Displaying items by tag: US
Holcim US rebrands in Atlanta Metropolitan Area
15 November 2023US: Holcim US has unrolled its Holcim branding in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area in Georgia. The producer operates cement terminals at Cartersville, Duluth and Covington.
Southeast regional sales manager Lee Amick said "The rebrand signifies Holcim’s unwavering commitment to Atlanta construction and building companies, along with the greater community that has come to know us as a trusted partner. We're looking forward to building on our long-standing reputation for reliability, dependability, and assurance, now further rooted in sustainability and a profound dedication to environmental responsibility."
Martin Marietta Materials raises nine-month sales so far in 2023
14 November 2023US: Martin Marietta Materials recorded sales worth US$5.17bn during the first nine months of 2023, up by 10% year-on-year from US$4.68. Meanwhile, the company’s earnings rose by 30% to US$1.23bn from US$944m. Building materials revenues in its West business rose by 10% to US$2.85bn, while those in its East business rose by 11% to US$2.08bn. Overall, the value of its cement sales rose by 21% to US$565m.
Italy: Cementir Holding raised its sales by 0.5% year-on-year during the first nine months of 2023, to Euro1.3bn. It sold 7.93Mt of cement, down by 3.1% year-on-year from 8.19Mt in the corresponding period of 2022. Cementir Holding attributed the decline to reduced demand, primarily in Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, Malaysia and the US. This offset an increase in consumption in China and Türkiye. The group’s operating costs dropped by 6.6% to 1.01bn, while its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 33% to Euro321m.
UNACEM obtains US$345m loan for Tehachapi cement plant purchase
06 November 2023Peru/US: UNACEM has secured syndicated financing worth US$345m. It will put the funds towards its acquisition of the Tehachapi cement plant in California, US. Contify Banking News has reported that Spain-based BBVA operated as sole lead arranger and global coordinator for the financing.
UNACEM corporate general manager Pedro Lerner said “This operation will strengthen Grupo UNACEM’s investment portfolio in our core business and consolidate our presence in the southwestern region of the US, doubling our installed capacity in the country.”
ClimeCo celebrates launch of US Low-Carbon Cement Protocol
03 November 2023US: Sustainable technology developer ClimeCo has welcomed the Climate Action Reserve (CAR)’s launch of the US Low-Carbon Cement Protocol. The protocol will provide guidance on quantifying, monitoring, reporting and verifying emissions reductions associated with the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in alternative cement production. ClimeCo says that this will help to establish the eligibility of various waste streams and naturally occurring materials for use in cement.
ClimeCo president and CEO Bill Flederbach said "While demand for cement has never been higher, it remains an exceptionally difficult-to-abate industry. This new protocol demonstrates the power of credible, validated and science-based voluntary carbon credits in accelerating the pace and adoption of environmental reforms. It also confirms ClimeCo's belief that, by engaging the right partners and taking a holistic approach, every industry and every company, even those facing the biggest challenges, can make a huge difference. Time is of the essence, and ClimeCo is proud to lead the way toward a brighter future."
Holcim US updates branding in Greater Chicago Area
03 November 2023US: Holcim US has rolled out its own Holcim US brand across its operations in the Greater Chicago Area, which previously bore Lafarge branding. The operations include cement terminals and the South Chicago slag grinding plant. 400 people work for Holcim across the Greater Chicago Area.
Holcim US senior vice president and general manager, North Central Region, Randy Gaworski said “Right in the backyard of our company headquarters, we’re excited the Greater Chicago Area operations will now be recognised as Holcim. Customers will continue to experience the same quality products and services they expect from us today, but now have access to a larger network of services and innovation.”
UNACEM completes acquisition of Tehachapi cement plant
02 November 2023US: Local press has reported that Peru-based UNACEM has completed its purchase of the Tehachapi cement plant in California from Martin Marietta Materials. UNACEM concluded an agreement to take over the plant from the North Carolina-based producer in August 2023, for a reported US$317m.
Solidia Technologies ignites pilot line at San Antonio headquarters
01 November 2023US: Solidia Technologies has commenced production of its mineralised CO2-based supplementary cementitious material (SCM) at a pilot line at its headquarters in San Antonio, Texas. The pilot line increases the company’s production capacity of the SCM by a factor of 25.
Solidia Technologies senior director of strategy and business development Pradeep Ghosh said "With the dramatic increase in production capacity that the new pilot line brings, we are now shipping significant quantities of Solidia SCM to ready-mix concrete producers, transport agencies and contractors to qualify and trial our material."
US: Eagle Materials sold 4.14Mt of cement during the first half of its 2024 financial year, from 1 April 2023, a slight increase from the volume sold in the same period in its 2023 financial year. It reported sales revenue from its wholly owned cement business of US$614m, up by 15% year-on-year and corresponding to 50% of total group sales. Overall, group revenue rose by 4.9% to US$1.22bn.
President and chief executive officer Michael Haack said "Market conditions for our construction materials remained resilient during the quarter, even as the Federal Reserve continued to raise interest rates and tighten money supply to contain inflation. Several factors helped offset the higher rates and supported demand for cement, including limited housing supply, strong homebuyer demand, increasing infrastructure awards and significant investment in domestic manufacturing facilities. As demand remained strong and our operations remained nearly sold-out, we implemented a second round of cement price increases in early July across half our markets, and announced the next round of price increases for early January 2024.” Haack added “We expect that our portfolio of businesses will remain well-positioned for the second half of fiscal 2024."
Cemex raises nine-month sales and earnings so far in 2023
26 October 2023Mexico: Cemex’s sales were US$13.2bn during the first nine months of 2023, up by 13% year-on-year from US$11.7bn in the first nine months of 2022. The group’s operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were US$2.6bn, up by 27% from US$2.1bn. This came in spite of a 7% year-on-year decline in its cement volumes, to 39.1Mt from 41.8Mt. Volumes rose by 3% in Mexico, but fell by 13% in the US, 4% in South, Central America and the Caribbean and 10% in Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Cemex chief executive officer Fernando González said “2023 is proving to be an exceptional year for our company, and I am especially encouraged by our recovery of EBITDA margins to 2021 levels, a key strategic priority. The success of our pricing strategy, contribution of growth investments and our fast-growing Urbanisation Solutions business, as well as decelerating cost inflation, are contributing to profitability in a very meaningful way.” He continued “We are making significant progress on our decarbonization roadmap, reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions by 12% and 11%, respectively, since 2020. Prior to the introduction of our Future in Action programme in 2020, a reduction of this magnitude would have taken almost 15 years.”