Displaying items by tag: GCC

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has elected Filiberto Ruiz as its next chair. He is the current vice-chair of the association and is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Votorantim Cimentos North America. He will succeed Ron Henley, the president of GCC of America, in the post.

Massimo Toso has been elected as the vice chair. He is the PCA’s Climate and Sustainability Council co-chair and is the president and CEO of Buzzi Unicem USA. David Loomes, the president of Continental Cement Company, has also joined the PCA board. He succeeds Tom Beck, the executive vice president of Summit Materials, who has stepped down from the board.

Mexico: GCC has made new appointments to the roles of project director, chief financial and planning officer and general counsel, effective immediately. Luis Carlos Arias will now serve as project director to the company's Odessa, US, cement plant expansion. Arias previously served as the group's chief financial officer. Maik Strecker steps into the role of chief financial and planning officer. Strecker joined GCC as chief planning officer in 2020. He has two decades' previous experience in roles spanning mergers and acquisitions, business development, product line management, operations and sales and marketing. Lastly, Cesar Conde will serve as GCC's general counsel. Conde has worked for the group since 2006.

GCC's CEO Enrique Escalante said "I am confident these executives bring proved strategic and execution leadership to the Company, and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead."

US: GCC plans to invest US$750m in an upgrade to its 0.9Mt/yr Odessa cement plant in Texas. The Milenio newspaper has reported that the upgrade will more than double the plant’s capacity to 1.9Mt/yr and lower its CO₂ emissions per tonne of cement by 13%. GCC expects the new capacity to be operational by 2025.

The group said “GCC will carry out the project at the Odessa plant because the US market is developing faster and represents savings in freight compared to the plant located in Chihuahua, Mexico.”

Mexico: GCC increased its sales revenue by 11% year-on-year to US$320m in the second quarter of 2022. Its US cement sales volumes rose by 6%, with a 10% rise in prices, while its Mexico cement volumes fell by 2.3%, with a 12% rise in prices. The group’s cost of sales was US$220m, 69% of total sales, compared to 67% in the second quarter of 2021.

Mexico: GCC has announced its plan for a 100% Portland limestone cement (PLC) transition of its Samalayuca, Chihuahua, cement plant. The producer says that the plant will complete its transition in July 2022. It said that the move is part of its CO₂ emissions reduction roadmap.

Mexico: GCC recorded consolidated sales of US$207m in the first quarter of 2022, up by 16% year-on-year from first-quarter 2021 levels. US sales growth of 21% contributed to the increase, driven by regional cement volumes growth of 10%. The group's cement volumes in its native Mexico rose by 12%. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the quarter reached US$54.5m, up by 10% year-on-year. Following the results, the company plans to reactivate its on-going share buyback programme.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Enrique Escalante said "GCC is off to an excellent start this year. We are pleased with the results delivered during this quarter and of the way we are overcoming a high inflation environment amid global challenges. One of our top priorities is being extremely vigilant in offsetting cost pressures as we capitalise on market opportunities and focus our efforts in maximising production and terminal outputs. Market trends and full-year backlogs are encouraging for 2022; therefore, we expect to end the year in line with our high-single to double-digit EBITDA growth guidance."

Mexico: Increases in raw material prices and energy costs, as a result of high inflation levels, will affect the operating margins of cement companies listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange in the first quarter of 2022, according to analysts quoted by CE NoticiasFinancieras.

Jacobo Rodríguez, director of Economic Analysis at Black Wallstreet Capital, explained that, "Despite the fact that companies are slow to pass on the increase in their costs to their final products, we will see pressure on their margins in their results in the first quarter of the year and from now on.”

Heriberto Sandoval, investment advisor at Increase Kapital, said “The cement industry is strongly affected by the increase in energy costs and, considering that the high cost pressures worldwide will be longer lasting than originally thought, this will lead to a decrease in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) this year.”

Mexican cement companies recorded a decline in the price of their shares between January and March 2022. Market leader Cemex led the way, with a 23.59% drop in the value of its shares. The second largest drop was seen by GCC, which lost 9.5% of its value. Cementos Moctezuma’s shares also lost 3.05% of their value in the first quarter of 2022.

US: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded its Energy Star certification to cement plants belonging to two Titan America subsidiaries. Titan Florida’s Pennsuco, Florida, cement plant has secured its 14th consecutive Energy Star, while Roanoke Cement’s Troutville, Virginia, cement has secured its 15th consecutive Energy Star.

Other cement plants to receive Energy Stars in 2022 included two Argos USA plants (Calera, Alabama, and Harleyville, South Carolina), two GCC plants (Pueblo, Colorado, and Rapid City, South Dakota), Buzzi Unicem’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant and three plants in Arizona: CalPortland’s Rillito plant, Drake Cement’s Paulden plant and Salt River Materials Group’s Clarkdale plant.

Mexico: GCC has reported that a worker at its Chihuahua cement has died in hospital following an explosion on 25 Feburary which injured five others. The company says that it activated all safety protocols in response to the disaster and coordinated its actions with the responding authorities. It continues to support the investigation into the cause of the blast.

The company said “Unfortunately, one of the six injured died in hospital. We are currently in contact with his family, to whom we have expressed our deepest condolences, and with the families of our other injured collaborators to make all our support and resources available to them at this difficult time.”

Mexico: GCC has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with ThyssenKrupp Polysius for an upgrade to its integrated Samalayuca plant to increase clinker production capacity, raise the usage of alternative fuels and reduce emissions. The project includes the engineering, supply and modification of the preheater, including cyclones, and an extension to the calciner, with the installation of a Prepol SC-S type system to increase the utilisation of alternative fuels. The work also includes fitting a Polytrack type clinker cooler and the installation of a bypass system. The project will begin in 2022 with operations scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2023.