Displaying items by tag: GCW326

Germany: The European Commission has approved the acquisition of Fels-Werke by Ireland’s CRH. Fels-Werke is active in mining, processing and distribution of lime and limestone products, gypsum and mortar in Germany, the Czech Republic and Russia. The commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because there is limited geographic overlap between the companies' activities. It described them as ‘remote’ competitors. Fels’ owners Xella agreed to sell the business to CRH in August 2017 for an undisclosed sum.

Bolivia: The mining industry chamber in Tarija wants governor Adrian Oliva to build a new cement plant in Mendez province. The proposal follows confirmation by the National Geology and Mining Technician Service (Sernageomin) of ‘large’ limestone deposits, according to the El País newspaper. Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (Soboce) currently operates a 0.2Mt/yr plant at El Puente in the same region.

Ethiopia: Cement producers have faced disruption due to security concerns in Oromia state. Habesha Cement suspended production at its Holeta plant on 24 October 2017 due to youth protestors who occupied the site, according to the Reporter newspaper. The protestors took over the unit and demanded to be given jobs. The cement producer says that has been active in community development projects and has recruitment policy that gives priority to local communities.

In two separate incidents, five trucks belonging to Dangote Cement were set on fire over the last week in other parts of the state. In one of the incidents, at Ambo, 10 people also died during clashes between protestors and the government.

Peru: UNACEM has filed a lawsuit alleging environmental violations against Cempor. Cempor, a joint venture between Chile’s Cementos Bío Bío and Brazil’s Votorantim, plans to build a cement plant in Lima, according to the La Tercera newspaper. The legal move is the latest action in a long running battle between the cement producers over the project. Cempor has responded by alleging to National Institute for the Defence of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI) that UNACEM’s conduct is contrary to the functioning of a free market.

Cementos Bío Bío and Votorantim originally formed Cempor in 2010 with each company holding a 29.5% stake. The other owners include IPSA and the World Cement Group with a 20.5% stake each. At this time Cempor planned to build a 07Mt/yr cement plant near Lima.

Philippines: Manufacturers have called for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to increase the number of testing facilities to process imports of cement and steel.

Jesus L Arranza, chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), and Roberto Cola, president of the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute, made their plea as the DTI Consumer and Welfare Protection Group is set to release the revised department administrative orders (DAO) on the inspection and monitoring of standards of imported steel and cement, according to the Manila Bulletin newspaper. Cola said that testing of products under mandatory standards, including steel and cement, is only conducted by the Metals Industry Research Development Center of the Department of Science and Technology. Both industry representatives have called for the DTI to accredit more testing agencies.

The proposed revised DAO is seeking to implement a pre-shipment certification system, in which cement and steel products have to be certified that they met the safety and quality standards at the port of entry. The shipment will also undergo post-shipment inspection upon arrival.

Cameroon: Medcem Cameroon plans to invest US$10m to upgrade its 0.4Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Douala. Following the upgrade the unit will have a production capacity of 1Mt/yr. The investment has been planned to meet a demand increase mostly driven by national infrastructure and construction projects. The project is planned for completion in 2018. Following the upgrade the cement producer will be the fourth largest in the country.

India: ICRA is expecting cement demand is pick up in the fourth quarter of the 2017 – 2018 financial year following weak real estate activity, sand shortage and Goods and Service tax (GST) implementation issues in the first half of the year. In its October 2017 update the credit ratings agency said that demand was expected to benefit from the housing sector and road and irrigation projects in the infrastructure sector, according to the Press Trust of India. It added that the profitability of the industry depends on the industry’s ability to control prices given that higher input costs for fuel and freight are expected.

The credit ratings agency said that cement demand remained subdued across the country due to various local issues. In the North, especially in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the offtake had been impacted by a sand shortage and lack of labour. In the West the implementation of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Bill resulted in construction activity slowing down. In the South, Tamil Nadu and Kerala were hit as demand was affected by the sand shortage, drought impacting rural offtake and weak housing activity. A recent ban on sand mining in Bihar is also likely to reduce sales volume growth in the eastern region in coming months.

UK: RHI Magnesita has started trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). It has been admitted to trading in the premium segment of the main market on the LSE. The start of trading on the exchange marks the completion of the merger process between RHI and Magnesita.

“After the successful combination, RHI Magnesita is now fully dedicated to the strategic repositioning as the global leader in the refractory industry. With our 14,000 employees, we can drive positive change in our industry and aim to offer our customers an even greater value proposition in the future,” said Herbert Cordt, chairman of the board of directors of RHI Magnesita,

Following the merger the new company leads the refractory industry. It holds 35 raw material and production plants and more than 70 sales offices around the world and its product portfolio comprises more than 120,000 individual refractory products. It also operates two main research and development centres in Leoben, Austria and Contagem, Brazil.

As part of the merger process the company has also unveiled a new brand and logo to represent its global presence, its innovation and its company mind-set. The new logo and the visual system based on it consist of a horizontal eight, the symbol of infinity, and the shapes of refractory bricks.

US: OGCI Climate Investments has made in an investment in Solidia Technologies to support the adoption of Solidia’s patented cement and concrete technology using CO₂.

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) is a chief executive officer (CEO) led initiative of 10 oil and gas companies that collaborate on action to lead the industry response to climate change. OGCI Climate Investments, its investment arm, supports the development, deployment and scale up of new technologies that are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“We believe that Solidia Technologies’ product and process can provide a step change in lowering the greenhouse gas and water footprint of the cement and concrete industry,” said OGCI Climate Investments CEO Pratima Rangarajan.

Solidia Cement is a non-hydraulic cement composed primarily of low-lime-containing calcium silicate phases, such as wollastonite and pseudowollastonite (CaO·SiO₂) and rankinite (3CaO·2SiO₂). The setting and hardening characteristics of Solidia Cement are derived from a reaction between CO₂ and the calcium silicates. The company uses a patented process called reactive hydrothermal liquid phase densification (rHLPD) to do this. Solidia Cement is intended to be a sustainable replacement for Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). It uses the same manufacturing process, equipment and raw materials used by the cement industry while consuming less energy and generating less greenhouse gases.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has downgraded its forecast for cement consumption in 2017 and 2018 due to bad weather and lower anticipated budgets for the public construction sector. The association now expects cement consumption to rise by 2.6% in 2017 and 2.8% in 2018. It previously anticipated a 3.5% growth rate for both years in a statement made in May 2017.

“Once infrastructure and tax reform initiatives take hold and affect economic and construction activity, then we can expect growth in cement consumption to accelerate to higher levels,” said Ed Sullivan, PCA senior vice president and chief economist.

Sullivan noted the updated forecast assumes tax reform and a US$250bn national infrastructure program spearheaded by the Trump Administration and the House of Congress. However these initiatives are unlikely to begin until mid-2019. He added that the dual fiscal stimuli would accelerate GDP growth, construction spending and cement consumption. Lowering unemployment rates are also expected to add to inflationary pressures alongside these fiscal programs.

The PCA said that rising inflation would necessitate a stronger Federal Reserve reaction and is expected to result in a rapid and perhaps larger-than-expected increase in interest rates. This, in turn, could cause a slowdown in the construction industry leading to a potential decline in activity from the end of 2021.