September 2025

Kenya: Nairobi Business Ventures has shared plans for the establishment of a 1.0Mt/yr-capacity integrated cement plant following its 84% acquisition by UAE-based Delta International Holdings. Arab Finance News has reported that the former footwear producer is in the process of selecting a location for its upcoming plant and securing a source of clinker imports for the plant’s preliminary grinding-only phase.

Delta International Holdings is the owner of real estate company Delta Holdings Kenya, Shreeji Chemicals Kenya and Shreeji Glass Uganda.

Egypt: South Valley Cement’s first-half sales were US$12.5m in 2020, down by 21% year-on-year from US$15.9m in the first half of 2019. Arab Finance News has reported that the company’s net loss fell by 31% to US$4.45m from US$6.43m. South Valley Cement was last profitable in 2018, when it recorded a full-year net profit of US$0.65m.

Oman: Oman Cement recorded a profit of US$7.27m in the first nine months 2020, up by 3.7% year-on-year from US$7.01m. Reuters News has reported that revenues rose by 4.3% to US$10.4m from US$9.95m.

Egypt: The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has approved HeidelbergCement and Simon France subsidiary Suez Cement’s mandatory tender offer (MTO) for acquisition of a 100% stake in Egyptian Tourah Portland Cement for US$32.7m. Daily News Egypt has reported that the FRA also approved a change to Suez Cement’s ownership, with HeidelbergCement France acquiring a 33% stake in the company.

Morocco: France-based Chryso has announced its acquisition of a majority stake in construction chemicals producer APTEX. The local producer operates an application laboratory and plant in Casablanca, Anfa-Settat Region. President and director general Mohamed Benlyamani said, “We are delighted to partner with an international structure offering significant means of development and a strong culture of innovation.”

Chryso chief executive officer (CEO) Thierry Bernard said, “By acquiring a majority stake in APTEX, we sustain our long-term relationship with our Moroccan customers and strengthen our local roots in Morocco. We will thus accelerate the deployment of new technologies and support producers in the development of high-performance, environmentally friendly building materials.”

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has forecasted a fourth-quarter cement demand decline of 1.5% year-on-year in 2020, slowing to 0.9% throughout 2021. It said that all three of its post-coronavirus economic recovery scenarios involved a decline until mid-2021, primarily due to “weak construction sectors specifically within retail, hotel and office” non-residential markets, though in the best-case scenario a vaccine could prompt a recovery in these sectors, reducing total demand decline to 0.1% in the second half of 2021. A worst-case ‘W-shaped’ scenario would result from state governments implementing second lockdowns.

Senior vice president and chief economist Ed Sullivan said, “We think that the gradual sustained recovery – the 'U' – has the largest likelihood, followed by the 'vaccine' scenario. The growth-interrupted 'W' scenario is the least likely. He said that in each case federal spending in the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 would be essential “in preventing a deep and prolonged downturn in economic recovery,” as it did in the second and third quarters of 2020.

Mexico: 18 people have been injured after representatives of Cemento Cruz Azul and police took control of the integrated 2.2Mt/yr Oaxaca plant in Lagunas. The La Jornada newspaper has reported that Cruz Azul’s directors José Antonio Marín and Víctor Manuel Velázquez entered the plant accompanied by security personnel in fulfilment of a court order before fighting broke out with cooperativist members of the organisation. Police arrested five members of the group, allegedly linked to a criminal organisation, while the Cruz Azul representatives successfully retook control of the plant.

Cooperativists restricted access to the plant in August 2020. The board of directors of Cruz Azul also asserted legal control of its Cementos y Concretos Nacionales (CYCNA) subsidiary cement plants in Puebla and Aguascalientes in September 2020.

North America: Germany-based Schenck Process has awarded a contract for the supply of “fitting connectors, spigots and bulk bag loaders to one of its North American plants” to original equipment manufacturing (OEM) company BFM Global. It says it will integrate BFM Global products in pneumatic conveying, dust collection, weighing and feeding systems produced at the plant, all of which it sells to the cement industry.

Americas regional president Jay Brown said, “Entering this partnership with BFM Global aligns with our strategy of providing industry recognised parts and system components to our customer base. Working with a company that understands the challenges of bulk material handling strengthens our solutions capabilities. We look forward to what this partnership will bring to Schenck Process and the customers we serve.”

Germany: Schmersal has presented the prototype of the HDS switchgear wireless data transmitter for use with extended conveyor systems. The company says that it developed the products, prototypes of which are still undergoing laboratory tests, in partnership with customer-specific hardware developer Aconno. It says, “The switchgear unites a range of functions into a single platform, making it suitable for an extremely wide range of applications. Typical application areas include emergency-stop shutdown, belt misalignment monitoring in the transport of bulky materials, end position monitoring in steel making and level monitoring in material silos.”

Canada: Screen suppliers to the cement industry Haver & Boecker Niagara and Major have jointly presented an online seminar aimed to “give operations the tools to maximize production, improve performance and increase revenues” through a discussion of “best practices, insights and real-world examples.”

Major president Bernard Betts said, “Major and Haver & Boecker Niagara are leaders in the screening industry, so joining forces gives us the ability to provide customers with a one-stop shop for improvements in every aspect of screening. This webinar complements our customer service efforts to support mineral processing operations. We are dedicated to helping producers improve efficiency and performance.”