October 2025

China/Denmark: Denmark-based FLSmidth Cement has signed a licensing agreement with Sinoma International Intelligent Technology (IIT) covering the production and sale of QCX lab equipment in China. Cyril Leung, Country Head China – FLSmdith, said “The deal effectively provides us a new sales channel and represents our continued commitment to enhancing our services in the world’s largest cement market.”

All QCX equipment that FLSmidth Cement supplies outside of China will continue to be made in Brno, Czech Republic. Development and delivery of QCX software will remain in Denmark. FLSmidth noted that the agreement has no impact on the ongoing divestment of FLSmidth Cement.
FLSmidth Cement’s QCX lab equipment supports sampling, preparation and analysis. Products in the range include the QCX/RoboLab laboratory automation system, analysers, sample preparation products, quality control systems and laboratory software.

Afghanistan: The office of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs says that the country has invested over US$600m in the cement sector since the Taliban administration took charge in 2021. It cited a US$1m renovation project at the Jabal Saraj cement plant in Parwan province, according to National Afghanistan TV and the BBC. Future investment projects are also planned for Jabal Saraj as well as the Temtaq plant in Jowzjan province and the Herat cement factory in Herat province.

At present the local cement sector has a reported production capacity of 5Mt/yr.

Mexico: Cruz Azul has inaugurated a new limestone crusher at its Oaxaca integrated cement plant in Lagunas in Oaxaca state. Construction of a new mill at the site has also started, according to the Herald of Mexico newspaper. It was announced in August 2024 that the new grinding mill has an investment of US$40m and it is scheduled for completion by October 2025. The company is also expanding a local hospital. The projects were presented as part of a ceremony linked to the community’s 493rd anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Saudi Arabia: Najran Cement Company has launched Wasel, an app for business-to-business cement distribution. Argaam News has reported that users can order and track cement deliveries on the app.

CEO Abdulsalam bin Abdullah Aldraibi said "The development of this system started at the end of 2023 and its modules were gradually launched during 2024 according to the priority of the operational need. Today, all modules of the system have been successfully completed and the system has been linked to other supporting systems such as the vehicle tracking system and the Saudi Public Transport Authority’s Waybill transport issuance system."

Brazil: China-based Huaxin Cement has signed a deal worth US$187m to buy aggregates producer Embu. Embu owns four quarries in the metropolitan region of São Paulo with a production capacity of nearly 9Mt/yr, according to the Rio Times newspaper. In 2023 it produced 6.3Mt and reported a net profit of around US$3.2m.

India: One person has died and five sustained injuries in a disaster at Adani Group subsidiary Penna Cement’s Yadiki cement plant in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur District. The Hindu newspaper has reported that an incident of an unspecified nature occurred on the night of 18 December 2024.

Anantapur’s Industrial Safety Committee is compiling a report for the district collector, who may take action against any party at fault.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has asked the US Department of Energy to add alternative fuels to its Material Circularity Framework. It said that alternative fuels in the cement manufacturing process are better for the environment than the use of traditional fuels and that it diverted a significant amount of materials from landfill. The PCA said that the DOE’s Framework “…should address how to promote circularity through alternative fuels and replacement of raw materials to promote reducing greenhouse gases emissions.”

The DOE released its draft strategic framework ‘Circularity for Secure and Sustainable Products and Materials’ in October 2024. It asked for feedback from stakeholders by mid-December 2024. The framework is intended to identify opportunities and challenges to use circularity to decarbonise industry, secure supply chains, benefit communities and create jobs. The draft mentions recycling concrete and generating secondary cementitious materials from recovered material streams.

Spain: According to the latest data from Oficemen, cement consumption in Spain recorded an average increase of 1.8% in 2024, after rising by 4.3% in November 2024. The figures align with the 1.3% growth observed from January to October 2024. November's boost brought the monthly consumption to 1.34Mt nearly 56,000t more than in November 2023. Despite a 41% growth in exports in November 2024, adding 154,387t, an 8.8% year-on-year decline. From January to November 2024, Spain exported 4.54Mt of cement, 0.44Mt or 9.7% less than the same period in 2023.

Aniceto Zaragoza, general director of Oficemen, said "These positive figures are in line with the forecasts we gave at the beginning of 2024, where we expected a moderate recovery towards the end of the year. With 11 months of data now available, it is not risky to predict that we will close the year with slight positive growth, as we anticipated in January 2024. This trend makes us look at 2025 with some optimism, expecting a more solid increase in consumption."

Kenya: Holcim has completed the divestment of its Kenyan operations by selling its entire 58.6% stake in Bamburi Cement to Amsons Group. The transaction has resulted in cash proceeds of over US$100m for Holcim, according to the company's press release.

Greece: Heracles, part of the Holcim Group, has signed a front-end engineering design contract (FEED) with Air Liquide for CO₂ capture, liquefaction, storage and dispatch facilities at the Heracles plant in Milaki, as part of the Olympus carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. The project will enable the plant to capture and store 1Mt/yr of CO₂ and is scheduled for full operation in 2029. The captured CO₂ will be liquefied and transported by sea to the offshore sequestration facility in Prinos in the northern part of the Aegean Sea.