Displaying items by tag: Terminal

There’s no single theme this week, just a few news stories of note that may have wider significance.

Firstly comes the news that Semen Indonesia subsidiary Semen Padang has been exporting 25,000t of cement to Australia. This follows a consignment of 35,000t of clinker to Bangladesh. The company is hoping to hit a cement and clinker export target of 1.58Mt in 2020 in spite of the on-going coronavirus pandemic. It reached 1.09Mt (about 70%) of this by mid-September 2020 through exports to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Philippines, Australia, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

The wider picture here is that local sales in Indonesia fell by 7.7% year-on-year to 27.2Mt in the first half of 2020 from 29.4Mt in the same period in 2019, according to data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI). Cement and clinker exports are up by 32.8% to 3.7Mt from 2.8Mt. Semen Indonesia’s revenue is down but it has managed to hold its earnings up so far. During press rounds in late August 2020 its marketing and supply chain director, Adi Munandir, told local press that he expected domestic demand to fall by up to 15% in 2020 due to effects of coronavirus on private construction and government infrastructure plans. Analysts reckon that the worst of the demand slump hit in the second quarter of 2020 when government-related coronavirus restrictions were implemented, so Semen Indonesia’s third quarter results will closely scrutinised.

One of Semen Padang export targets is the Maldives. This chimes with another story this week because Oman-based Raysut Cement has just bought a majority stake in a cement terminal from Lafarge Maldives for US$8m. The 9000t capacity Thilafusi cement terminal is located on the island of Thilafusi, Kaafu and was expanded in 2015. Raysut Cement has tended to stick to markets in the southern Arabian Peninsula and the east coast of Africa, with projects planned in Madagascar and Somaliland. Yet expansion plans in places further away such as India and Georgia have also been mentioned publicly. A greater presence in the Maldives is a solid step towards Raysut heading eastwards. This would also mirror the plans of the country’s gypsum sector to dominate African and Asian markets and a general longer term shift in global markets from west to east.

One place west that has been doing well in cement though is Brazil. National Cement Industry Union (SNIC) data for September 2020 show a 21% year-on-year boom in cement sales to 5.8Mt and a 9.4% year-on-year increase to 44.6Mt for the first nine months of 2020. Earlier in the year the country’s limited coronavirus suppression methods were attributed for letting the recovering cement sector grow. Now, SNIC has directly thanked government support for civil construction. However, Paulo Camillo Penna, the president of SNIC said. “The results are surprising so far, but that doesn't give us security in the long run,” due to a bubble of real estate and commercial activity that already appears to be declining. Given the slump in cement demand from 2015 to 2018 it’s understandable that SNIC is taking the recovery cautiously.

And to finish we have two connected stories about Cemex. Following the release of its resilience strategy in September 2020, the company has now declared that its integrated Rüdersdorf cement plant in Germany will be the centrepiece of its CO2 reduction plans as part of ‘Vision Rüdersdorf.’ Details are light at present but we expect some kind of carbon capture and storage or usage project. An addendum to this – or perhaps it’s the other way round (!) – is that Cemex has also just announced further credit amendments but with sustainability-linked metrics. Cemex’s chief financial officer (CFO) Maher Al-Haffar said, “We are especially proud that this transaction represents one of the largest sustainability-linked loans in the world.” The teeth of this arrangement remain to be seen but the integration of finance and sustainability has serious implications generally.

Watch out for a research and development themed interview with Cemex and Synhelion in the December 2020 issue of Global Cement Magazine

Maldives: Lafarge Maldives has rebranded to Raysut Maldives Cement following its 75% acquisition by Oman-based Raysut Cement. State Trading Organization retains its 25% stake in the joint venture, which operates the 75,000t/yr-capacity Thilafushi Island cement terminal. The company says that it plans to expand the terminal’s capacity by 167% to 0.2Mt/yr by 2022.

Raysut Cement group chief executive officer Joey Ghose said, “Our foray into the Maldives will help drive self-sufficiency of cement in Maldives, which currently is predominantly an import market. Raysut is looking at adding local value in the Maldives by installing production facilities to ensure there is at least 40% local content. This will also make the market more competitive from a price point of view, which will have a positive impact on infrastructure development in the country.”

Maldives: Oman-based Raysut Cement has announced its acquisition of a 75% stake in Lafarge Maldives for US$8m. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim operates the 9000t-capacity Thilafusi cement terminal on the island of Thilafusi, Kaafu Atoll, which it opened in June 2015.

Çimsa and its parent company Sabancı Holding renewed their ambition to become a global leader in the global white cement market this week with the formation of Cimsa Sabanci Cement. The new subsidiary brings together most of Çimsa’s international white cement companies including Cimsa Americas Cement Manufacturing and Sales Corporation in the US, Cimsa Cement Sales North in Germany, Cimsa Cementos Espana in Spain and Cimsa Adriatico in Italy. Notably, the new entity does not include businesses in Romania and Russia or at home in Turkey. The move coincides with regulatory approval from the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) for Çimsa’s purchase of Cemex’s white cement business in Spain, including its integrated Buñol white cement plant, for around US$180m, which was first announced in March 2019.

The acquisition in Spain came with conditions though since Çimsa has now become the market leader in both bagged and bulk white cement locally, with a combined share of over 50% in the case of bulk white cement. Firstly, Çimsa has agreed to give Cementos Molins the rights to use its silo in Alicante along with a customer list over the last three years. Secondly, it has agreed to supply all its customers previously supplied from a silo in Seville from one in Motril instead for two years. The Motril terminal was purchased from Cemex. The idea here is to give Cementos Molins time to establish itself in the new market and for customers in the south of Spain to find alternative white cement suppliers if they want to. The latter condition was enough for the CNMC to approve the Cemex purchase in Spain. It was proposed on 24 September 2020 and then approved by the end of the month.

The wider picture is that Çimsa has been playing up its ambitions in white cement for a while now. At the time that the acquisition in Spain was announced, Tamer Saka, the president of Sabancı Holding Cement Group and chairman of Çimsa said, “With the integration of the Buñol white cement plant to our production and distribution networks, we will increase our white cement production capacity by 40%, translating into Çimsa becoming the world's largest white cement company.” This compares to Cementir’s self-declared world share of around 27% white cement production capacity, through its Aalborg White brand and others. Other recent developments at Çimsa include the commissioning of a 0.35Mt/yr white cement grinding plant in Houston, Texas by Cimsa Americas Cement Manufacturing and Sales Corporation in July 2019 with commercial sales starting later that year.

Back home in Turkey the domestic grey cement industry has faced difficulties in the last few years as the economy suffered, the capacity utilisation rate fell, competition increased in export markets and then coronavirus-related lockdowns caused further stress this year. By contrast the world white cement market has remained quite buoyant over the last decade, rising by around 7% year-on-year to 21Mt in 2018 and then remaining at a similar level in 2019.

HeidelbergCement memorably described white cement as a “niche product” when it left the scene in 2018 by selling its remaining shares in Lehigh White Cement in the US to Cementir. It has faced problems of its own this week with the decision by the European General Court (EGC) to uphold the European Commission’s (EC) previous ruling in 2017 to block a proposed takeover of Cemex Croatia by HeidelbergCement and Schwenk Zement. Funnily enough, that acquisition also revolved around a cement terminal. In this case the EC didn’t think that the offer by the potential buyers to grant access to a cement terminal in Metković in southern Croatia would be enough to assuage concerns about reduced competition following the transaction. Some you win, some you lose.

Croatia: A European Union (EU) court has ruled in favour of the European Commission’s antitrust veto of Germany-based HeidelbergCement and Schwenk Zement’s 2017 acquisition agreement with Mexico-based Cemex for acquisition of its subsidiary Cemex Croatia. The court said that the deal was anti-competitive in that it had the potential to push up cement prices in Croatia, in spite of HeidlebergCement and Schwenk Zement’s offer to grant other cement suppliers access to a terminal.

US: CRH subsidiary Ash Grove Cement says that it is undertaking an upgrade of its Port Manatee, Florida deep water cement terminal to install a high capacity FLSmidth Kovako unloader and modernise existing material transfer and electrical systems, as well as establishing self-loading capabilities. The aim of the upgrade is “to improve Ash Grove’s capacity to import cement clinker, slag and fly ash to meet the existing and future needs of customers in the Florida and South Georgia markets.

Regional president Monica Manolas said, “The underlying fundamentals in the Florida market are positive with good population and employment growth. The upgrade of the Port Manatee import terminal will expand our capabilities and strengthen our ability to meet growing demand in the region.”

The company says that construction will begin in early 2021 and the upgraded terminal will open in late 2021.

US: Mississippi Lime has announced its acquisition of the Transload Terminal in Edwardsville, Kansas from LG Everist. President and chief executive officer (CEO) William Ayers said, “We are pleased with this acquisition and looking forward to further integrating this operation into our business. Mississippi Lime has been a long-term supplier of calcium-based products in this region, serving construction projects as well as many other industries. This acquisition serves to strengthen that commitment.”

Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo subsidiary Cementos Selva has begun shipping 2550t/yr of cement produced at its 0.4Mt/yr integrated Rioja, San Matrín plant to the city of Iquitos via the Huallaga, Marañon and Amazon rivers following refurbishment of its Port of Yurimaguas cement terminal. The company said, “The facilities provided by the Port of Yurimaguas with its modern infrastructure and equipment, together with a coordinated logistical operation with the Rioja plant, has made it possible to considerably reduce reception and shipment times, demonstrating that good practices in the jungle are possible,” according to the Diario Gestión newspaper.

Singapore: Jurong Port has ordered three Siwertell ship unloaders from Bruks Siwertell to handle cement imports. The port’s cement terminal already has three Siwertell ship unloaders that have been used for over 20 years. Two of these will be replaced as part of the upgrade project.

The three new ST 490-M screw-type rail-travelling unloaders will each discharge cement, fly ash and cement slag from vessels up to 50,000dwt at a continuous rated capacity of 800t/hr. Two of the new unloaders are scheduled for delivery in May 2022 and the third by the end of 2022. All will be fully assembled prior to delivery and transported by heavy-lift ship. Final commissioning and performance tests will be carried out in Jurong Port.

Myanmar: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim says it is liquidating its subsidiary in Myanmar. The group says it decided in 2017 to exit its operations in Myanmar. Subsequently, it wound the company down in 2018, with no local employees and no product sales. Its cement repacking plant in Thilawa special economic zone (SEZ) originally opened in 2014.

The announcement follows the discovery by the Sonntags Zeitung newspaper of military links (Tatmadaw) with two companies allegedly linked to a sale of the assets. In mid-2019 the United Nations (UN) recommended that multinational companies operating in the country, “should conduct heightened due diligence to ensure they are not benefiting the Tatmadaw,” following the persecution of the mainly-Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine state from mid-2017.