
August 2025
India: Sunil Kumar has resigned as the managing director of RCC Cements. He said he was unable to devote his time to company business.
Finland: Coolbrook has appointed Joonas Rauramo as its chief executive officer. In this role he will be responsible for overseeing the transition from a research and development focused organisation to a commercial-led business with the aim of partnering with the large companies in petrochemical, steel and cement sectors. Rauramo succeeds Harri Johannesdahl in the role, who has chosen to take a less hands-on role at the business and will stay on in an advisory capacity.
Rauramo joined Coolbrook in late 2021 as its Executive Vice President, Strategy and Industrial Partnerships. Prior to this he worked for the Finland-based energy company Fortum for over a decade.
Finland-based Coolbrook is a technology and engineering company that is developing processes to replace the burning of fossil fuels in major industrial sectors. Its RDH has potential applications in cement, steel and chemical production process. Its Roto Dynamic Reactor (RDR) is intended to eliminate CO2 emissions from the steam cracking process used in the production of plastic.
Look out for an interview with Joonas Rauramo in the September 2022 issue of Global Cement Magazine
Egypt: Qalaa Holdings recorded first-quarter 2022 sales of US$991m, more than double its figure for the first quarter of 2021. Its loss during the quarter was US$30.9m, up by 22% year-on-year from US$25.4m. Its subsidiary ASEC Holding Group increased its sales by 46% year-on-year to US$53m. The cement company attributed the growth to the 'strong performance' of its integrated cement plant in Sudan.
Daily News Egypt has reported that Qalaa Holdings is currently prioritising the on-going restructuring of its debts.
Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies launches Swiss joint venture with construction company 06 July 2022
Switzerland: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has launched a new joint venture with a Switzerland-based construction industry partner. Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies will hold a minority stake in the new subsidiary, which will produce its reduced-CO2 clinkerless cement at an upcoming plant. The producer says that the unit will apply the vertical production model of its existing H2 plant in France.
Co-founders of Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann said "After signing our first contract outside France more than a year ago, we are proud to accelerate our international development through a licensing model for Hoffmann Green technologies and processes. The opening of this first subsidiary in Switzerland proves the attractiveness of our carbon-free solution without clinker outside our borders, and constitutes a structuring step in the development of Hoffmann Green."
Holcim to acquire Cantillana 06 July 2022
Belgium: Switzerland-based Holcim has agreed to acquire façade and external insulation systems producer Cantillana. Cantillana employs 200 people across nine plants in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Its forecast full-year sales are Euro80m in 2022. Holcim says that the move is in line with its Strategy 2025 - Accelerating Green Growth target of expanding its solutions and products unit to 30% of group sales.
Calcom Cement must create 20 jobs for locals 06 July 2022
India: The Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has directed Calcom Cement to create 20 new full-time jobs for local people by January 2023. The Sentinel newspaper has recorded that the new positions must go to people from designated Project Affected Families (PAFs) with regard to the plant's Pipapukhuri cement plant in Assam. The designation covers any household which lost a source of a livelihood following the company's refusal to deliver a previously agreed rehabilitation package.
Dangote Cement launches US$77,000 prize campaign 06 July 2022
Nigeria: Dangote Cement has launched a promotional prize campaign worth a total US$76,700. The campaign consists of rewards of up to US$11,870, alongside other prizes for customers. The Sun newspaper has reported that the promotion will run until 31 October 2021.
Dangote Cement's Nigeria sales director Sanni Funmi said that the campaign is the producer's way of saying 'Thank You' to Nigerians.
UltraTech Cement declines to pay US$126m for Jaiprakash Associates cement plant in Uttar Pradesh 05 July 2022
India: UltraTech Cement has declined to pay US$126m for a 3Mt/yr cement plant in Uttar Pradesh which it acquired from Jaiprakash Associates in 2017. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the acquisition was part of a US$2.05bn deal covering 21.2Mt/yr-worth of cement capacity across six cement plants and five grinding plants. With environmental clearances pending on the Uttar Pradesh plant, the companies had agreed to a delayed final payment for the US$126m asset, to be made on 30 June 2022. UltraTech Cement says that it is unwilling to pay for the plant ‘in the present circumstances,’ given that the required clearances are still lacking. The group is reportedly seeking a revaluation of the plant down to US$78.3m.
Pakistan: All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) members despatched 52.9Mt of cement in the 2022 financial year, down by 7.9% year-on-year from 57.4Mt in the 2021 financial year. The News International newspaper has reported that exports fell by 44% year-on-year to 5.25Mt from 9.31Mt. In June 2022, despatches rose by 1% year-on-year to 5.26Mt from 5.21Mt. Exports declined by 48% to 284,000t from 543,000t. APCMA said that high costs caused the decline, which continues into the current 2023 financial year (which begun on 1 July 2022).
An association spokesperson said “The export of cement has declined massively during the ongoing financial year due to the high cost of production.”
India: Three new Indian concrete companies have separately secured agreements for the use of Finland-based Betolar’s Geoprime alkali-activated slag and fly ash additive. Reuters News has reported that the companies are Balaiji Cement Products, Shiv Tiles and SNEH Precast. Engineering company Godrej & Boyce has also signed a letter of intent with the supplier for pilot production of concrete blocks, paving slabs and other elements.
Betolar expects producers to achieve global concrete production volumes of 250,000t/yr of concrete containing Geoprime by 2023.