Displaying items by tag: GCW191
Europe: Holcim's largest stakeholder, Thomas Schmidheiny, wants a better deal for the Holcim's shareholders in its planned merger with Lafarge, according to Swiss Newspaper SonntagsZeitung, which cited people close to Schmidheiny.
The merger with France's Lafarge to create the world's biggest cement company was agreed on 7 April 2015, but analysts have since flagged a potential divergence between the two companies' earnings prospects, raising the possibility of a renegotiation of terms.
SonntagsZeitung said that Holcim board member Schmidheiny, who owns 20.1% of the company according to Thomson Reuters data, sees two possible solutions. One is to weigh the exchange ratio of shares in favour of Holcim investors. Another is a special dividend. The paper also quoted another board member as saying the deal will not work in its current form, which includes each Lafarge share being swapped for one Holcim share.
SonntagsZeitung has also reported that Swiss shareholder group Ethos, which represents around 200 pension funds, is against the deal as it stands and will tell Holcim's board that it will advise members to vote against the merger unless there is a change to the exchange ratio.
Egypt/Ethipopia: ASEC Engineering and Management, a subsidiary of Egypt's Qalaa Holdings, has signed a one-year plant management agreement with Ethiopia's National Cement Share Company.
As per the deal, Asec will provide full technical assistance to National Cement Share Company for the operation and maintenance of the 1Mt/yr capacity cement plant. ASEC will also utilise its know-how and expertise to help National Cement Share Company to boost production volumes, cut production costs and improve product quality. Under the contract, ASEC will also introduce and implement systems for all aspects of production, quality, maintenance, warehousing and human resources, among other areas.
"This is a result of the continued efforts of ASEC Engineering and its ambitious plans to expand its business into Sub-Saharan Africa after its successful contract with Cimento Nacional Company in Mozambique," said ASEC Engineering CEO Khaled El Sebaie.
MEIC changes to ease rules on cement imports
09 March 2015Costa Rica: The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade (MEIC) has explained the changes that will be implemented in technical regulations to the market cement, including forced single day sales of bulk cement and the elimination of the 45 day limit of validity for bagged cement.
Welmar Ramos, MEIC minister said that the purpose of the changes is to make product imports more flexible. "These changes allow greater competition in the market and inure the efficiency of the cement industry for the benefit of the final consumer," said Ramos. A period of three months will be given for producers to adjust their labels. The new rules state that each manufacturer must put the expiration date on the package, which is obliged to check through technical studies. The policy of forcing the sales of bulk cement on the same day of its production has been eliminated. According to the MEIC, this will enable the import of bulk cement.
Holcim and Cemex have warned of an alleged loss of cement quality when stored beyond 45 days, which were established in earlier rules. The Association of Engineers and Architects (CFIA) has also issued warnings about it. However, the MEIC and supporters of the initiative said that different types of packaging, which is already used in Costa Rica, allows older cement to have greater effect.
According to the MEIC, standards and technical regulations consulted in countries like Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, United States, European Union and Central America, only indicate the date of packaging and storage conditions that must be followed.
HeidelbergCement inaugurates 0.7Mt/yr CimBurkina plant
09 March 2015Burkina Faso: HeidelbergCement has started production at its 0.7Mt/yr CimBurkina grinding plant in Kossodo, Burkina Faso. The plant will be supplied with clinker from HeidelbergCement's new 1.5Mt/yr plant in Tabligbo, Togo, which is currently under construction. The Cimburkina plant is a partnership with two local businesses.
HeidelbergCement's CimBurkina plant means that Burkina Faso now has three cement producers. India's Diamond Cement is the market leader with a 60% share while Morocco's CIMAF also has a considerable share. "Our goal is to capture 25% of the market and create a healthy competitive environment for balancing supply and demand," said CimBurkina's CEO Eric Goulignac.
HeidelbergCement is also considering entering South Africa and Mozambique to tap growing African demand.
Ecuador: Holcim Ecuador has inaugurated the second phase of its modernisation project at the 4500t/day clinker capacity Guayaquil plant. The expanded production capacity replaces the need for imports. Approximately US$400m has been invested in the modernisation work in the last five years. The project has included a particular focus on limiting the plant's environmental impact. Around 20% of investment has been spent on environmental control equipment. The new clinker line will help Holcim Ecuador to reduce its CO2 emissions by 700,000t/yr.
Italcementi to upgrade two cement plants in 2015
09 March 2015Egypt: Italcementi plans to upgrade two of its cement plants in 2015 via its Suez Cement subsidiary, following the two plants that it upgraded in 2014, according to Italcementi managing director Bruno Carrè.
"We will invest US$52.4m/yr for four years," said Carrè. "We finished converting two plants two plants in the first year. Now we have another two plants to complete." Italcementi will not disclose any expectations about their investments in 2015, although it expects the market to grow. In January 2015, Carrè said that its 2014 revenues will exceed US$721m, some 20% higher than in 2013, with 2015 revenues projected to grow by 10 - 15%.
Carrè said that the expansion plans are targeting renewable energy in Egpt and the Gulf. He highlighted that 2015 will see the continuation of investments to convert the energy mix and to improve Italcementi's environmental impact to international standards.
Iran establishing 30 cement plants
09 March 2015Iran: Iranian minister of industry, mine and trade Mohammad Reza Nemat-Zadeh said that of the 30 new cement plants being built by Iran, 20% have been completed.
Five new cement plants due for Jaipur
09 March 2015India: Five new cement plants will be set up in Jaipur with an estimated investment of US$1.59bn. The mines department has issued a letter of intent (LOI) to the companies and submitted the application for approval from the Union government.
Three LOI have been given for blocks at Chittorgarh, while two are issued for the blocks in Jaisalmer. The proposals of all the five blocks have been sent to Geological Survey of India (GSI). After receiving approval from them, all companies will be allowed to start their plants.
"There are a total of four LOI that have been given, while one company has been given the old block after orders from the court. It is now up to the Union government to decide. Once permissions are granted, all of the companies can work at their identified places," said an official from the mines department.
According to the officials, nearly US$1.59bn will be invested in the plants, generating employment for more than 5000 people. The state government will receive royalty from the blocks leased for mining. Meanwhile, total production capacity of the new plants is likely to be nearly 3Mt/yr. "The investments will be US$1.44 - 1.59bn. The department will get US$5.59m per plant as royalty," added the official.
HeidelbergCement inaugurates new clinker plant
09 March 2015Togo: China's Chengdu Design and Research Institute of Building Materials Industry (CDI) will transfer the maintenance responsibility of HeidelbergCement's 5000t/day clinker plant to the Togolese people, according to CDI's chairman. The plant is part of a US$250m cement production industrial complex. Delivered three months in advance, it was inaugurated on 6 March 2015 with a two-year period warrant.
"Over the two-year period, CDI will train the Togolese to conduct care and maintenance of the plant after the contract has ended," said CDI chairman of the board Jiao Feng. The plant is in Yoto, about 90km northeast of Lomé. "We must underline that twice as many Togolese than Chinese were used for the construction and the outcome is the endeavour of both parties," said Jiao.
India: AA Energy has commissioned a 120t/day grinding plant at Wadsa, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. The estimated cost of the project is US$8.88m. The cement produced will be used for captive consumption for AA Energy's asbestos sheet plant in Nagpur. AA Energy has also abandoned an expansion of its biomass power plant in the same location due to non-receipt of a No Objection Certificate from the Pollution Control Board.