India: Shree Cement’s income rose by 15% year-on-year to US$1.18bn for the first nine months of 2018 from US$1.07bn in the same period in 2017. However, its profit before tax fell by 50% to US$95.2m from US$192m. This was mainly due to rising power and fuel costs and logistic expenses.

The Gambia: The government has introduced a 5% import tariff on cement imports from Senegal. The new tax was issues to the Gambia Revenue Authority in November 2018 for enforcement from the start of 2019, according to Foroyaa news website. Local cement dealers have complained about the new tax, saying that local production is unable to meet demand. They have urged the government to reconsider its policy.

Cambodia: The cement arm of Thailand’s SCG plans to buy the remaining shares in Jumbo Barges, a water transportation and logistics company, for US$0.5m. Once completed, the cement producer intends to invest in the subsidiary to grow its logistics business in Cambodia including bulk cargo for both import and export. It also plans to use the company to provide logistics to neighbouring countries. The transaction follows two similar deals for logistics companies in Thailand.

Canada: Germany’s Menzel Elektromotoren has supplied a spare motor for a cement plant in Canada. A new slipping motor was required to replace three existing crusher motors in case of a failure. Due to tight space restrictions Menzel's project manager took the measurements in Canada personally. A 4.5MW motor was selected from stock, an extended shaft was built and adapter plates were fitted with mounting holes for all three locations as well as brackets for plug and play mounting of vibration sensors for condition monitoring. In addition, the terminal box was fitted with long feeder cables to facilitate the third-party connecting-up.

The German motor manufacturer supplies electric motors to end-users. It is also a supplier and partner of drive manufacturers, distributors and maintenance companies.

Sweden: Conveyor belts supplied by Germany’s Continental are being used in the Förbifart Stockholm road infrastructure project. HeidelbergCement’s aggregate company Jehander is using Continental steel cord conveyor belts at its Löten quarry near Stockholm to allow rubble from tunnelling to be reused for road construction. In addition, drilling machines from Epiroc are using Continental DrillMaster tyres to provide high cut resistance, good traction and stability.

Overall, around 5.5Mt of rock will be extracted to build the tunnels required for the new bypass. A series of conveyor belt systems are being used to transport the extracted rock to three temporary ports that have been set up for the project. The rubble is taken across the waterways by inland vessels from the construction site in Stockholm to Löten. The rubble is then reused as concrete, mostly for road construction, or it used for local construction.

Brazil: France’s Vicat Group has completed its purchase of a 65% stake in Cimento Planalto (Ciplan). The transaction was structured through a reserved capital increase of Euro295m. Proceeds will be used to settle Ciplan's existing debt. Ciplan operates a 3.2Mt/yr integrated plant at Sobradinho in Bahia near to Brasilia. It also runs nine ready-mixed concrete plants and five aggregates quarries.

Kenya: Devki Group has ordered a waste heat recovery (WHR) unit from China’s Sinoma Energy for its Athi River plant as part of a US$250m package. The deal also includes supplying a power plant for the company’s steel plant in Kilifi, according to the Daily Nation newspaper. Both projects will be completed by late 2020.

Mexico: Holcim Mexico plans to invest up to US$50m in 2019 as part of a project to improve plant efficiency and its Disensa distribution network. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim said it wants to implement improvements at both its cement and ready-mix concrete plants, according to Reuters. It has a particular focus on reducing emissions. On the distribution side the building materials company said that its distribution business is a part of its long-term plan for Latin America.

Sri Lanka: An unnamed Chinese cement producer plans to build a new cement plant at the Hambantota Export Processing Zone. Deputy Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Nalin Bandara said that this is the first time a Chinese cement company has entered the local market directly. Land allocation environment assessments for the project have been completed. The Chinese company will source 40% of raw material locally and this figure is intended to increase gradually. Production at the site is scheduled to start in May 2020.

Thailand: SCG’s cement business is increasing its share to 100% from 50% in two companies in two logistics subsidiaries, Thai Prosperity Terminal (TPT) and Bangkok Interfreight Forwarding Company (BIFC). Both companies have a combined value of around US$4m. The transactions are expected to complete in the first quarter of 2019.

TPT provides commercial port operation management services for both import and export consisting of Phra Pradaeng Port and Map Ta Phut Port. BIFC provides water transportation services for containers and container moving services at the ports of TPT. Increasing its stake in the companies is expected to allow SCC to provide logistics services in the areas of port and freight forwarding and will enable it to use its own assets better and facilitate domestic port to port expansion.