30 March 2021
Australia: Calix has reported the completion of a pre-front-end engineering and design (FEED) study of its Leilac-2 carbon capture and storage (CCS) study. Germany-based HeidelbergCement, Mexico-based Cemex and Portugal-based Cimpor assessed the study. The milestone clears the technology for industrial scale implementation at HeidelbergCement’s Hannover integrated cement plant in Germany. The installation aims to capture 100,000t/yr of CO2 at an installation cost of Euro23m (+/-30%). The final investment decision will follow after the completion of FEED in early 2022.
Vietnam: Members of the Vietnam Cement Association (VICEM) produced 22.5Mt of cement in the first quarter of 2021, up by 2% year-on-year from 22.1Mt in the first quarter of 2020. The Việt Nam News newspaper reported that production in March 2021 was 8.3Mt, down by 4% from 8.0Mt in March 2020. Full-year production totalled 100Mt in 2020.
GCC changes name from Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua 30 March 2021
Mexico: Shareholders of the former Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua have approved a name change at an exceptional general meeting. The company will now trade as GCC.
Chief financial officer Luis Arias said, "We changed the name to GCC to better reflect our 2025 vision: to be the best cement company in North America with the proper balance of people, profit and the planet. It unifies our brand in multiple countries, mirrors the stock ticker and reflects how the market best knows us." He continued, "I wish to thank our shareholders for supporting and approving our new corporate name; we are now an organisation with a new name and renewed vision."
Egypt: Developer Mountain View has awarded a 300,000m3 concrete supply contract to Lafarge Egypt, part of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim. Mountain View will use the concrete to build its Mountain View iCity in East Cairo. The investment in the project totals US$12.7m.
The producer has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian National Research Centre to undertake initiatives aimed at enhancing construction.
Tana celebrates 50th anniversary 30 March 2021
Finland: Tana has celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1971. It marked the occasion by setting an ambitious growth target of Euro100m within the next ten years from Euro40.0m in 2020. It said that the ‘open-minded and innovative’ tradition which it has maintained over the past 50 years will continue in future. Tana is a producer of waste shredders.