07 September 2021

Jamaica: Caribbean Cement says that it will export an additional 200,000t/yr of cement after it completes the 40% capacity expansion of its 1.0Mt/yr Rockfort cement plant to 1.4Mt/yr. In 2020, the producer exported 1580t of cement, all to North America, at a total value of US$156,000.

CBR News has reported that general manager Yago Castro said “We believe the right way is to invest in local manufacturing and make it bigger, solid and more powerful. This is why we’ve been increasing our production capacity over the past three to four years. Our team is always working on improving the supply to the market, quality of our products and service.”

The Jamaica Observer newspaper reported on 5 September 2021 that regular three-day lockdowns begun in Jamaica in August 2021 to stem the spread of Covid-19 have slowed Caribbean Cement’s distribution.

China: BBMG has issued US$464m-worth of short-term fixed-rate bonds. China Knowledge Press News has reported that the company says that the bonds were issued at face value. Their maturity date is 25 March 2022.

India: Gujarat Sidhee Cement has shut down the kiln line of its Sidheegram, Gujarat, cement plant for 17 – 20 days. India InfoLine News Service has reported that the company will carry out routine maintenance on the plant during the shutdown. It says that grinding and dispatch of cement will continue as usual.

India: Ambuja Cements has launched Concrete Futures Laboratories, a one-stop solution for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals. Eight laboratories across India will enable them to test various aspects of cement and concrete.

CEO Neeraj Akhoury said "Our strong credentials in research and development and innovation have helped us develop new products and services tailored to our customers' needs. We consistently work towards developing cutting-edge solutions for our stakeholders, and the Concrete Futures Laboratory is a testament to our efforts. We aim to create an ecosystem that is focused on collaboration and inclusive growth to build a better and sustainable tomorrow."

France: Lafarge France has awarded a contract to Germany-based Inform for the supply of its transport optimisation software across its 160 aggregates locations and 900-truck fleet. The software uses algorithms to analyse scheduling decisions in real-time and identify those that are ideal for minimising costs and maximising service and on-time performance.

Supply chain projects head Kevin Perrault said “We have been using Inform’s transport optimisation software for over 25 years in our aggregates business.” He added “We pride ourselves in delivering the best possible service to our customers, and upgrading our operations to the latest version is a key element to help us achieve our goals and to remain competitive in the industry.”