Displaying items by tag: Brazil

Brazil: América Latina Logística (ALL) plans to increase the volume of clinker and cement it transports for Votorantim Cimentos in the south of Brazil by over 30% before the end of 2013. The Brazilian logistics firm intends to increase its shipments for Votorantim to 1Mt/yr from 0.75Mt/yr, according to Brazilian news service Agência Estado.

ALL recently invested US$3.4m in trains and improving unloading bays in the southern state of Paraná and has borrowed a total of US$771m from the Brazilian Development Bank so far in 2013. The construction market represents 15% of its client portfolio in the industrial products sector.

Brazil: Germany's Hazemag & EPR GmbH has received an order from the Brennand Cimentos Group in Brazil for the delivery of two crushing plants for its new cement works in the federal state of Paraiba, Brazil. The order comprises one limestone crusher and one clay crusher.

The limestone crushing plant is designed for a throughput rate of 1500t/hr for the production of a final product of 95% <90mm. A second product of 95% <50mm may also be produced at a lower throughput rate. HAZtronic, a hydraulic input apron control, can switch between the two production modes. The clay crushing plant is designed for a throughput of 300t/hr for the production of a finished product of 0 - 90mm.

The plant consists of the following components: Hazemag apron feeder, Hazemag roller screen VARIOwobbler® with adjustable gaps, Hazemag primary impact crusher fitted with the hydraulic impact apron control, Haztronic discharge belt conveyor.

The commissioning of both plants is planned for spring 2014.

Portugal: Cimpor intends to invest around US$1.33bn in Latin America by 2017, according to its CEO Ricardo Lima. The main objective of Cimpor is to reinforce its position in Brazil where it already operates in all regions, except in the northern parts of the country, Lima told the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

The Portugal-based cement producer will spend part of the investment building a new cement plant in northern Brazil, at either Belém or Manaus. Due to positive results in the Argentine market another plant is planned for Argentina's western province of San Juan. In October 2013 Cimpor will inaugurate a plant in Paraguay where it holds a 35% share of the market but where it currently sells its surplus Portuguese cement.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has cancelled a US$4.8bn initial public offering (IPO) due to poor market conditions. According to Dow Jones, the leading Brazilian cement producer had initially delayed its IPO in July 2013 to September 2013.

"The IPO continues to be the company's plan and we will continue to monitor the evolution of the capital market conditions to be able to resume the offer," said chief financial officer Lorival Luz.

Brazil: FLSmidth has received two new orders in Brazil. The first is for a 3300t/day line for Pitimbu Plant, a greenfield project by Companhia De Cimento Da Paraíba in Paraíba state. The Danish cement plant supplier previously built a plant at Sete Lagoas for the client.

The second order is for an OK-33 vertical roller mill. Cimento Itambé has ordered the mill for cement grinding at its Balsa Nova Plant located in Paraná state. This is the 19th OK mill sold in Brazil.

"The awarding of these orders to FLSmidth is a consequence of a high market demand and has been given to FLSmidth in spite of great competitor interest in the same area," said President, Cement Division, Per Mejnert Kristensen.

Brazil: Portuguese cement producer Cimpor, which has been controlled by the Brazilian diversified holding group Camargo Corrêa since June 2012, has started its first exports to northern Brazil.

The first shipment of 28,000t/yr of cement reached the port of Manaus, northwestern Brazil in July 2013, according to local press. Cimpor's main rivals in this region will be Brazilian sector players Votorantim Cimentos and Joao Santos.

Camargo Corrêa's subsidiary InterCement, which owns directly Cimpor, projects to import some 70,000t/yr of Portuguese cement to Brazil in 2013. Cimpor is also targeting exports to Bolivia amid the continuing severe economic downturn in Portugal.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos, Brazil's largest cement producer, and its shareholders have cancelled a US$4.8bn initial public offering (IPO) that had been scheduled, according to a report from Reuters. Controlling shareholder Votorantim Participações was unwilling to sell its stock of Votorantim Cimentos below the suggested price range of US$7.34-8.71, according to a source reported by Reuters.

The news-wire service also reported that a second source had said that potential investors would take part in the IPO provided that shares offered a 'large discount' when viewed against the US$7.31/share price at the bottom of the potential price range. Any such discount would value Votorantim significantly below its rivals in the Brazilian cement market. Votorantim Cimentos has not confirmed the suspension of the IPO plan.

Brazil: Dirce Navarro de Camargo, who became Brazil's richest woman when she inherited the Camargo Corrêa industrial conglomerate, has died at the age of 100.

Camargo died on Saturday 20 April 2013. Her age was disclosed by an executive close to the family who asked not to be named because the matter is private. She controlled a fortune valued at US$13.8bn and was the 62nd richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg.

Founded in 1939 by her late husband, Sebastiao Camargo, the conglomerate has played a key role in developing Brazil's infrastructure. It participated in the construction of Brazil's new capital, Brasilia, in the 1950s. Today, its interests range from publicly-traded cement maker Cimpor Cimentos de Portugal to a flip-flop manufacturer.

Camargo's three daughters, Regina de Camargo Pires Oliveira Dias, Renata de Camargo Nascimento and Rosana Camargo de Arruda Botelho, are poised to inherit the family fortune. The company spokesman declined to comment on how that fortune will be split up.

Camargo Corrêa came out fighting this week when it announced plans to invest US$1.5bn into the Brazilian market. The move represents the serious readjustment to the Brazilian cement industry that's been shadowed ever since the government approved the Cimpor takeover in 2012.

To show how high the stakes are, in October 2012 Votarantim, the Brazilian cement market leader, released early plans to invest US$160m for a 0.75Mt/yr plant in the Treinta y Tres region of Uruguay to meet demand for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. At these prices the Camargo Corrêa spend could represent projects creating up to 7Mt of cement production capacity in Brazil. This is close to the current capacity gap between Camargo Corrêa (15Mt/yr) and market-leader Votarantim (23Mt/yr)! It's no killer blow for Camargo Corrêa but it does put the two producers in the same 'weight' category.

Although SNIC, the Brazilian cement industry association, recently downgraded estimates for growth in the market to 5.5% in 2013, this still represents very strong demand growth. A previous estimate by Research & Markets put the figure at 9%/yr until 2016. Either way that puts Brazilian capacity at between 87Mt/yr and 100Mt/yr in 2016 with Camargo Corrêa poised to snare a hefty chunk all for itself.

Yet before onlookers count Votorantim out, the company filed for an Initial Public Offering on 9 April 2013. No amounts were revealed but Dow Jones reported a figure of US$2.95bn in mid-January 2013 for expansion both inside and outside of Brazil. Also, the sale of shares must be approved by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission. The industry heavyweight isn't going down without a fight! International companies have also shown interest with Lafarge's announcement in January 2013 that it would invest US$500m in the country, just one of many such moves on the way. Whatever happens, the Brazilian cement market is shaping up for one hell of a scrap.

For more information see our article on the Brazilian cement industry in the February 2013 issue of Global Cement Magazine. In early 2014 Global Cement will hold the first Global Cement CemBrazil Conference and Exhibition. Dates are to be confirmed.

Brazil: The Brazilian construction group Camargo Corrêa has announced plans to invest up to US$1.5bn in the Brazilian cement industry over a four year period. With the acquisition and control of Portuguese cement maker Cimpor in 2012, Camargo Corrêa, through its cement arm InterCement, became the second largest producer of cement in Brazil.

Of the nine countries the company began operating in through its Cimpor deal, the Brazilian market has the greatest growth potential. The market is expected to increase by 5-6%/yr, according to a report by local paper Valor Econômico. To prepare itself, the company intends to invest US$1.25-1.5bn by 2016.

Planned projects include the construction of four cement plants and an expansion at the company's existing plant in Cezarina, located in the mid-western state of Goiás.