September 2025

China: The Chinese construction industry has reversed a downward trend in 2020 to grow value-added output by 46% year-on-year in the first two months of 2021. The Xinhua News Agency has reported that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recorded a 61%year-on-year rise in cement production to 240Mt in the period.

Cambodia: China-based Conch International Holding subsidiary Conch KT Cement has announced plans for a new 2.0Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Kampong Speu province. The Phnom Penh Post newspaper has reported the cost of the proposed plant as US$263m. It will generate up to 500 jobs, according to the producer. The company also operates the 2.0Mt/yr Ratanak Mondol cement plant in the province that started operation in mid-2018. It says that the new plant will lower domestic cement prices, reducing the demand for imports.

2700 people are employed across Cambodia’s five cement plants. National installed cement capacity is currently 8.0Mt/yr. The Cement Manufacturers Association of Cambodia reports that production grew by 7% year-on-year to 7.9Mt in 2020.

Peru: Cementos Interoceanicos has contracted Switzerland-based Satarem to establish a 1.0Mt/yr cement plant in Puno. The Gestión newspaper has reported that Satarem intends to buy a 30% stake in the producer. The scheduled completion date for the work, which also includes setting up two new lime plants, is mid-late 2022. The total estimated cost of the project is US$158m.

The producer is reportedly seeking to expand its area of operations in other areas within Peru.

Palestine: Jericho Cement Company plans to establish the first cement plant in Palestine by 2022. The Arab News newspaper has reported that the planned 1.1Mt/yr plant will cost US$85m. Funding will come from a group of companies and the Palestinian Investment Fund.

The State of Palestine presently imports its cement from Israel and Jordan.

Togo: CimCo says that its 2.5Mt/yr Lomé cement plant in Maritime Region will open by September 2021 following a total investment of US$118m. Agence Ecofin reports that work on the project is 65% complete. The producer said that the plant will create 500 direct jobs and a further 1000 indirect jobs.

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has expanded former chief sustainability officer Magali Anderson’s role to chief sustainability and innovation officer. The new role additionally includes leadership of the group’s research and development strategy and organisation. Anderson will also oversee external innovation collaborations with the academic world. The group says that the combination of sustainability and innovation aims to increase impact across both areas.

Chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said, “I am delighted to appoint Magali as our chief sustainability and innovation officer. Under her leadership, we opened a new chapter in our climate action with our Net Zero pledge and growing range of green building solutions, from ECOPact to Ecolabel. Sustainability is a game-changer in our industry and innovation is the most effective catalyst to scale up our impact. By aligning our sustainability and research and development organisations under Magali’s direction, I look forward to stepping up our pace and pipeline of innovation to build a net zero future.”

Anderson, a French national and mechanical engineer, holds international industry experience, acquired in a variety of general management, operational and functional roles in countries such as Brazil, Nigeria, Indonesia, Angola, Romania and China. She joined LafargeHolcim in 2016 as Head of Health & Safety before taking on the role of Chief Sustainability Officer. She is on the advisory boards of the World Green Building Council (WGBC), MIT Climate & Sustainability Consortium, LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction and Business for Nature, as well as co-chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Built Environment and the Global Concrete and Cement Association (GCCA) 2050 roadmap projects. She is also a mentor at the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) in Paris, a nonprofit organisation that delivers an objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies.

LafargeHolcim publishes its first Climate Transition report in 2022.

Indonesia: Semen Baturaja has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huadian Buket Asam Power. Under the agreement, the producer will supply the power company with limestone for its flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) process in exchange for fly ash, bottom ash and gypsum. The agreement will last two years until March 2023.

The cement producer’s managing director Sumsal Saifudin said, “This collaboration is a form of synergy between the two companies to improve competitiveness, which is much-needed in facing an increasingly competitive industrial environment, by taking advantage of opportunities for the creation of new revenue streams and cost transformation.”

Germany: Beumer has partnered with technology start-up Elara Digital to launch a cloud-based database product to provide overviews, orchestrate communication and access information for repairs and the smooth operation of machinery. Relevant information such as work orders, checklists, machine documentation or guides for trouble shooting can be created and accessed at any time creating a knowledge database for maintenance teams. The supplier says that the application is compatible with a simple mobile application, giving cement plant workers, ‘the factory know-how in your pocket.’

Managing Director Robert Bach said, "My job is to find young entrepreneurs with business ideas that are relevant to us."

Germany: Schenck Process reported operating sales of Euro592m in 2020, down by 6% year-on-year from Euro632m in 2019. Adjusted group earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 11% to Euro91.4m from Euro102m. New orders for the year totalled Euro619m, down by 6% from Euro659m, but rose by under 1% to Euro292m from Euro291m in the Americas region. Demand for aftermarket service also fell, partly due to reduced production output and capacity utilisation in the global cement industry. The supplier said that construction and steel were also ‘hard hit.’ It attributed the decline to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on markets and customer demand. Corrective actions ‘partly mitigated’ the effects of this on income.

The group said that staff reduction have led to lower personnel expenses in the first quarter of the 2021 financial year.

Germany: Flender says it has resumed trading as an ‘independent’ company following the completion of its sale by Siemens to Carlyle Group for Euro2.04bn. The mechanical and electrical drive system supplier said that its existing contract remained unchanged, adding, “With our skilled employees, excellent range of products, and a growth-oriented new owner, we are in an ideal position to act even more effectively.”

The ownership change coincides with the launch of Flender’s new Jaegger Direct supplier portal. The portal succeeds SCM Star, the tool used by Simens, in handling requests for quotation, tender management and company profile data. The company asked customers to register with Jaggaer Direct to confirm the transfer of their data from SCM Star. It said that it will dispatch email invitations and login links in the coming days.