Displaying items by tag: CRH

Ireland: Irish Cement has been fined Euro225,000 after it pleaded guilty to breaches of local health and safety laws. The legal case related to incident that occurred in April 2018 at the integrated Platin cement plant in Meath. An employee of the subsidiary of CRH was seriously injured when the articulated tractor and trailer unit he was operating toppled over whilst he was tipping a load in the petroleum coke fuel storage yard. An investigation by the Health & Safety Authority concluded that not all appropriate safety measures were in place at the time of the incident.

Mark Cullen, chief inspector with the Health and Safety Authority said, “This is an unfortunate and serious incident that could have been prevented. Employers should ensure that safe access and egress is provided for plant and equipment being used in the workplace to protect employees and others from the hazard and risks arising from vehicles operating in the workplace. It is of the utmost importance that employers should, where risks have been identified, take the appropriate measures and put in place the control measures to eliminate or reduce the risks identified.

Ireland: CRH says that it completed a further phase of its share buyback programme in late December 2021 with the acquisition of shares worth US$300m. The figure brings the company’s total investment in its on-going share buyback programme to US$2.9bn since it started in mid-2018. CRH has now launched the next phase of the programme, to continue until March 2022, during which time it plans to acquire a further US$300m-worth of its shares. France-based financier Societe Generale will act as principal for the repurchases on the Euronext Dublin exchange.

Germany: Opterra has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Statkraft for the supply of electricity from onshore wind farms. The renewable energy producer will supply around 30GWh to the subsidiary of CRH’s integrated cement plants at Karsdorf in Saxony-Anhalt, Wössingen in Baden-Württemberg and a grinding plant at Sötenich in North Rhine-Westphalia between 2022 and 2025. The wind power will be generated at four wind farms.

Ireland: CRH’s consolidated sales rose by 11% year-on-year to US$22.8bn in the first nine months of 2021, according to the group’s nine-month trading update. The company recorded earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$3.9bn, up by 15% year-on-year. CRH forecast a full-year EBITDA of US$5.25bn.

CRH said that it invested US$1.4bn in new acquisitions in the first nine months of 2021. It added that there remains a strong pipeline of opportunities open to it. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, the company had completed US$800m-worth of its share buyback programme.

Chief executive officer Albert Manifold said “CRH continues to perform well, with good underlying demand and pricing progress across our key markets. Our uniquely integrated and solutions-focused business model has supported further margin expansion across our businesses, while our strong cash generation and disciplined approach to capital allocation provides further opportunities to create value for all of our stakeholders.” He added “Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, we expect to deliver another record performance for the group.”

UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has elected Jan Jenisch as its president. He takes up the role with immediate effect and succeeds outgoing president, Albert Manifold, the chief executive officer (CEO) of CRH. As the first president of GCCA, Manifold oversaw its founding as a global platform for the concrete and cement industry and its work to unite the sector around the launch of its 2050 global roadmap to net zero concrete.

Jenisch was appointed CEO of Holcim (then LafargeHolcim) in 2017, having previously been CEO of Sika. He was also elected to the board of directors of Holcim in 2021. As president of the GCCA Jenisch will oversee the implementation of GCCA’s 2050 roadmap to net zero concrete, launched earlier in October 2021.

Jan Jenisch, GCCA President and CEO of Holcim said: “The net zero roadmap is exactly the collective endeavour that the association was established to deliver. Together we have set out a positive vision for how the cement and concrete industry will play a major role in building the sustainable world of tomorrow. With my board member peers, I look forward to overseeing the key progress we will make along that pathway, turning our vision and commitment into a reality.”

Switzerland: Jura Cement has installed a PREMAS 4.0 continuous monitoring system supplied by Aumund at its Wildegg cement plant. The system informs operators about the condition of the equipment used in cement production at the plant in real time via the PREMAS Cloud. It also provides service life estimates for critical components.

The Wildegg plant previously hosted a prototype PREMAS 4.0 in early 2020.

Head of Maintenance Ramona Keller said “We are convinced that predictive maintenance has a future. With PREMAS 4.0, we can better plan spare parts and maintenance, which has a positive effect on resources and costs. The PREMAS Portal is easy to use and very clear. It enables us to recognise immediately where there is a need for action, regardless of time and place."

Watch out for more on this project in the forthcoming December 2021 issue of Global Cement Magazine

Ireland: CRH’s first-half consolidated sales rose by 15% year-on-year in 2021 to Euro14.0bn from Euro12.2bn in the first half of 2020. Its earnings before interest, depreciation, taxation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 25% to Euro2.00bn from Euro1.59bn. Group profit for the period more than doubled to Euro815m from Euro406m. The divestment of its Brazilian cement business during the half contributed towards the profit growth. Cement volumes increased in all of the group’s regions. Cement, lime and cement products sales rose by 21% to Euro2.36bn from Euro1.94bn.

Chief Executive Albert Manifold said ‘‘I am pleased to report a good first half as the strength and resilience of our business model once again delivers superior performance for CRH. Our integrated and solutions-focused approach leaves us uniquely positioned for the changing needs of construction, while our continued strong cash generation provides us with the flexibility to invest in future growth opportunities for our business. Based on current trading conditions and the positive momentum that we see across our markets, we expect second-half group EBITDA to be ahead of a record prior year.’’

Romania: The Competition Council (CC) in Romania is analysing the deal involving the purchase of Euroagregate by Romcim, part of Irish building materials producer CRH. Romcim owns two cement plants in Hoghiz and Medgidia, a grinding plant in Targu-Jiu, as well as a network of quarries, cement and ballast terminals, aggregate warehouses, and precast goods production units.

UK: Archaeologists have completed the excavation of a 52-grave cemetery dated to 3rd century Roman Britain at Ireland-based CRH subsidiary Tarmac’s Knobb’s Farm quarry in Cambridgeshire. The company said that the find is remarkable for its high proportion of decapitated bodies (33%), indicating the proximity of an execution site. The graveyard is situated near a settlement on a peninsula in the Fens wetland area. The settlement itself is lost to the quarrying activities of the previous owner.

Belgium: Cembureau, the European Cement Association, has elected Isidoro Miranda as its president and Ken McKnight as its vice-president at its general assembly. Miranda, the managing director of LafargeHolcim Spain, who was previously the association’s vice-president, succeeds Raoul de Parisot in the president role. Knight is a member of the CRH executive committee.