Global Cement News
Search Cement News
Oldcastle APG buys US MIX and US SPEC 04 March 2020
US: Oldcastle APG, a subsidiary of CRH, has acquired dry mix manufacturer US MIX. The purchase adds to APG's dry mix manufacturing footprint and expands its network of facilities to the Denver, Colorado market. In addition, the acquisition provides APG with materials science expertise and adds another brand, US SPEC, to its existing dry mix product portfolio of Sakrete and Amerimix. No value for the acquisition has been disclosed.
US MIX primarily operates out of a manufacturing facility in Denver, with a secondary specialty bagging location in Fontana, California. Founded in 1968, US MIX has been privately owned by the Peterson family for over 50 years. Its products include bagged concretes, mortars and specialty cement mixes, in addition to liquid repair products.
US MIX currently operates as a Sakrete and Amerimix licensee and offers a variety of specialty products under the well-known US SPEC brand. US SPEC products are professionally engineered concrete and masonry repair products used in a variety of applications, formulated and tested in laboratory conditions under ASTM testing methods and specifications.
Mexico: Cemex has worked with AES Mexico, the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN), the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) through the General Wildlife Direction, and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) to successfully reintroduce 19 American bison specimens (Bison bison) in El Carmen Nature Reserve, in Coahuila, to establish the second conservation herd of this species in Mexico.
“For almost two decades, we have carried out different alliances with companies and conservation organisations to protect and increase biodiversity in El Carmen. Examples of this include the reintroduction of the American bison, the bighorn sheep, and the pronghorn, as well as the increase in the populations of desert mule deer, white-tailed deer, and black bear,” said Vicente Saisó, director of sustainability at Cemex.
El Carmen Nature Reserve is a private cross-border conservation area in Mexico and the US that contains five different ecosystems and habitats to diverse species of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians over more than 140,000 hectares.
The American bison is the largest land mammal in North America and was present in the plains of Canada, the US and Mexico. In Mexico, American bison lived in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Durango; however, it the species was depleted in the second half of the 19th century. Currently, it is a species that is in danger of extinction in Mexico.
Prior to this collaboration, the only herd of bison considered genetically pure was at Rancho El Uno, owned by FMCN, located within the Janos Biosphere Reserve, Chihuahua. 19 specimens from this herd were moved to El Carmen, located in Maderas del Carmen Flora and Fauna Protection Area by a team of wildlife management specialists. The plan to reintroduce the American bison in El Carmen Nature Reserve was launched in April of 2019, and it will continue until 2021 with the translocation of additional specimens.
India: ACC Limited has announced that it will open a 2.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant with ‘state-of-the-art pollution control technology,’ along with a 25MW coal-fired power plant that will serve the plant in addition to an existing 15MW coal-fired power plant on the site in Chandrapur, Maharashtra. The opening in March 2020 will follow the expiry of a period of respite for continued operation of ACC’s 0.9Mt/yr integrated Cement Nagar plant on the same site.
The Times of India has reported that the plant, the company’s oldest, first shut on 30 November 2010 due to repeat violation of pollution standards, and was permitted to reopen in January 2011 up until 28 February 2020, subject to its adherence to strict conditions imposed by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (PCB). The company says that it is investigating the use of cladding in the old power plant to bring noise pollution down to 55dB.
Raysut Cement announces Madagascar plant plan 03 March 2020
Madagascar: Oman-based Raysut Cement has shared plans for a US$30m, 0.75Mt/yr clinker grinding plant in Toamasina, Madagascar. L’Express de Madagascar newspaper has reported that Raysut Cement will begin construction in June 2020 and enter production at the facility in mid-2022 at the latest. Raysut Cement Indian Ocean regional director Pascal Naud said, “Madagascar’s pre-capita cement consumption is around 22kg/yr, compared to 125kg/yr on average in sub-Saharan countries. It is therefore a market with high potential for this investment.”
On 2 February 2020 Raysut Cement entered into talks with Switzerland-based Cementia for acquisition of the latter’s 75% stake in the latter’s LH Maldives cement terminal. The group said it is currently ‘developing an external growth strategy by investing in several African countries such as Kenya and Uganda.’
Dangote Cement plans pan-African exports from Congo 03 March 2020
Congo: Nigeria-based Dangote Cement has announced that it will begin shipping cement produced at its 1.5Mt/yr integrated Mfila plant in Bouenza region, Congo, to other African countries.
Reuters News has reported that Dangote Cement’s Nigerian exports fell by 41% to 0.5Mt in 2019 from 0.8Mt in 2018. Dangote Cement CEO Joseph Makoju attributed the flop to the government’s closure of Nigeria’s border with Benin, part of a crackdown on smuggling and the illegal weapons trade.