August 2025

Netherlands: Van Aalst Bulk Handling B.V. has appointed Dick Borst as International Sales Manager. Borst will be added to the sales team of Van Aalst Bulk handling, that currently consists of A van Aalst and H van Est. Van Aalst Bulk Handling is a producer of shore based pneumatic ship (un)loading systems for abrasive bulk powders such as cement and fly ash.

With the annual results for 2012 in from Lafarge, Holcim and CRH we now return to look at how the European markets coped.

Holcim summed up the mood perfectly in its media release on its annual results for 2012. First it pushed the big positive (net sales up overall) but then finished its first (!) sentence with: '...despite the difficult economic environment in Europe.'

Overall in Europe, Lafarge saw its cement volumes fall by 9% to 29.6Mt from 32.5Mt. Notably sales volumes fell significantly in Spain and Greece, by 26% and 37% respectively.

Holcim saw its cement volumes fall by 2% in Europe to 26.3Mt from 26.8Mt. There were specific country figures from Holcim but it did comment that the 'severe crisis' in southern Europe had 'contaminated' economies further north such as a France, Benelux, Germany and Switzerland.

CRH was less candid about its cement business in Europe although it did report that its sales revenues fell by 10% to Euro2.69bn in 2012 from Euro2.99bn in 2011. Notable losses occurred in Poland (11% volume decline), Ireland (17% decline) and Spain (30% decline).

These figures compare against a 4% decline in volumes in Western and Northern Europe to 22.1Mt from 21.3Mt by HeidelbergCement, a 13% drop in overall net sales to Euro3.05bn in Cemex's Northern Europe section and a 16% drop in volumes to 16Mt from Italcementi in its Central Western Europe region.

The question to ask at this point is how HeidelbergCement and Holcim managed to suffer smaller losses compared to everybody else. Less exposure to southern Europe is one answer. Depressingly though they both suffered similar drops in profit indicators such as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to the others (20% and 33% respectively).

Both Holcim and CRH are expecting continued tough conditions in Europe in 2013. However, both companies are mildly optimistic that the worst has passed, with talk of the work of the European Central Bank supporting peripheral Eurozone economies showing some effect. Lafarge doesn't even mention Europe in its outlook.

As mentioned in Global Cement Weekly #87 on 13 February 2013, EU regional GDP growth is forecast to become positive in 2013. Everybody is going to be watching the European quarterly results for the cement majors in 2013 very carefully indeed. In the meantime all every cement producer with a presence in Europe can do is to carry on cutting costs.

Ireland: Myles Lee, the Group Chief Executive of CRH, has confirmed to the board that he intends to retire from the company at the end of 2013 having reached the age of 60. CRH has indicated that it was likely that Albert Manifold, CRH's CEO, would become the new chairman.

Lee has completed a five year term as chief executive and 10 years as an executive director. Lee joined CRH in 1982, joining the board in November 2003 as finance director, later becoming chief executive in January 2009.

India: JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that Shri Hari Shankar Singhania, chairman of the board of directors of the company and president, JK Organisation, passed away on 22 February 2013 at the age of 80.

One of the comments on the Global Cement LinkedIn group about last week's column posted the US Geological Survey's (USGS) estimated cement production list for 2012.

John Kline commented that the report highlighted the increasing weight of developing countries. There is nothing surprising here, but it is worth noting the implications of this in Lafarge's financial results for 2012, which we report on today. 27% (Euro4.28bn) of the group's sales came from its Middle East and Africa region.

By cement volumes sales 63% or 89.5Mt came from its Middle East/African and Asian regions. Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont explicitly acknowledged this in his statement accompanying the announcement saying, "Emerging markets continue to be the main driver of demand and Lafarge benefits from its well-balanced geographic spread of high-quality assets".

One of the other commentators remarked on the massive difference between the estimated productions of China (2.15Bnt) and India (250Mt). India was second in the list but has only an eighth of China's production!

Talking of India, our recent article 'The incredible Indian cement industry' in the February 2012 issue of Global Cement Magazine presents a good overview of the situation there. This week's news item on Madras Cements' third quarter results picks out a couple of threads from the complex Indian Picture. Firstly, Madras Cements was fined US$48m by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for alleged price-fixing. Although the producer is growing its sales, this fine hangs ominously over the balance sheet.

Secondly, the producer's transportation and handling costs grew by a massive 37% year-on-year in the quarter. Rail freight prices increased in India in 2012. These kinds of increase cannot be welcome on cement producers' balance sheets. Unsurprisingly a 'marginal' reduction for cement is under consideration by the Indian Railways.

The Global Cement India Conference, was held in Mumbai this week on 18-19 February 2013, will update us on situation in India. Look out for the report soon.

India: The Chettinad Cement Corporation has appointed SK Prabakar to the board of the company as the nominee director of Tamilnadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC). Prabakar is already the chairman and managing director of the TIIC. He replaces MD Nasimuddin.

Three of the big multinational cement producers - HeidelbergCement, Cemex and Italcementi - have already released preliminary reports for 2012. Here's what they tell us.

Geographically, performances in the Americas and Asia propped up balance sheets. Europe, however, continued to ruin the party in 2012.

In its Western and Northern Europe section HeidelbergCement saw a 3.9% decrease in sales of cement and clinker to 21.3Mt from 22.1Mt in 2011. However this was still higher than the sales in 2010 of 19.7Mt.

Cemex's Northern Europe section witnessed a 13% drop in overall net sales to Euro3.05bn. Its Mediterranean section did worse, with a 15% drop in net sales to Euro1.08bn. Both declines were similar to the falls in cement volumes in these regions. Italcementi watched its Central Western Europe region plummet by 16.1% to 16Mt.

To demonstrate the comparative exposure to Western Europe, 25% of HeidelbergCement's sale volumes came from Western Europe and 35% of Italcementi's sale volumes came from Western Europe. Cemex hasn't released any figures for sales of cement in its preliminary results but overall in cement, aggregates and concrete, 37% of its sales came from its two European regions.

HeidelbergCement noted that demand for construction materials remained stable in Germany and Northern Europe. However it weakened in the UK and the Netherlands. By contrast Cemex noted a decrease in cement volumes for the year in Germany although it became stable by the fourth quarter. For the UK it had the same experience as HeidelbergCement, with a similar downturn in France and Poland. In its Mediterranean region Cemex recorded a whopping 40% decrease in cement volumes. Although light on detail, Italcementi pointed out a 25% drop in cement consumption in Italy and a 8% drop in France and Belgium.

In November 2012 the European Commission forecast that gross domestic product (GDP) would fall by 0.3% in the European Union (EU) in 2012. Broadly in line with the national situations reported above, Germany's GDP is forecast to have risen in 2012; the UK's, the Netherlands', Belgium, Italy and Spain's GDPs looks to have fallen in 2012. Curiously though, both France and Poland were forecast to have improving GDPs in 2012. HeidelbergCement and Cemex's experiences suggest that this didn't happen in the French construction industry. The (next) light at the end of the tunnel for 2013 is that EU regional GDP growth is forecast to become positive again.

With Lafarge and Holcim due to release their annual report for 2012 in late February 2012, we'll revisit this topic in a few weeks time.

US: The board of directors of Holcim (US) has appointed Filiberto Ruiz to serve as the company's president and chief executive officer. Ruiz's appointment also includes serving as president and chief executive officer of Aggregate Industries US, a Holcim Group Company.

Additionally, Bernard Terver, currently a member of the Holcim Ltd Executive Committee, formerly president and chief executive officer of Holcim (US) and Aggregate Industries US, has been named chairman of the board.

Ruiz has served as the company's deputy chief executive officer since August 2012 and has been with the company for more than 26 years, holding a range of general management, manufacturing and sales and marketing positions both within and outside of the US.

Terver has been president and chief executive officer of Holcim (US) since October 2008 and Aggregate Industries US since 2010. He has more than 30 years' experience in the cement and mineral components industry both in the US and internationally.

A stark reminder came this week of the thankfully rare but potential risks of working in the cement industry. Five deaths were reported at Ambuja Cement's Bhatapara cement plant in India on 31 January 2013.

According to a press release Ambuja issued, the steel construction supporting a fly ash hopper located on top of a building, and connected to the cement mill, collapsed at the Bhatapara plant. Further details in local press reports added that about 200t of fly ash fell from a height of 15m. Five labourers and plant employees working at the site were buried under the debris and subsequently died. Four officials from the company have since been arrested and the plant closed while investigations are conducted.

Previously in January 2013 burn injuries were reported as another Ambuja cement plant, this time at Darlaghat. Eight workers received burns after a blast from a boiler unit.

However, despite these incidents the safety figures for Ambuja Cement and the other major Indian producers are high. In Ambuja Cement's 2011 sustainability report it recorded that its lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) was 1.04 for total employees and supervised workers. Its LTIFR has been dropping steadily since 2008, when it was 3.18.

This compares to other major Indian cement producers as follows. UltraTech Cement reported that its LTIFR for permanent employees was 0.82 in 2011-2012, a consistent drop year by year since 2008-2009. ACC reported that its LTIFR for its own and subcontracted employees was 0.31 in 2011. Shree Cement reported a LTIFR of 0.91 in 2010-2011 for employees and contractors. For international comparison the Mineral Products Association set a LTIFR target of 1.79 or lower for 2014 in the UK. Lafarge's global LTIFR in 2011 was 0.63 and Holcim's was 1.6.

An Ambuja's plant in Rajasthan picked up two national awards from the Government of India for Safety Performance in mid 2012. One was for first place for outstanding performance in Industrial Safety based on 'Lowest Average Frequent Rate'. The second was a runners-up prize for the category 'Accident Free Year'. Lafarge India, UltraTech, ACC and the other major producers all hold similar accolades. Sadly, any safety record is only as good as the shift that has just finished.

Pakistan: Lafarge Pakistan has announced the appointment of Amr Reda as the new Country CEO. Prior to joining Lafarge Pakistan he was the Regional Business Controller Lafarge Middle East and Pakistan and has served as member Board of Directors' Lafarge Pakistan since January 2007.

"We are fortunate to have Amr as the new CEO and I have full faith that he will take the company to the new heights of professionalism. We will together work for the benefit of all stakeholders of the Company," said outgoing Lafarge Pakistan CEO Major General Rehmat Khan. Khan will take a new role as Chairman Board of Directors of Lafarge Pakistan.