Displaying items by tag: East African Portland Cement Company

Kenya: East African Portland Cement Company has resumed production at its 0.6Mt/yr Athi River cement plant. The producer successfully replaced the shell of the plant’s kiln. Managing director Oliver Kirubai said that the upgrade will enable the plant to increase its cement production by 50%, and reduce the price of its Blue Triangle brand cement.

Kenya: East Africa Portland Cement began work to replace a 16.5m-length of kiln shell at its Athi River cement plant at the end of July 2022. The producer says that the project will increase the kiln line’s capacity by 1400t/day.

Managing director Oliver Kirubai said "Due to the high costs of energy and an old clinker line, the board has prioritised efficiency and reliability of our integrated plant operations to drive cost optimisation.”

Kenya: Cement companies are in the process of expanding their total clinker production capacity by 70% to 10.7Mt/yr by 2023 from 6.3Mt/yr. The Business Daily newspaper has reported that six producers – Bamburi Cement, East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), Karsan Ramji & Sons, National Cement, Rai Cement and Savannah Cement – will add a total of 4.4Mt/yr to their clinker capacities.

Global Cement News previously reported that Kenya faced a 3.3Mt/yr national clinker shortage on 13 October 2021. Domestic producers are in the process of lobbying the government to raise the duty on imports of clinker to 25% from 10%.

Kenya: East African Portland Cement (EAPCC) has appointed Daniel Kiprono as its acting managing director. He succeeds Stephen Nthei, who was appointed to the temporary post in mid-2019. No reason for his departure has been disclosed. Nthei replaced Simon Peter Ole Nkeri, who was reportedly relieved of the role, in mid-2019. Kiprono has worked at EAPCC for over 20 years in a variety of roles.

Kenya: The Court of Appeal has stopped directors and accounting officers at the East African Portland Cement (EAPCC) from being sent to jail due to the company’s failure to pay contract workers about US$12m as agreed in a collective bargaining agreement. The judges noted that the cement producer had already paid US$0.8m as a gesture of goodwill, according to the Business Daily newspaper. Members of the Kenya Chemical & Allied Workers union brought the legal case against the EAPCC accusing it of paying them less than permanent staff.

Kenya: A court in Nairobi has reinstated Jacob Omondi Guma as a production manager for the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC). It follows the company’s decision to appoint Japheth Ombogo to the position, according to the Business Daily newspaper. The judge annulled the company’s decision on the grounds that it was marked by irregularities and may have been ‘malicious.’ The court ruled that Guma may stay in post until his three-year contract ends in September 2022 unless otherwise lawfully terminated. He was removed from the role in November 2019 after serving for just two months. The cement producer denies the allegations and says it removed him from the post due a lack of qualifications.

Kenya: East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has threatened “recovery proceedings” in relation to the alleged unlawful extraction of building materials on the producer’s land in Mavoko County by China Road and Bridges Corporation (CRBC). EAPCC says that it has twice contacted the construction company, which is engaged in building the Nairobi Expressway toll road, to order it to desist, according to the Business Daily newspaper.

Acting managing director Stephen Nthei said, “The company cannot violate the country’s laws when constructing a commercial road. Any mining activities will devalue our land when we are eyeing prospective buyers. We might be forced to institute recovery proceedings against this company.”

The cement producer is seeking a buyer for the parcels of land, which are also home to illegal squatters.

Kenya: A union representing 150 of East Africa Portland Cement Company’s remaining 270 employees, who it made redundant on 1 September 2020, has rejected the company’s offer to take back the workers on a three-year contract with a pay cut of 50%. The rehiring was to be the third phase in the producer’s programme to cut down its 936-strong workforce, according to the Business Daily newspaper.

Acting managing director Stephen Nthei said, “We ran into teething issues between ourselves and the union. There were a few unionisable staff who did not sign, and that is what we are still discussing and agreeing.” He added, “Whatever we will discuss and agree between ourselves and the union will apply to everybody, even those who have signed. It should not be a discriminative procedure.”

Kenya: East Africa Portland Cement Company has defaulted on a long-term loan from KCB Bank. The bank has demanded immediate repayment of the full loan, according to the Business Day newspaper. The cement producer’s current liabilities grew by 70% year-on-year to US$126m in the financial year to June 2019. In a report made to parliament Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu said, “This movement was largely due to the transfer of long-term loans to current liabilities on account of default on existing loan covenants.”

Kenya: East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) dismissed its entire management staff except managing director Simon Peter Ole Nkeri with one month’s notice on 19 September 2019. Business Daily has reported that the company will seek to rehire a small proportion of the personnel with a 60% pay cut. The downsized management team will oversee the redundancy of its entire junior staff, some of whom will be taken back on with a view to reducing the total employees by 25% to 600 from 800.

EAPCC’s staff costs in the second half of 2018 were US$38.5m, 80% of its net revenue for the period. Its anticipated sales of land, if successful, are expected to exceed the US$52m needed to clear its outstanding debts. Shareholders in the company include LafargeHolcim (42%) and the Kenyan government (52%).