Malaysia: Police reported the death of a man at a cement plant in Kinta District on 16 August 2023. The 26-year-old contractor had been cleaning hardened cement from a silo through its manhole, when he fell in and was submerged by cement. Medical staff pronounced him dead after his arrival at hospital. Perak State Occupational Safety and Health Department has issued a stop-work notice to the contractor.

Cement plants in Kinta District include Aalborg Portland Malaysia’s Aalborg Perak plant, Malayan Cement’s Kanthan plant and Tasek Cement’s Tasek cement plant.

Uzbekistan: Uzbek six-month cement production was 5.7Mt during the first half of 2023, the Agency for Statistics of Uzbekistan has reported. The figure corresponds to growth of 10% year-on-year.

Zimbabwe: Sino-Zimbabwe Cement reported a burglary at its Gweru cement plant on the night of 12 – 13 August 2023. The Chronicle newspaper has reported that eight robbers attacked security guards with sticks, before stealing blasting equipment from the plant’s quarry. The gang was reportedly also armed with machetes. Police investigations continue.

Canada: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has successfully delivered and installed a KS-21 solvent-based carbon capture pilot system at Heidelberg Materials North America’s Edmonton cement plant in Alberta. The partners will now proceed to test the technology using different fuel sources and plant operating modes. Heidelberg Materials North America says that the installation is an ‘important step’ in the CO₂MPACT carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. Once completed the project will comprise a 1Mt/yr capture installation at the plant and its integrated heat and power system. Heidelberg Materials North America expects the installation to be operational by late 2026.

Heidelberg Materials North America’s vice president cement operations, Northwest Region, Joerg Nixdorf said “Today is a substantial milestone in our journey to building the world’s first full-scale carbon capture project in the cement industry.”

New Zealand: Fletcher Building recorded sales of US$5.07bn during the 2023 financial year, down slightly year-on-year from US$5.08bn in the 2022 financial year. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) fell by 29% to US$296m from US$419m. The drop in earnings was mainly attributed to additional costs allocated to the New Zealand International Convention Centre and Hobson Street Hotel project. Adjusted for significant items, the group’s EBIT rose by 6% to US$477m from US$452m.

Throughout the year, Fletcher Building’s cement subsidiary Golden Bay Cement co-processed 100,000t of waste as alternative fuel (AF). The producer awarded a bottom ash supply contract to Huntly Power Station. It also launched EcoZero carbon neutral cement, which is its EcoSure reduced-CO₂ cement with the remaining emissions offset.

Chief executive officer Ross Taylor said “Looking forward to the 2024 financial year, we expect some further tightening in our overall volumes and so our focus remains on strong customer performance, cost control and pricing disciplines across our businesses. We have shown we are well equipped to continue performing solidly through the cycle.”

Nigeria: BUA Cement says that it expects to inaugurate its upcoming Okpella and Sokoto cement plants in early 2024. The Punch newspaper has reported that chief financial officer Jacques Piekarski said the plants will have a combined capacity of 6Mt/yr, and will raise BUA Cement’s Nigerian cement capacity by 54% to 17Mt/yr from 2024.

Vietnam: The government has launched a public consultation over a proposed environmental protection fee. The Vietnam Investment Review newspaper has reported that the proposed policy would require emitters of dust, NO_x, sulphur oxides and carbon monoxide, including cement plants, to pay a basic fee of US$127/yr. Additional variable rates of US$0.02 – 0.03/t would apply to emissions of each of the pollutants. If it enters into force, the regulation will require cement plants to submit quarterly fee declarations to the government. The government says that the policy aims to encourage investment in emissions mitigation technologies.

Taiwan: Asia Cement Corporation won one gold and two bronze awards at the Taiwan Sustainable Action Awards 2023. The company’s Lighting Up the Beauty of the Tribe with Warmth and Heart outreach initiative won gold, while its Coping with Climate Change through Public-Private Collaboration contraband co-processing initiative and Promoting Low-Carbon Cement for a Better Net-Zero Scenario initiative for the development and application of low-carbon cement both won bronze.

Executive Vice President Doris Wu said “Every sustainable goal has corresponding action plans. Only through persistent endeavour, focus and work from all different perspectives can impossible tasks be turned into concrete objectives.”

India: JK Cement’s sales were US$3.31bn during the first quarter of the 2024 financial year. This corresponds to year-on-year growth of 22%, from US$2.73m a year earlier. Nonetheless, its net profit dropped by 29%, to US$136m from US$193m.

Australia: Construction company SIMPEC, a subsidiary of WestStar, has won a new US$68m contract to work on the on-going expansion of Cockburn Cement’s Kwinana grinding plant. The work involves the construction of two 100t/hr grinding units, a 110,000t raw materials store and a reclamation system. Business News has reported that the total value of the Kwinana grinding plant expansion is US$249 - 272m. Cockburn Cement has committed total investments of US$129m to the project, of which US$7.44m consists of an existing contract with SIMPEC.

SIMPEC managing director Mark Dimasi said "This new contract demonstrates the company's track record of delivering for its clients. We are very pleased to secure this work and are committed to maintaining a long-standing relationship with Cockburn Cement and Adbri. I would like to thank Cockburn Cement for this opportunity to deliver such a high-profile local project and would also like to thank our team for their commitment in helping secure this contract.”

Mark Irwin, CEO of Cockburn Cement’s parent company Adbri said "The balance of work for the agreed scope remains consistent with Adbri's previously announced cost estimate and project schedule for the Kwinana Upgrade Project."