August 2025

Today's report that cement producers from Taiwan are preparing for new Chinese NOx regulations is yet another reaction to several 'seismic' shifts of government-led change rocking the industry in China. These have included the closure of old, inefficient capacity and significant implementation of waste-heat recovery (WHR) systems. Last week's launch of the Guangdong Emissions Trading Scheme (GETS) is one more.

As reported by Reuters Point Carbon, GETS involves four cement plants from the start and it is the largest of seven such provincial schemes. It is as big and bold as the manufacturing hub that it covers. It includes over 800 manufacturing sites and will regulate the emissions from 42% of all power consumed in Guangdong and 63% of all its industrial emissions. It will be the fifth biggest ETS in the world after those in the EU, Australia, California and South Korea.

While GETS is large, the rate that it will be implemented will be more restrained. There will be three years of testing (2012-2015), an 'improvement period' (2016- 2020) and a proper market from 2020. The scheme's progress will be watched closely - its success or failure could determine the shape of emissions trading schemes (ETS) across China and the rest of Asia.

While the aims of ETS are laudable, they have met with 'mixed' reviews in other parts of the world. In Australia in 2011, there were dire warnings of the potential for job-losses and carbon-leakage, with China itself identified as a probable destination for both.

In Europe there is now a strong claim that the EU-ETS has been ineffective, with carbon prices slumping to under Euro10/credit (~US$13/credit), less than a quarter of projected levels for 2012. In the midst of the downturn Ireland's CRH 'earned' millions of Euros in unused credits. Security has also been a problem for the EU-ETS.

Even GETS, less than a month old, has drawn criticism. Unnamed commentators have suggested that the higher-than-expected prices, US$9.50/credit, (only slightly lower than in Europe), already look like the result of collusion in the market.

With all of these concerns, the immediate demand from the cement producers, China Resources Cement, Sinoma, Taipai and Yangchun Hailuo, looks a little strange. However, local media reports that there are advantages to be gained by buying early. All of the four producers have to buy credits for cement plant projects they are currently working on. They are gambling on the fact that carbon prices can only rise - something that is not expected by analysts.

In addition the producers can gain valuable experience of the scheme before it has to be used 'in anger,' which may give them an operational advantage over others. They also know that, unlike in other parts of the world, the government will not backtrack on its decision. Recent NOx regulations, closure of older capacity and implementation of WHR have all been imposed (or are being imposed) from above. They know that it is better to jump into the deep end than to be pushed.

Kenya: The East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has appointed two managers to head up its production and human resources departments. Charles Charo has will become the new head of production operations and John Ole Kimanjoi will become the head of human resources and administration.

Charo holds 25 years of experience in cement manufacturing and has previously worked for Bamburi Cement and Athi River Mining. Kimanjoi holds 25 years experience in human resources, specialising in labour relations. He has worked for KPTC, Telkom Kenya, Mumias Sugar and NSSF. Other appointments include a new Production Manager Joseph Kombo, who was promoted from process manager and James Mutisya, who becomes the new Maintenance and Projects Manager.

EAPCC managing director Kephar Tande said that the changes have been made to enable the company to execute a new strategy and align functions to grow the business.

After another year of research and data collection from a variety of cement industry experts, associations and other sources, the Global Cement Directory 2013 will soon be with us. The new edition will feature more cement plants than ever before and shows a number of trends in the global cement industry.

The 2013 edition of the directory has an extra 70+ plants across Asia. This is in part due to the continued rampant demand in these cement-hungry nations, but is also due to the fact that the directory is impossible to keep 100% up-to-date. As one would expect, India sees significant extra entries compared with the 2012 edition, despite valid concerns of overcapacity.

Looking north, there are also new plants and projects in Russia, a major global cement player, with 60 plants listed in 2012 and 69 in 2013. Over the Bering Strait, North America has seen a minor contraction year-on-year, with the section of the directory dedicated to the US showing two fewer plants, 97 rather than 99. There are also an extra seven mothballed facilities in the US, although the vastness of the country means that regions have not been affected equally. Consolidation of older capacity ahead of an uncertain regulatory future is partly to blame for the mothballings and closures, although the fundamentals of the economy in 2012 have been surprisingly resilient.

In South and Central America, an area of strong growth, there are new projects and expansions in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru among others, with gradual expansion a common theme among producers eager to expand as markets develop. Mexico has provided a challenging environment for some, with little change year-on-year in the directory. In the Middle East and north Africa we have carried out significant updates. Despite continuing political challenges, countries here continue to demand cement, something that we highlighted for Egypt last week.

In contrast Europe continues to be a drain on the multinational cement players' balance sheets. The continent has lost 15 plants year-on-year with several others mothballed. Many countries, notably Spain, Greece and Italy, have cement industries much larger than their current needs demand. Considerable further closures are likely to be reflected in the 2014 version of the directory if the Eurozone financial malaise is not resolved, although many plants remain 'open' at the moment.

Also, new for 2013, the directory will expand by over 100 pages with the inclusion of cement industry reviews from various countries around the world, collated from recent issues of Global Cement Magazine.

The inclusion of the reviews will add not just literal weight to the directory, but will also contribute a new angle to the publication's information, adding context to the raw data. Countries with expanded entries include Russia, Brazil, USA as well as leading European and Asian cement producers along with extensive coverage of the Middle East.

At the beginning of October 2012 a digital 'beta' version of the Global Cement Directory 2013 will be released and seen by nearly 20,000 cement, lime and ancillary sector readers allowing a period for corrections from those 'on-the-ground', before the full print version is released for sale in November. Secure your company's space today, right-hand page advertising positions are available for the directory within the plant listings as well as in some of the newly included country reports. Contact Sören Rothfahl on direct line +44 (0) 1372 840 957 mobile +44 (0) 785 0669169 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

US/Switzerland: Holcim US has announced that its president and CEO, Bernard Terver, will join the executive committee of the company's parent Holcim Ltd.

As part of the 'Holcim Leadership Journey,' an initiative which streamlines and strengthens operations, Terver will also assume responsibility for the new group region of North America, comprising Holcim US, Holcim Canada, Aggregate Industries (US) and Aggregate Industries UK. Filiberto Ruiz will serve as deputy chief executive officer of Holcim (US) and Aggregate Industries US. Prior to his promotion, Ruiz was senior vice president of sales and marketing for Holcim US.

"I'm confident that these management changes will reinforce our commitment to customer excellence and to the development of our employees as they become the next generation of leaders," said Bernard Terver, president and CEO of Holcim US. "Filiberto's experience makes him an excellent choice for this new role and I am looking forward to collaborating as the company advances."

"I am honoured to have been appointed to lead US operations," said Filiberto Ruiz, deputy chief executive officer of Holcim (US) and Aggregate Industries US. "Holcim US and Aggregate Industries US are solid organisations and I look forward to continuing to build on the work that has taken place under Bernard's leadership."

Terver has been president and CEO of Holcim US since October 2008 and Aggregate Industries US since 2010. In the same year he also became area manager. He joined Holcim in 1994 when his employer CEDEST was acquired by Holcim France. In 1999, he became chief executive officer of Holcim Colombia and in 2003 was appointed area manager for the Andes nations, Central America and the Caribbean.

Ruiz began his career with the Holcim Group in 1986 as electrical supervisor with Holcim Apasco in Mexico, later becoming plant manager. In 1999 he became regional vice president for manufacturing at Holcim US. He returned to Holcim Apasco as cement operations, vice president and moved back to Holcim US in 2006 as senior vice president for manufacturing. He has been in his current role, senior vice president for sales and marketing, since 2010.

Lawlessness, strike action and increases in energy inputs are the three factors hindering Turkish investment in Egypt.

These concerns arose in a meeting held last week between the Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Hatem Saleh and a Turkish trade delegation. It was also reported that Turkish investors have applied to build a cement plant in the Sinai region of Egypt.

Investing in Egypt by a cement company seems risky given that both Italcementi and Lafarge have shown problems in the country in their recent financial reports. Italcementi reported a loss in sales in its first half results for 2012 partly due to the Egyptian market. Lafarge saw volumes fall by 11% in its second quarter in Egypt due to limited gas supply.

Nationally cement demand fell by 8% in 2011 to 45.2Mt due to the political unrest of the 'Arab Spring'. In January 2012 the government cut energy subsidies to heavy industry, including cement, to narrow its budget deficit.

Lawlessness is certainly a concern. In August 2012 Suez Cement suspended construction of a plant expansion project amid civil unrest. It had also suffered from strikes at its plants earlier in the year. Earlier in the month Egypt launched air strikes in the Sinai region close to the border with Gaza killing 20 people. Previous to this a group of Chinese cement workers working in the Sinai were kidnapped in January 2012.

Yet Titan, despite its losses so far in 2012, reported in its first half results at the end of August 2012 that the construction sector maintained its positive momentum in the country. In addition, it said that demand for building materials grew absorbing production from new cement plants entering the market.

Recent developments supporting this optimistic trend have included Arabian Cement increasing its capacity to 5Mt/yr with the opening of its second production line. FLSmidth recently won a contract to operate and maintain two production lines for Egyptian National Cement. ASEC Cement expects full production of 1.9Mt/yr at Minya to begin by the first quarter of 2013.

With a mixed picture emerging, the cement industry in Egypt shows potential for those producers willing to take the risks, or those able to minimise them. Even at the proposal stage the new Turkish project in Sinai has been linked with the al-Maghara coal supplies of the northern Sinai.

Australia: Australian buildings materials company Boral has appointed the head of its US division, Mike Kane, as its new chief executive officer following the departure of Mark Selway in May 2012. Kane will assume the post on 1 October 2012.

Kane joined the company in February 2010 and has executive experience at four other materials companies including US Gypsum, Hanson Building Materials, Johns-Manville and Holcim

"He has spent the past two and a half years significantly realigning the US business to the changed market conditions and positioning Boral to take full advantage of the US market recovery," said chairman Bob Every.

Kane said Boral has an increasingly significant position in the global building materials industry and said its Asian plasterboard unit provides a growth opportunity in that region.

Coal ash seems to be in short supply in the Philippines. Lafarge Republic has signed a deal with a local energy producer to buy coal ash from a new 600MW coal plant.

Although the cost of the deal was not announced, the agreement will run from when the plant starts operation until 2019. This move follows a similar arrangement by Cemex Philippines in June 2012. In that instance Cemex agreed to purchase coal ash from the 200MW Kepco SPC Power Corp plant in Naga, Cebu for US$0.95/t.

Distinctively both arrangements were set up in conjunction with local government. For the Lafarge deal part of the agreement involved donating at least 10,000 bags of cement per month for use in various infrastructure projects of the province. Bataan governor Enrique Garcia put the value of the deal at US$1.19m/yr. For the Cemex deal the Cebu Provincial Government signed the agreement. In November 2009 Cebu Province and Kepco entered into an Ash Disposal Agreement, where Cebu Province was granted exclusive rights to the ash produced by the power plant.

Adding to the suspicion that the Philippines lacks sufficient coal ash, back in the autumn of 2011, the Cement Manufacturers' Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to impose mandatory quality standards on raw materials, such as coal ash. This followed accusations by CeMAP that poor quality coal ash might be behind complaints from contractors working on infrastructure projects. In 2009 a DTI profile on the cement industry placed the demand for Portland cement at 73% and the demand for pozzolan cement at 27% of the total.

Cement sales in the Philippines have been steadily growing over the last decade. Lafarge Republic announced in August 2012 that it was increasing its capacity to just below 9Mt/yr in 2013. Around the same time CeMAP released data showing that sales were up 20% year-on-year for the first half of 2012. The local industry reported combined sales of 15.6Mt in 2011. Previous to this, Holcim Philippines announced the US$9.46m upgrade to a previously closed mill in Batangas.

US: Holcim US has announced that Filiberto Ruiz will serve as its deputy chief executive officer of Holcim and Aggregate Industries US as part of its 'Leadership Journey.' Prior to his promotion, Ruiz was senior vice president, sales & marketing for Holcim US.

Ruiz began his career with the Holcim Group in 1986 as electrical supervisor with Holcim Apasco, Mexico, later becoming plant manager. In 1999, Filiberto became regional vice president, manufacturing for Holcim US. He returned to Holcim Apasco as cement operations, vice president, and moved back to Holcim US in 2006 as senior vice president, manufacturing. He has been in his current role, senior vice president, sales & marketing, since 2010.

Texas Industries (TXI) made the surprising move this week of appealing to the US authorities to investigate 'unfair' imports from Greece and the Republic of Korea. Of note was the accusation that imports from these countries had risen by 40% from 2009 to 2011, with a further rise over the first six months of 2012.

Given the distances involved and the rising optimism shown for the North American market in the latest financial results for the cement industry, targeting imports might at first seem odd. However looking at US Geological Survey (USGS) data shows that for January to May 2012 the top cement importers to the US, after Canada, were the Republic of Korea and Greece. Mexico, the USA's other land neighbour, could only manage fourth.

According to USGS data Texas was the leading cement-producing state in the US in 2011. In 2011 total imports of hydraulic cement and clinker from South Korea rose by 64% to 1.40Mt from 0.86Mt in 2009.

By customs districts Texas imported 0.99Mt in 2011 or 15% of the US total. Alarmingly though, Texas has already imported 0.77Mt from January to May 2012. If this rate continues for the rest of 2012 Texas could be facing a total imported figure of 1.84Mt, a rise of 85%!

Given that the Global Cement Directory puts Texan capacity at just under 14Mt/yr this might explain why one of the state's biggest producers has decided to take action. The problem of 'cheap' Greek imports looks likely to get worse as the economic troubles of the Eurozone drag on, especially if Greece exits the zone. If that happens, any Greek producer that can still afford to make cement may well be able to undercut the domestic production of any country willing to import it. TXI's move might be seen as a pre-emptive strike 'shot across the bows' to discourage increasing US demand for sucking in more imports, in order to shore-up demand for domestic production (and to firm up domestic pricing).

However, one place Greece or South Korea will have difficulty exporting their cement to is the moon.

Serious thought on creating cementituous materials on the moon dates back decades but last week NASA awarded US$135,000 to UC San Diego structural engineer Yu Qiao for research on the subject using materials that are readily available on the moon. Given that it currently costs from at least US$4m/t to put mass into low earth orbit, the lunar cement industry can rest easy from the threat of cheap Greek imports for the time being.

US: Jose Llontop has joined Giant Cement as its new CEO and president. He joins the company with 14 years of experience in the industry. Previously he has held senior level positions at Cemex, including being the regional president for a US$1bn sales operation for countries in Central Eastern Europe and being the president of Cemex Egypt.

"Llontop is a professional with a long and successful career in the cement industry, who has held positions of high responsibility in different countries and achieved excellent results," said Juan Bejar, chairman and CEO of Cementos Portland Valderrivas, the Spanish company that owns Giant.

Llontop received his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, completed his MBA at Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA, and attended the Harvard Business School's General Manager Program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Llontop served as chairman of the Cemex supervisory board in Austria and as vice chairman of the Cemex board in Egypt. Since 2010 Llontop was the president of Saudi Readymix, and the senior vice president of Building Materials for Alturki Group in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.