Displaying items by tag: Brazil

Brazil: Cement sales grew by 19% yearn-year to 15.3Mt in the first quarter of 2021 from 12.8Mt in the same period in 2020. The National Cement Industry Association (SNIC) attributed the growth to poor weather and the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. Residential and home-improvement construction work in 2021 were also seen as contributing factors. However, association president Paulo Camillo Penna called for caution due to a decline in sales per working day so far in 2021 despite the apparent growth in absolute figures. The association also called for the local coronavirus vaccination campaign to be accelerated.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has announced plans to upgrade cement production at its 0.2Mt/yr integrated Corumbá cement plant in Mato Grosso do Sul. The Correio de Corumbá newspaper has reported the value of the planned work as US$2.85m. The investment is intended to improve the plant’s grinding line, modernise an electrical substation system, make changes to its mining operations and generally focus on optimising energy consumption. It also plans to train employees and work on community outreach activities.

Turkey: Brazil-based Votorantim Cimentos has leased three ready-mixed concrete plants from Polat Beton. Dunya News has reported that the facilities are all located in Ankara, Sincan, Kayaş and Gölbaşı respectively.

Brazil: Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) subsidiary CSN Cimentos began operating as an independent company on 1 February 2021. The Valor Economico newspaper has reported that the move is a preliminary to a likely future initial public offering (IPO) in the near-term although no date has been set yet. Under the same strategy, sister company CSN Mineracao is due to launch its IPO of US$1bn on 18 February 2021.

The 4.7Mt/yr-cement capacity producer operates two integrated plants and it is planning an 8.6Mt/yr expansion consisting of an upgrade to its Arcos plant and three new cement plants at Para, Parana and Sergipe respectively.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos is testing using dissolvable cement bags in a pilot project with paper and bag manufacturer Klabin. Following development, the new bag type will be tested in a pilot project in the south of the country based around the Rio Branco do Sul cement plant in Paraná state. The bags can be dissolved directly in a mixer when making concrete to speed up the process.

Brazil: Cimento Tupi has filed for so-called preventative bankruptcy to deal with its US$627m total debts, with the majority attributable to bondholders. The Valor Economico newspaper has reported that the cement producer has suffered due to a downturn in the sector since 2014 and currency depreciation.

The producer has an installed capacity of 2.5Mt/yr consisting of one integrated plant at Pedra do Sino in Minas Gerais and a grinding plant in Modi das Cruzes in São Paulo. In 2011 it began modernisation of its cement operations, for which it withdrew bank loans. Lenders launched legal action in April 2019 after the company defaulted on around US$30m of repayments to foreign investors.

Brazil: Cement producers sold 60Mt of cement in 2020, up by 11% year-on-year. The Valor Econômico newspaper has reported that residential and commercial renovations and new projects contributed to the increase. The National Cement Industry Association (SNIC) has forecast that growth will not exceed 1% in 2021. It said that this will be due to an economic downturn and the end of the government’s emergency aid programme.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has built a new distribution centre in Campos Novos, Santa Catarina. When it opens in January 2021, the facility will supply a ‘complete portfolio for the civil construction market’ in Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. It will receive goods from six cement and building materials plants in the company’s South Brazil region.

Regional commercial general manager Tony Noritake said, “We invested in this distribution centre to better meet customer demand in the South, expand our presence and optimise costs."

Brazil: Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) for shares in its cement division in early 2021. The Valor Econômico newspaper reported that the company will reorganise its shareholding when it creates a publically-traded subsidiary for the business. In October 2020 the group filed an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil for the sale of its mining division by mid-February 2021.

Chief financial Officer Marcelo Ribeiro said, “The opportunity to expand the unit is materialising more and more, but the truth is the decision to expand will be made once the market firms up, which is expected to happen.”

Canada/US: Brazil-based Votorantim Cimentos says it has agreed to form a new 83%-owned subsidiary based in Toronto to combine the assets of McInnis Cement and St Mary’s Cement. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), the current owner of McInnis Cement, will hold a 17% stake in the joint-venture. The group says that it will manufacture, distribute and sell building materials in the companies’ existing regions in Canada and the US.

Votorantim Cimentos said, “The company believes this transaction will result in the creation of a competitive, nimble and highly efficient business that will be better able to supply cement to customers in Canada and the US. In addition to strengthening the company’s presence in North America by expanding its current cement production capacity by 2.2Mt/yr and combining the company’s Great Lakes-focused distribution network with McInnis Holding’s complementary distribution network in Eastern Canada and the Northeastern USA, the Company anticipates the Transaction will result in substantial synergies.”

The transaction is subject to approval by regulatory authorities in Brazil, the US and Canada.