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Of the five African cement news stories in this edition of Global Cement Weekly, three concern the actions of Nigerian cement giant Dangote Cement. This week it has announced a new captive power plant in Nigeria and the fact that Sephaku Cement, which is owned by Dangote to the tune of 64%, is now in a position to produce cement from its Aganang plant in South Africa. These two items are fairly typical of the type of announcement that Dangote makes in the African market, and the high frequency with which it makes them. It is the third story, of course, which is unusual.

We have heard, for a couple of years now, that Dangote has designs on becoming a pan-African cement giant. Certainly it is the pre-eminent producer in west Africa, with its influence rapidly spreading to the east, north west and south of this vast continent. Few others, (but perhaps South Africa's PPC), can claim to have such influence and, unopposed, there seems no limit to Dangote's ambitions.

This week we heard just how bold those ambitions are. For the first time Africa's No. 1 cement producer has said that it wants to break out of Africa and enter new markets. No longer satisfied with operating at home, a company release has identified the Middle East and Latin America as potential hunting grounds, either for new capacity or acquisitions. The proposed list of LafargeHolcim cast-offs, which includes few assets in either region (LINK), will also have received significant attention in the Dangote boardroom.

The selection of the Middle East and Latin America, however, is not accidental. The Middle East is a high growth area and provides a platform for possible 'pincer-movement' expansion into more impenetrable markets in central Africa like Chad and (South) Sudan. The Middle East also means proximity to India. Dangote may also want to dampen the influence that Indian, Pakistani and Iranian exports have in the region. Potential tie-ups with Dangote's growing operations in east Africa are clear.

The selection of Latin America, on the face of it at least, is less obvious. There are numerous strong and growing local and regional producers. Not least of these is Colombia's Cementos Argos, which has increased its influence in the USA through strategic acquisitions. There are also numerous domestic large Brazilian producers but Dangote may feel like there is room for more to joint the party. Cade, the Brazilian competition authority, has certainly agreed that competition could be improved in Brazil following its recent investigations. Could Brazil be a prime target?

Wherever Dangote decides to play its first non-African card, it will be a major step for the company and African cement producers. How long until we see the first African-owned cement plant on another continent?

World: Dangote Cement is preparing to expand its cement production plants beyond the continent of Africa to the Middle East and Latin American countries. The company is optimistic that the planned investment will propel it to be ranked among the top 10 global cement manufacturers.

"We are currently operating in 14 African countries and we shall soon move across the continent to other continents," said Sunday Adondua, deputy general manager of production at the Ibese plant in Nigeria. "By the time we have consolidated our hold in the African markets, we shall go beyond the borders. Specifically, we are targeting the Middle East and Latin America. The idea is to be a world leader in cement production. We are also planning to start a plant in Mauritania and we are also planning projects in Gabon."

The Dangote Ibese plant in Nigeria has undergone recent upgrades, including the construction of new production lines. Lines 3 and 4 will be commissioned by the end of 2014, which will double the plant's cement production capacity to 12Mt/yr. Line 3 is complete and line 4 is 96% complete. As a result of the works, Dangote's three Nigerian cement plants in Ibese, Obajana and Gboko, will have a combined production capacity of 29.2Mt/yr.

South Africa: Sephaku Cement, an associate of Sephaku Holdings, has completed the commissioning of the Aganang clinker plant in Lichtenburg, North West Province and is ready to commence production. Lelau Mohuba, the chief executive of Sephaku Holdings, said that the first consignment of clinker would be delivered to Sephaku Holdings' Delmas grinding plant by the end of August 2014. The Aganang plant also has a cement production capacity of 1.1Mt/yr.

Commercial production at the Delmas grinding plant commenced in January 2014 following a successful commissioning phase. Once it is operating at full capacity, it will be capable of producing 1.4Mt/yr of cement. About US$312m has been invested in establishing these new cement plants, which will have a total annual capacity of 2.2Mt/yr once they are fully operational.

Sephaku Holdings has a 36% stake in Sephaku Cement, with the remaining 64% owned by Dangote Cement. Mohuba said that the production of its own clinker was an important step for Sephaku Cement in enabling it to become a fully-integrated producer of cement. Mohuba said that Sephaku Cement had to date been purchasing clinker to grind at Delmas, where the company had achieved more than 60% capacity utilisation. He said this had enabled Sephaku Cement to enter the market while strengthening its sales function in preparation for increasing volumes.

US: FLSmidth has been selected to supply the major equipment for the modernisation of the Holcim (US) Ada plant in Oklahoma. The modernisation of the pyro process is expected to deliver lower emissions of nearly all air pollutants while anticipating an increase in the plant's production capacity.

The contract includes a dryer crusher, a single stage preheater with an ILC-calciner, a dedusting cyclone, a ROTAX-2® kiln, a kiln bypass system, a Duoflex® kiln burner and an FLSmidth® Cross-Bar® cooler. With the installation of two new FLSmidth dust collectors, the project will significantly improve the plant's ability to reduce emissions of particulate matter.

The parties have decided not to disclose the value of the contract.

Iran: Iran exported approximately 6.62Mt of cement and clinker in the first four months of the current Iranian year, a period that encompasses the period from 21 March 2014 to 22 July 2014. The Iranian Ministry of Industries, Mines and Trade added that the country's cement and clinker exports rose by over 378% in the 12 months to 20 March 2014 compared to the 12 months to 20 March 2013.

Vietnam: State-owned Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) produced 10.2Mt of cement in the first seven months of 2014, a 4.7% increase compared to the same period of 2013. Vicem's clinker output, however, dipped by 1% year-on-year to 9.43Mt. In July 2014, Vicem's cement output rose by 7.8% year-on-year to 1.54Mt, while clinker output rose to 1.47Mt, a 8.1% rise.

In the first seven months of 2014, Vicem's total clinker and cement sales rose by 7% year-on-year to 12.7Mt, including 1.88Mt in July 2014, a 3.9% fall year-on-year. Of the total, 10.6Mt of cement and clinker were sold in Vietnam, down by 7.7% year-on-year. 2.12Mt were exported, an 86% rise year-on-year.

India: Shiva Cement has received approval for an Interim Business Plan for a 200,000Mt/yr capacity expansion as proposed by the Project Management Committee (PMC). Shiva Cement's board of directors has also approved the project. Besides, the PMC has been authorised to take decisions for leasing, sale, disposal, or to deal with the idle fixed assets in the best interest of the Shiva Cement.

China: Haver Technologies in Tianjin (HTT), which provides solutions for packing machines for solid bulk materials and filling machines for liquids and paste products, including silo components, conveyor belts, foreign material screening machines, truck loading systems and palletisers, has moved to a new location in north China to be closer to its customers. HTT's former location in southern China was no longer able to keep pace with the growing demand.

"Our focus was on finding an ideal location with respect to customer closeness, ideal infrastructure, qualified personnel and good suppliers and so we ended up in Tianjin," said Ron Garthoff, managing director of HTT. A large part of the cement industry and numerous companies in the mineral processing technology are already located in this region and China's largest chemical hub is currently being developed there. As a result, HTT guarantees that 95% of its machines can be delivered within 24 hours and that service visits by technicians are conducted as quickly as possible. In Tianjin, HTT benefits from one of China's largest seaports and an international airport, an excellent network of motorways and Beijing airport.

In just 10 months a two-storey office building with space for approximately 45 employees was built. There is also the possibility for a 4500m2 production plant and warehouse. Moreover, the possibility for future expansion was accounted for as another 2000m2 building may be built when needed. The new location is supplemented by a research and development centre that is based on the research and development centre at the German headquarters in Oelde, Germany.

Germany: Loesche ThermoProzess GmbH has been certified as a specialised welding company. Certification according to DIN 18800-7: 2008-11, Class D in relation to welding steel constructions was performed by the SLV Duisburg (welding technology training and testing institute) of the GSI (company for international welding technology).

The certificate covers 135 metal-active gas-welding processes with solid wire electrodes (partially mechanised) and 141 tungsten inert gas welding processes (manual) for complete machine and plant construction (serial numbers according to DIN EN ISO 4063). It concerns the base materials S235, S275 and S355 in line with DIN EN 100025 as well as stainless steels from the strength class 235 in line with the relevant approval document from the DIBt (German Institute for Civil Engineering).

"In future, Loesche ThermoProzess GmbH will be even more qualified to provide customers with first-class products, on the next day if necessary, which ensure the smooth operation of production facilities," said Dietmar Leiter, the responsible welding engineer at Loesche ThermoProzess GmbH.

Indonesia: Three state cement manufacturers, PT Semen Indonesia, PT Semen Padang and PT Semen Tonasa, have been using biomass as alternative energy source to replace coal and reduce electrical energy in stages.

Semen Indonesia has won an energy award from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry in recognition of its efforts to diversify energy needs by taking advantage of biomass renewable energy as an alternative fuel and to play an active role in developing new technology and innovations in the energy sector.

"The award has confirmed the commitment of Semen Indonesia to implementing a concept of sustainable business," said Semen Indonesia president director Dwi Soetjipto. He added that the cement industry is an energy-intensive industry, which also consumed coal as non-renewable energy. "By taking advantage of biomass, double goals could be achieved: first, conserving the environment and second, increasing the efficiency of operating costs, which will eventually increase in corporate profitability."

The use of biomass has stimulated local economy because it had been obtained from areas around the plants, including Tuban, Lamongan and Bojonegoro Districts in East Java, as well as Rembang District in Central Java.

"The use of biomass has also helped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that the impact of global warming can be minimised," said Soetjipto. Semen Indonesia has always increased its use of biomass as an alternative fuel to reduce coal consumption every year, Soetjipto added.