28 November 2024

US: Heidelberg Materials North America has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Giant Cement Holding, a cement producer on the US East Coast focused on using refuse-derived fuels, for US$600m. The acquisition will reportedly strengthen Heidelberg Materials’ cementitious footprint in the Southeastern US and New England markets and help to contribute to its circular offerings and decarbonisation efforts.

The transaction’s assets in the Southeastern US include an integrated cement plant with a capacity of 800,000t/yr in Harleyville, South Carolina, a network of four cement terminals in Georgia and South Carolina, and a joint venture deep-water import terminal in Savannah, Georgia. Assets in the New England area comprise a cement and slag terminal in Newington, New Hampshire, and a deep-water import terminal in Boston, Massachusetts. The transaction also includes Giant Resource Recovery, an alternative fuel recycling business with four facilities in the Eastern US. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025 and to contribute around US$60m in earnings by interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation in the first year of operation.

US: Eagle Materials has awarded thyssenkrupp Polysius a contract for the modernisation and expansion of its Laramie, Wyoming cement plant. The modernisation project will result in an expansion of the plant's manufacturing capacity to approximately 1.1Mt/yr of cement. The project also includes the installation of an alternative fuel substitution system. The modernisation of the cement plant is expected to deliver benefits such as cost reductions, achieved with lower-cost alternative fuels and natural gas, simplified maintenance and improved operational efficiencies. The production expansion from the new finish mill will supplement the grinding capacity of the existing plant, which already operates with an integrated polysius booster mill. The polytrack ECO cooler will facilitate heat recovery and clinker cooling while improving process reliability. The project, which has received primary regulatory approvals, is slated to commence immediately [in November 2024], with construction scheduled for completion by the second half of 2026.

India: FLSmidth has won an order for the delivery of its core grinding technology. The order includes two high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) (3m diameter × 2m width), installation, commissioning, start-up support and a service agreement. The equipment is expected to be installed and commissioned during 2026. With this new order in India, FLSmidth has won a total of 15 HPGR orders or commitments in 2024. The value of the order has not been disclosed.

Türkiye: Cement exports from Türkiye to Uzbekistan decreased by 21% year-on-year in the period from January to October 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, and amounted to US$11.4m, according to Trend. Türkiye's global cement exports from January to October 2024 decreased by 7% and amounted to US$3.6bn.

In October 2024, Türkiye exported cement products worth US$765,000 to Uzbekistan, marking a year-on-year decline of 69%. Overall, it exported US$365m worth of cement, up by 1% year-on-year. To note, Türkiye exported cement worth US$4.3bn from October 2023 to October 2024.