Sustainability Yearbook encourages us to maintain our high sustainability standards and allows us to continue improving every day so that we can continue contributing to the development and growth of our clients and to the well-being of millions of people in all the territories in which we are present. This recognition is the result of the work of a team committed and convinced of the importance of creating value for society and for the company.”
Cementos Argos retains place in Dow Jones Sustainability Index
16 November 2020Colombia: Cementos Argos is celebrating its inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the eighth consecutive year. The company said that the listing acknowledges its “good practices in economic, environmental and social matters.” Its owner Grupo Argos came second in the materials sector, which accounted for 4.3% of the total index weight, while the company itself came third. The index also highlighted it within the Latin American Integrated Market (MILA)-Pacific Alliance.
The company said, “One of the main advantages of this index is that it is a lever to promote cutting-edge business practices that seek to improve the impact of companies on society and the environment and, increasingly, to strengthen their relationship with different interest groups, whether they are communities, investors, suppliers, employees or authorities, among others.”
Cementos Argos’ nine-months sales fall
12 November 2020Colombia: Grupo Argos subsidiary Cementos Argos has reported a 13% year-on-year fall in cement sales volumes to 10.7Mt in the first nine months of 2020 from 12.3Mt in the first nine months of 2019. As a result, revenues fell by 5% to US$1.85bn from US$1.94bn, “partially netted by the price improvements in Colombia and in the US, together with the Colombian peso devaluation.” Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 3% to US$342m from US$353m. The company said that, “Volumes were affected by the hurricanes and intense rains in the US, together with the gradual recovery of the Colombian operations that still remain affected by the lockdowns.”
Chief executive officer (CEO) Juan Esteban Calle said, “We are proud of our company and our more than 7500 employees for their commitment and resilience navigating all the challenges generated by the Covid-19 crisis. We have been able to continue operating in a bio-safe way while significantly mitigating the impact of extended shutdowns in most of our operations and at the same time we have been taking advantage of all the opportunities that are arising from the improving market dynamics, contributing to the recovery of the economies and employment in most of our markets.”
PCA names Energy and Environment Award 2020 winners
18 September 2020US: The Portland Cement Association has announced the winners of the Energy Environment Awards 2020. Cementos Argos’ 1.1Mt/yr Harleyville, South Carolina cement plant won the Energy Efficiency Award “by reducing kiln specific heat consumption and increasing the utilisation of the new vertical cement mill,” while CRH subsidiary Ash Grove Cement’s 1.0Mt/yr Midlothian cement plant won the Environmental Performance Award for “operating a whole-tyre burning system utilising a first-in-the-US hot disk system supplied with whole tyres from a nearby tyre recycling company.” Other winners were GCC’s 0.9Mt/yr Odessa, Texas cement plant for Innovation, LafargeHolcim’s 2.2Mt/yr Holly Hill, South Carolina plant for Land Stewardship, Titan Cement's Roanoke Cement Troutville plant for Outreach and HeidelbergCement subsidiary Lehigh Hanson’s 3.2Mt/yr Union Bridge, Maryland plant for Overall Environmental Excellence.
PCA president and chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Ireland said, “America’s cement manufacturers continue to focus on researching and developing new and innovative ways to reduce environmental footprint. The companies receiving these awards are great examples of our industry’s commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency.”
Colombia: Argos has supplied 220,000t of cement and 765,000m3 of ready-mixed concrete to the site of the 8500m-long Túnel de La Línea road tunnel in Quindío and Tolima Departments.
Colombia regional vice president Tomás Restrepo said, “We are proud to have participated as allies in the construction of this mega-work that represents a great milestone for the infrastructure of our country and Latin America. This was a project that represented great logistical and technical challenges that Argos has faced with commitment. We are sure that this strategic work of interconnection will contribute enormously to the progress of Colombia and its people. This reflects our high purpose to continue contributing to the construction of dreams that drive development and transform lives"
Energy Star 2020 for two Cementos Argos Plants
25 August 2020US: Grupo Argos subsidiary Cementos Argos has said that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Energy Stars to its 1.1Mt/yr Harleyville, South Carolina cement plant and its 1.7Mt/yr Roberta, Alabama cement plant. This signifies that both plants are in the top 25% of US integrated cement plants for energy efficiency.
Legal and sustainability vice president María Isabel Echeverri said, “We are delighted to be granted again these certifications, which reaffirm our commitment to sustainability and to give value to our society. The responsible use of energy is an essential pillar of our company and we work every day in the development and implementation of technologies that enable efficient use and strategic management of this resource.”
Cementos Argos is Colombia’s fourth most innovative company
24 August 2020Colombia: The National Association of Entrepreneurs and Dinero Magazine have named Cementos Argos fourth among 242 of Colombia’s most innovative companies. Chief executive officer (CEO) Juan Esteban Calle said, “This recognition fills us with pride and motivates us to continue to advance. We are convinced that it is possible to help materialise more dreams of housing and a better infrastructure for millions of people.”
Honduras: Cementos Argos subsidiary Argos Honduras has announced the launch of ECO Multipurpose, a 40% reduced-CO2 general use cement produced with energy from the company’s 8.5MW solar power plant at its 1.0Mt/yr integrated Piedras Azules cement plant in Comayagua, Comayagua Department. The product is “the first environmentally-friendly cement in Honduras,” according to the cement producer.
General director Gustavo Uribe said, “With this project we are leading the industry in the country and sowing the seeds of the future for construction in Honduras, which will gradually evolve towards the adoption of the global trend of sustainable construction. At Argos, we continually work on creating products and developing projects with a positive impact on the environment and society. As a company, we assume a commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, prioritising climate change especially, and this product brings us closer to fulfilling that commitment.”