Displaying items by tag: Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic: Adriano Brunetti, the president of the Dominican Association of Portland Cement Producers (ADOCEM), says that local production is forecast to grow by 8% year-on-year to 4.8Mt in 2019. His prediction was based on 12.5% growth in the construction sector in the first four months of the year, according to the Acento newspaper. He added that local cement producers have a production capacity of around 8Mt/yr. The country exports around 1Mt/yr to other countries in the Caribbean.

Dominican Republic: Cementos Argos has launched new branding under the tagline of 'imagine all we can build together.' Gary De la Rosa, chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, said that it would enhance the value the company offered to its customers, according to the Hoy newspaper. The Colombian company operates two ready-mix concrete plants and a cement grinding plant in the country.

Guyana: Concrete manufacturer KSM is taking legal action against the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for over valuing the cost of cement imports. It alleges that the GRA charged it US$16.6m too much for five shipments between January and March 2019, according to the Stabroek News newspaper.

It grew its imports from 2015 to 2018 and it imported 24,480t of cement from Domicem in the Dominican Republic in 2018. However, KSM says that the GRA increased the declared value of cement by over 40% in the second half of 2018 without offering any ‘reasonable or justifiable grounds’ for so doing. KSM says it imported its shipments in 2019 at the lower rate and this was approved by customs. The GRA then demanded the shortfall from KSM in May 2019.

Dominican Republic: Alexander Medina Herasme, the director of the General Directorate of Mining, says that the country exported grey cement worth US$72.3m in 2018, according to the El Caribe newspaper. The nation has five integrated cement plants and two grinding plants.

Dominican Republic: Cementos Argos has opened a new packaging plant to support its Najayo grinding plant. The unit has a capacity of over 1000bags/hr. It also improves dust collection efficiency compared to the previous system. The Colombian cement producer operates two ready-mix concrete plants and a cement grinding plant in the country.

Dominican Republic: Cementos Argos says it had broken its production record at its 0.54Mt/yr Najayo grinding plant. The plant produced 50,194t in one month, its highest rate in 20 years. The Colombian company operates two ready-mix concrete plants and a cement grinding plant in the country.

Dominican Republic: Cemex has appointed José Antonio Cabrera as the president of Cemex Dominicana. He succeeds Alejandro Ramírez, who has been named president of Cemex Colombia, according to the El Nuevo Dia newspaper. The business has operations in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico.

Cabrera previously served as Vice President of Strategic Planning at Cemex Egypt, as well as Vice President of Strategic Planning for Cemex's Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region. He first joined Cemex in 2000 and has held positions including Commercial and Operations Director of Cemex Spain and Project Manager of Strategic Planning for Cemex Spain and the Mediterranean region.

Dominican Republic: The Dominican Association of Portland Cement Producers (ADOCEM) says that the local industry is on track for 4.1% year-on-year growth in cement consumption in 2018. This follows a decrease of 2% in 2017, according to the Acento newspaper. The association’s president Rayza Rodriguez forecast the growth was likely to continue in the short to medium term.

Dominican Republic: Cementos Cibao has inaugurated a new packing and despatch plant. The unit has two automated packing lines with a palletising system, according to the Listín Diario newspaper. The site also includes a warehouse that can store 200,000 bags of cement. The cement producer operates an integrated plant.

Colombia: Falling sales at home have reduced Cementos Argos’ sales so far in 2018. Its revenue decreased by 1.8% year-on-year to US$1.99bn in the first nine months of 2018 from US$2.03bn in the same period in 2017. Its sales volumes of cement declined slightly to 12.1Mt. However, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6.1% to US$355m from US$330m.

“It´s been a year full of challenges and opportunities in which we have been focused on the strengthening of our value proposition, looking forward to be a strategic ally for our clients´ projects; improving the competitiveness of our operations through the execution of BEST, ensuring we have the financial flexibility to mitigate market risks, taking advantage of growth opportunities and becoming a leaner, more innovative and sustainable company for the years to come,” said Juan Esteban Calle, chief executive officer (CEO) of Cementos Argos.

By region, revenue fell by a little in the US and cement sales volumes remained stable. This was blamed, in part, on the negative effects of Hurricane Florence on its market in the Carolinas in the third quarter and on falling prices. Revenue and sales volumes were down in Colombia due to a poor market although this started to recover in the third quarter, notably with improving earnings. In the Caribbean and Central America region its revenue and sales volumes increased, lead by growth in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Eastern Caribbean. Despite this, EBITDA margin fell due to decreased despatches in Honduras and Panama.