18 January 2024

Saudi Arabia: Qassim Cement Company has informed investors of its intention to acquire Hail Cement Company outright via a submission on the Saudi Exchange. As part of its offer, Qassim Cement Company plans to increase its own share capital by 23%, in order to issue some of it to Hail Cement Company’s shareholders.

North America: A new coalition for the scaling and deployment of low-carbon building materials, the creation of new clean cement and concrete jobs and the promotion of environmental justice launched earlier in January 2024. Called the Decarbonized Cement and Concrete Alliance (DC2), it comprises alternative cement developers Biomason, Brimstone, Chement, Fortera and Terra CO₂, sequestration company Blue Planet Systems, circular concrete producer CarbonBuilt, biogenic limestone producer Minus Materials, hydrothermal processing technology developer Queens Carbon and electrified cement production technology developer Sublime Systems. DC2’s areas of engagement in policy will include tax credits, standards, ecolabeling and subsidisation, in line with the US Department of Energy’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Low-Carbon Cement strategy.

CarbonBuilt’s government and community affairs manager Sal Brzozowski said “DC2’s platform of robust policy, standards and incentives to scale innovative solutions will not only accelerate deep decarbonisation, but also transform the concrete industry from one of the world’s largest CO₂ emitters to one of the world’s largest carbon sinks.”

Switzerland: Holcim says that it aims to conclude 15 - 20 new acquisitions in 2024, and potentially ‘many more.’ The value of individual deals ranges from US$5.78 – 115m, but might possibly exceed US$230m. Holcim says that it is focussing on growing its construction waste recycling business in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK, as well as its aggregates business in Eastern Europe.

Egypt: Arabian Cement Company is replacing electrostatic precipitators at its Ain Sokhna cement plant with bag filters. Arab Finance News has reported that the project will commence in two phases. Arabian Cement Company will first install the filters in Line 1 of the plant, before subsequently installing them in Line 2. Italy-based air pollution control specialist Redecam Group will execute the upgrades.

Switzerland: Swiss cement shipments dropped by 10% year-on-year to 3.7Mt in 2023, from 4.1Mt in 2022. Shipments declined across all quarters, including by 10% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter. Cement with a reduced clinker factor grew to account for 96% of shipments from 95%, and rail shipments rose to 38%. Ready-mixed concrete plants received 73% of shipments, and building sites 21%.

The Swiss cement association, Cemsuisse, said that it anticipates continued uncertainties and high import pressures in 2024.