Germany: Six apprentices from Holcim South Germany’s 1.1Mt/yr integrated Dotternhausern cement plant have completed an assignment of real-world application to their plant, at a training workshop in Albstadt. The Schwarzwälder Zeitung has reported that Holcim South Germany required a means of stirring cement used for event demonstrations. The apprentices’ ‘eyecatching’ solution incorporates a filler neck at the top and an outlet at the bottom, is 100% leak-proof and was built entirely from parts constructed at the Albstadt workshop.

Canada: Lafarge Canada has received a US$0.3m fine for failing as an employer to ensure that safety measures and procedures in the workplace were upheld. This follows the 2017 death of an employee who fell from a corroded catwalk at the company’s Beachville quarry.

South Africa: South Africa imported 0.1Mt of cement in July 2019, 293% more than in July 2018. The Algeria Press Service has reported the value of July 2019’s imports as US$4.85m. This represents a decrease from the June 2019 figure of US$6.73 of 28%. Vietnam continues to be the main contributor to the June and Julyimport figures, with Pakistan notably absent in both months. In the record seven months to 31 July 2019, South Africa imported 0.6Mt of cement at a total cost of US$29.6m.

Njobo Lekula, managing director of PPC, has stated that cement prices are ‘critically’ low for domestic producers, whose 18Mt/yr capacity faces a domestic demand of 13Mt/yr. In August 2019, South Africa’s major cement producers applied to South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) for a tightening of cement standards, which may take the form of a blanket tariff on imports.

Morocco: LafargeHolcim Morocco’s net profit in the first half of 2019 was Euro90.6m, representing an increase of 8.6% year-on-year from Euro83.5m in the six months to 30 June 2018. Its revenue held steady year-on-year with a 0.2% increase to Euro366m from Euro365m. It continues its ambitious renewables plan with an 80% increase in its use of wind power.

HeidelbergCement’s Moroccan subsidiary Ciments du Maroc improved its net profit restated for exceptional items by 3.4% year-on-year to Euro55.3m from Euro53.6m in the first half of 2018. Its 2019 first-half revenue improved by 5.0% to Euro191m from Euro183m in the same period of 2018, which it said was due to a record year-on-year increase in clinker sales of 55% due to increased exports and operational improvements.

Egypt: South Valley Cement has reported losses of US$6.19m in the first half of 2019, down by 587% from a US$1.27m profit in the same period of 2018.

Oman: Raysut Cement, Oman’s leading cement producer, has taken a step forward in the implementation of its 1Mt/yr Duqm grinding plant plans by securing a land lease and port of terminal services agreement from the Port of Duqm. Raysut chief executive Joey Ghose has said that the Duqm unit will help to secure Raysut’s presence ‘in Oman and the neighbouring Gulf markets,’ as well as support strategic investments oversees. Raysut’s 6.4Mt/yr integrated capacity extends from East Africa to the Caucasus. The company has India as its next phase expansion target.

Kenya: East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) dismissed its entire management staff except managing director Simon Peter Ole Nkeri with one month’s notice on 19 September 2019. Business Daily has reported that the company will seek to rehire a small proportion of the personnel with a 60% pay cut. The downsized management team will oversee the redundancy of its entire junior staff, some of whom will be taken back on with a view to reducing the total employees by 25% to 600 from 800.

EAPCC’s staff costs in the second half of 2018 were US$38.5m, 80% of its net revenue for the period. Its anticipated sales of land, if successful, are expected to exceed the US$52m needed to clear its outstanding debts. Shareholders in the company include LafargeHolcim (42%) and the Kenyan government (52%).

Belgium: Holcim Belgium has finished loading around 1250t of cement from its 1.7Mt/yr integrated Obourg cement plant onto a train in Obourg in Belgium’s Hainaut province. It leaves on 24 September 2019 for Lafarge France’s Bonneuile-Sur-Marne, Île-de-France depot. La Province has reported that LafargeHolcim began the process on 20 September 2019 with the conveyance of cement by three shuttle trucks to the train’s 12 carriages. LafargeHolcim spokesperson Séverine Baudoin has explained that the undertaking, LafargeHolcim’s first of its kind in the region, is a part of its sustainable development plan applied to distribution to new clients in the Paris area.

India: Dalmia Cement has revealed its commitment to dropping its net CO₂ emissions to below 0t/yr by 2040 as part of its new ‘Future Today’ branding. The company’s plan consists of a transition to renewable power by 2030 and the adoption of plant matter and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for 100% of its fuel needs. Dalmia’s 4.0Mt/yr integrated Ariyalur cement plant in Tamil Nadu will receive a 0.5Mt/yr carbon capture and storage facility in 2022 at the latest. The UK-based Carbon Clean Solutions will provide technology and operational services for the installation, the largest in the cement industry. Mahendra Singh, managing director and CEO of Dalmia Cement, has expressed the hope that its product should become ‘the World’s greenest cement.’

Sweden: The Land and Environment Court will hear the dispute over Cementa’s licence to work a limestone quarry near its Slite plant in Gotland on 30 September 2019. The company has stated the supply of stone from the quarry is essential to the existence of the 2.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant. It is seeking to extend the permit, which expires in 2021, to 2041.