UK: SigmaRoc has announced the ratification of its Greenbloc cement-free concrete block’s environmental credentials with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The EPD is a Type III environmental declaration with ISO 14025, providing full-lifecycle information on the product’s impacts. Greenbloc, an ultra-low carbon alternative to traditional concrete blocks, is the first product of its kind.

Managing Director Michael Roddy said “With the launch of Greenbloc, we believe that we can now offer architects, contractors and housebuilders a competitive, reliable and – thanks to our EPD certification – proven low-carbon alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) blocks. Making the switch from traditional blocks to Greenbloc can reduce the embodied carbon of a typical three-bedroom house by 73%, saving the equivalent of 2.7t of CO₂ per dwelling. It is also worth noting that we have obtained additional third-party test results against the declaration of performance certificate.” He added “The world is changing for the better, and technology is facilitating greater accessibility to materials that can bring about meaningful change for the construction industry. The reception for Greenbloc has already exceeded all expectations, and we are incredibly excited for the potential it has to offer.”

US: Titan America says that 100% of its Pennsuco cement plant in Medley, Florida’s, cement production will be lower-carbon Portland limestone cement (PLC) by ‘as early as 2023.’ The cement, called Type IL, has 15% reduced CO₂ emissions compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), according to the company.

Mid-Atlantic regional president Kevin Baird said “We are serving large customers in E-Commerce, cloud services and infrastructure. These customers are committed to sustainable development and are demanding solutions for green construction. Low carbon cement, such as our Type IL, is one of the ways we are meeting the needs of our customers for these projects.”

Europe: US-based CASE Construction Equipment has won a contract to supply Cemex with a new fleet of backhoe and wheel loaders for its building solutions operations in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the UK.

Europe regional mobile equipment fleet and category manager Craig Hooper said “As one of the world’s largest building solutions providers, Cemex is committed to leading on the path to a low carbon economy and is closely evaluating all areas of its business to make efficiency improvements. The vehicles we use as part of our work are a key part of this and we are pleased to have agreed this contract with CASE for these vehicles, which will provide a significant sustainability benefit to Cemex’s European operations. They incorporate advanced technology alongside lower fuel consumption due to an improved power to weight ratio. We look forward to working with CASE to explore other opportunities to enhance the eco-credentials of our fleet.”

Spain: FYM has agreed to sell its Southern Spain business to Brazil-based Votorantim Cimentos. The assets consist of the 1.6Mt/yr Málaga cement plant and 11 ready-mixed concrete plants and aggregates assets in Andalusia. Parent company HeidelbergCement said that the divestments accord with it Beyond 2020 strategic vision. FYM retains its Northern Spain cluster in the Basque Country, Cantabria, La Rioja and Navarra, which it operates under the Cementos Rezola brand.

Greece: Titan Cement has recorded sales of Euro1.26bn in the first nine months of 2021, up by 5% year-on-year from Euro1.2bn in the first nine months of 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 4.3% to Euro220m from Euro229m, while its net profit rose by 41% to Euro81.9m from Euro58m.

During the third quarter of 2021, Titan Cement’s US low-carbon cement sales reached 50% of its total US cement sales. It also continued with hydrogen enrichment pilot studies in its cement kilns in Bulgaria and Greece.

Philippines: Eagle Cement recorded consolidated sales of US$324m in the first nine months of 2021, up by 63% year-on-year. The company said that its cement volumes recorded double-digit growth during the period. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were US$134m, up by 59% from US$83.9m. Its net profit meanwhile rose by 89% to US$102m from US$53.9m.

The company also announced that it has completed its expansion of its 7.1Mt/yr Bulacan cement plant in Luzon. The newly commissioned plant now boasts a fifth grinding mill, a third packing facility and a fifth cement silo, along with new supporting facilities.

Mexico: Cemex has successfully closed a US$3.25bn syndicated credit agreement. The group said that it used the proceeds to repay its previous US$2.65bn facilities agreement. The new agreement will require repayment in November 2026. As the facility is worth 23% more than its previous one, the company said that it will have a stronger liquidity position than previously, resulting in a favourable company risk and credit rating situation.

CEO Fernando Gonzalez said "This new credit agreement represents a major milestone in our path to investment grade as it is our first major syndicated unsecured bank agreement since 2009. It showcases Cemex’s continued access to diversified funding sources while further aligning our financing strategy to our leadership in addressing climate change.” He added “We are starting a new chapter for the company where we shift our strategic balance a bit more towards growth and the advancement of our Climate Action goals.”

Denmark: FLSmidth recorded consolidated sales of Euro1.67bn in the first nine months of 2021, up by 2% year-on-year from Euro1.64bn in the corresponding period of 2020. The supplier recorded a net profit of Euro26.4m, up by 54% from Euro17.1m. Of its two divisions, its cement business’ sales increased more sharply, by 22%.

CEO Thomas Schulz said “The third quarter of 2021 saw strong momentum in order intake. The cement industry is emerging from the pandemic with improved service activity and growing demand for greener solutions. Revenue grew strongly and earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation (EBITA) increased by 72% with an improved EBITA margin in both mining and cement.” He added “Our cement reshaping activities have progressed well and EBITA in cement was positive for the first time since the first quarter 2020.”

Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Holcim Switzerland announced this week that they are testing and developing the use of autonomous electric haulers in a limestone quarry. It’s a two-part project, as being able to run electric dump trucks will help Holcim to meet its sustainability goals by switching to renewable energy supplies. Automating the control of the trucks then lets Holcim work towards its digitisation targets as part of its ‘Plants of Tomorrow’ initiative. Holcim Switzerland has also been running a drone programme at the plant (see GCW520) and has been using a few electric concrete mixer trucks since early 2021.

The use of autonomous haulage systems (AHS) in quarries by the cement industry seems to mark the start of something new. As far as Global Cement Weekly can tell, the Volvo Autonomous Solutions - Holcim Switzerland project is the first one in the cement sector that has been announced publicly. Most of the examples of AHS to date have been for heavy mining applications such as iron ore, copper, oil sands and coal. Automation in limestone and aggregate extraction has been slower. One recent example in the aggregate sector was announced in late 2020 when Norway-based technology company Steer said it had signed a contract with Romarheim to supply three autonomous dump trucks for use in a stone quarry. Previously Steer has used its vehicles to clear unexploded ordinance for the Norwegian army.

AHS have been around commercially since the mid-2000s when Komatsu tested and then deployed one at a copper mine run by Codelco in Chile. By September 2021 Komatsu said it had commissioned over 400 trucks with its autonomous system and that these had hauled over 4Bnt of materials. For its part Caterpillar says it started its first automated vehicle research program in 1985 and was even testing a pair of Cat 773 dump trucks in the 1990s. However, it then took a pause before resuming after 2000 and starting its commercial projects in the 2010s. In April 2020 it hit 2Bnt of hauled materials by AHS using its MineStar Command product. Hitachi, Liebherr and Belaz have also been working on their own AHS products in conjunction with third party technology providers and these were developed later in the 2010s. Most of these products are complimentary control systems that have been added to existing models or can be added to new ones. Autonomous vehicle company ASI is the other big name in the field with its Mobius product. Unlike the other systems, this is purely a retrofit product. ASI does not make its own vehicles. Komatsu and Caterpillar have also developed retrofit kits for their systems.

Most of the products above look mostly like normal trucks with the addition of extra kit. Volvo and Scania have also been working on AHS but their products have been taking it further by removing the cab entirely. Scania launched its AXL product in September 2019. Volvo launched its Volvo Autonomous Solutions subsidiary in 2020 and its Tara system electric dump truck the same year. Volvo had previously planned to run a pilot for its Tara truck with Harsco Environmental carrying slag at the Ovako Steelworks in Hofors, Sweden. Unfortunately the pilot was disrupted by the start of the coronavirus pandemic shortly after it started.

It’s early days yet with the use of autonomous vehicles in the quarries of the cement and aggregates sectors. Obvious advantages are additional operational hours, better worker safety and reduced costs. As ever with automation, cutting out human jobs would be one disadvantage for the current workers at least. There is also the possibility that an experienced human driver using efficiency software tools might be better than a fully AHS. A challenge in the field is developing open standards or methods to allow autonomous machines to communicate or work with both products by the same manufacturer and its rivals, as well as with conventional human-driven ones. Another challenge is for the mining and quarrying industry to determine how flexible it wants its heavy vehicles to be. One thought to end with this that an autonomous vehicle with a cab and a steering wheel can still be driven by a human. The cab-less vehicles being tested by Volvo and Scania would be rather less useful if they get into a situation where the software can’t cope. Lots to consider.

If readers are aware of other examples AHS in the cement industry, please let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pakistan: Fecto Cement has renewed Amir Ghani as its chair and Mohammed Yasin Fecto as its chief executive officer (CEO). Both positions will have a term of three years from the start of November 2021.

Ghani joined his family textile business in 1991 and is currently is a director in Ghani Dyings. He is a member of the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association and Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Boston in the US.

Fecto was first appointed as the CEO of Fecto Cement in 1993 and has held the position since then. He holds a MBA from the Quaid-e-Azam University.