August 2025

US: Carbon Upcycling Technologies has appointed Markus Kritzler as its Chief Revenue Officer.

Kritzler previously worked as Head of Group Strategy at LafargeHolcim in the mid 2010s. He later became the Director of Strategy, Marketing and Innovation at Holcim México. More recently he was the managing director of Ingenia Capital in Mexico. Kritzler holds a degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México and a master of business administration from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Carbon Upcycling sells technology that enhances supplementary cementitious materials through methods such as capturing and utilising CO₂ emissions.

Malaysia: The state government of Sabah has denied rumours that an investor has departed from the Tongod cement plant project. Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe told the Sabah State Legislative Assembly that Borneo Cement had confirmed that all parties involved in the project remain committed, according to the Star newspaper. He added that the project had received approval for earthworks but that construction work was waiting for the approval from an Environmental Impact Assessment report.

China-based Sinoma Industrial Engineering is preparing to build the 1.75Mt/yr plant. Two-thirds of the unit’s output is intended for the local market in Sabah. The rest will be exported. Ground-breaking work at the site was previously reported in April 2024. However, Borneo Cement subsequently faced accusations of unauthorised forest clearances later in the year.

Tunisia: Sinoma Cement has held a ceremony marking its acquisition of the Djebel El Oust cement plant. Karim Brinji (Governor of Zaghouan), Wan Li (China’s Ambassador to Tunisia), Jalel Tabib (Director general of Foreign Investment Promotion Agency) and representatives of the company all attended the event, according to La Presse de Tunisie newspaper. The China-based company acquired a share worth US$140m in the plant from Votorantim Cimentos at the start of April 2025. It also plans to upgrade the plant.

UK: Holcim UK has published a report called ‘Making Sustainable Construction a Reality’ outlining its plans to support sustainable construction following a survey. It details trends shaping construction and the five commitments the company is making to ensure it reaches a more sustainable future. The key areas include: decarbonisation; circular economy and waste reduction; smarter construction; people and communities; and integrating nature.

The research, involving 2000 participants, revealed that 41% of the group thought that the UK’s urban spaces are currently built sustainably. In addition, 82% of the group believed there should be more access to green spaces across the country, 69% thought that the government should take the lead in driving sustainable action and 54% also held the opinion that businesses must play a key role. Finally, 80% wanted companies to be more transparent about their sustainability policies.

Lee Sleight, CEO at Holcim UK, said “Our research indicates that many recognise the need to incorporate more green spaces across the nation. Yet, it is clear that the government and businesses must work together to achieve this.” He added that the subsidiary of Holcim is addressing the challenges identified through methods such as accurate reporting, higher usage of alternative fuels, its sustainable product ranges and its ongoing Nature Strategy. Projects part of the latter initiative include planting a 64 hectare woodland at Glensanda Quarry in Scotland.

India: Gebr. Pfeiffer has commissioned a Pfeiffer MVR 6000 R-6 raw material mill and a Pfeiffer MPS 3550 BK coal mill at UltraTech Cement’s Maihar cement plant in Madhya Pradesh. The Germany-based company said that these were the 42nd and 43rd vertical roller mills supplied to UltraTech Cement.

Egypt: Construction chemicals producer Mapei has opened a new production plant in the 10th of Ramadan City, north-west of Cairo. The 30,000m2 facility will produce Mapei’s main products for the local market, including grinding aids for cement production and concrete admixtures. It will be the Italy-based group's second production plant in Egypt following Vinavil’s polymer plant in Suez, which began operating in 2002 and employs around 150 people.

"Egypt today represents a very promising market for the global construction industry," said Veronica Squinzi, CEO of Mapei. "With over 100m inhabitants and a constant demographic growth, the country is experiencing a growing demand for residential construction, supported by strong government investment plans in infrastructure, hospitality and large-scale transport. The presence of two production sites in the area, Mapei and Vinavil, will strengthen the group's competitiveness, while promoting local production capacities, creating job opportunities and facilitating technology transfer".

Mapei Group has 220 employees. It has been present in the country since 2002 through its subsidiary Vinavil.

Kenya: Bruno Oguda Obodha, who had previously been appointed by the Kenyan President William Ruto to be managing director of East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), has been charged with fraud. He is accused of forging documents with the intent to commit fraud on various dates in 2024. Obodha never served at EAPCC, as its board rejected his appointment in December 2024, citing its suspicions of fraud.

The charges include deliberately confusing membership of the Blue Make International Security Company with that of the Protective Security Industry Association, altering a document relating to EAPCC with the intent to defraud, and making a document without authority.

Obodha will be trialled in court on 29 April 2025.

UK: A consortium led by HydraB Group - including Hygen Energy, Ryze Power, HYCAP Group and Wrightbus -has submitted proposals to the UK government for the development of Project HySpeed. The project targets 1GW of green hydrogen production capacity by 2030. The €7.6bn project aims to develop a national network of hydrogen production hubs to fuel energy-intensive industries like steel, glass and cement production,via the gas grid.

Project HySpeed, which is also backed by a large private-sector coalition that includes Centrica (owner of British Gas), JCB, Johnson Matthey, Heidelberg Materials UK, ITM Power and National Gas, aims to cut CO2 emissions from heavy industry by 1Mt/yr.

Earlier in April 2025, the UK government shortlisted 27 electrolytic hydrogen projects to progress to the next stage of the Second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2), during which the government expects to support up to 875MW. It previously allocated €2.23bn of funding for 11 large-scale green hydrogen projects under HAR1.

Greece: Titan Group has acquired the Latekat quarry business based in the Thessaly region. Latekat holds reserves of over 100Mt of aggregates. The company said that this latest transaction follows the purchase in 2024 of an aggregates quarry in Attica and the recent finalisation of a long-term commercial agreement in the Southern Peloponnese, securing additionally over 60Mt of reserves. It added that these initiatives are part of its ongoing vertical integration strategy, creating synergies for both its cement and ready-mixed concrete businesses.

Colombia: Jorge Mario Velásquez, the president of Grupo Argos, has revealed the group’s plans for its subsidiary Cementos Argos, following its sale of a 31% stake in US-based Summit Materials in February 2025. Mario Velásquez told the El Colombinao newspaper in an interview that, in the short term, around US$3bn is being invested in fixed-income securities in the US. In the medium term, the company is evaluating investment opportunities in heavy building materials and logistics companies. The latter sector is being considered to maximise the reach of existing production capacity. He added that aggregates in the US are being looked at. However, the company is prepared to consider investing elsewhere.

In March 2025 bondholders and shareholders of Grupo Argos and Grupo Sura agreed to a spin-off agreement to dispose of cross-shareholdings between the conglomerates.