Türkiye: Two members of the cement sector have reportedly died in a fire at the Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center. Aysemin Elif Dogan, Mehmet Cem Dogan and their daughter perished in the incident, according to posts by their employers on LinkedIn. 76 people have so far reported to have been killed.

Aysemin Elif Dogan was the R&D and Quality Director for Baştaş Çimento, a subsidiary of France-based Vicat.

Mehmet Cem Dogan had been the plant manager of OYAK Çimento’s Bolu plant in Caydurt since 2023. Prior to this he was the manager of a plant in Ankara. Dogan previously worked for Vicat’s subsidiary Baştaş Çimento and Cimpor in process engineering and production management roles.

Czech Republic: Wikov Industry has appointed Michal Kurtinec as the CEO of its Wikov Gear division. Other personnel changes include the selection of Radovan Rašpl as the CEO of Wikov TurboGear and Jan Vosátka as the CEO of Wikov GearServices.

Wikov Industry has reorganised itself into two divisions following its acquisition of Litostroj Power in December 2024. Wikov Gear includes Wikov TurboGear (formerly Wikov Gear), Wikov MGI, Wikov Sázavan, GGT Gmeinder Getriebetechnik, Detail CZ, Pacific Rim Engineered Products, Wikov Gear Canada, Wikov - Wessex, Wikov Indigear and Orbital2. The main focus of this division is the development, production, assembly and service of mechanical gearboxes and precision CNC machining. Wikov Hydro includes Litostroj Power (Slovenia), Litostroj Engineering (Czech Republic), Litostroj Hydro (Canada) and Litostroj US (US). This division focuses on the design, manufacture and maintenance of hydro turbines, reverse pump turbines, valves, pumps and is a supplier of complete turnkey solutions for hydro power plants.

China: Sinoma International Engineering has appointed Yin Ling as its chief financial officer and as a vice president. She succeeds Wang Yuan in the post. Yuan will continue to work as a vice president for the company.
Ling holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and is trained as an accountant. She has worked for Huazheng Certified Public Accountants, China Fiberglass and as the general manager for the finance department of China National Building Materials.

Türkiye: thyssenkrupp Polysius has appointed Ugur Kacar as Head of Middle East and Turkey / Services. He has also been selected as the general manager and a board member for the local subsidiary thyssenkrupp Polysius Türkiye.

Kacar has worked for thyssenkrupp and its subsidiary thyssenkrupp Polysius since 2018. He started as Account Manager – Cement in Türkiye before becoming the Head of Sales - Middle East and Turkey for thyssenkrupp in 2021. Prior to this he held maintenance and project management positions with Çimsa, Limak Cement and Çimko Çimento. He holds an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Cukurova University in Adana and a master of business administration (MBA) qualification.