Displaying items by tag: GCW358

Algeria: Groupe des Ciments d’Algérie’s (GICA) aims to export 1 - 1.5Mt of cement in 2018. The Ministry of Industry and Mines said that the group has signed a deal to export 30,000t via its SODISMAC subsidiary, according to the Algeria Press Service. GICA is also in discussion with foreign partners to export other products such as limestone and gypsum. The cement company handles its exports via the ports of Arzew and Djendjen.

In 2017, the group recorded record cement production of nearly 14Mt compared with 12.6Mt in 2016. It exported 45,000t of cement in May 2018 under a contract with a total volume of 200,000t.

Italy: MDG Handling Solutions has been awarded the UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 certification for ‘Design, engineering, production control entrusted to third parties and after-sales support of solutions for handling and storage of solid materials.’ MDG says that the new certification allows it to be a ‘top class partner’ for all cement end users.

MDG Handling Solutions is a material handling project consultancy that provides engineering and procurement (EP) services, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services and supply of equipment. It was started by Davide Gambarotta in late 2017.

US: BinMaster has launched its new DD-3000 Dust Alert sensor product. The product is targeted to detect baghouse leaks when installed in stacks, ducts or pipes. The sensor is designed to save time by eliminating the need for manual inspections, reduce maintenance and prevent emissions and downtime.

The product uses inductive electrification technology to detect when particulate emissions exceed a preset level. As particles flow past and over the sensing probe, they induce a charge into the probe that creates small electrical currents. This method minimises the influence of sensor contamination, particulate velocity change or temperature drift.

Sensor models are available with either an alarm relay, generally used to alert to a need for maintenance, or a 4-20mA transmitter output option used for monitoring trends and compliance.

Belarus: The government is in talks with Ireland’s CRH to sell Krasnoselskstroymaterialy. Anatoly Kalinin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus, told the Belarusian Telegraph Agency that the government wants US$200 for the state-owned cement producer but that CRH wants to pay less or buy a share of the business. Negotiations are on going.

Nigeria: BUA Group is ready to commission a new 1.5Mt/yr cement production line at its Sokoto Cement plant in the northwest of the country. The upgrade will increase production at the unit to 0.5Mt/yr, according to the Vanguard newspaper. The company exports cement from the plant to neighbouring Niger. The new line will run on coal and natural gas. The cement producer also operates a 3.5Mt/yr plant at Okpella & Obu in Edo state in the mid-west of the country.

India: The Kerala High Court is investigating how files have disappeared from its premises regarding a corruption case into Malabar Cement. The files were part of a 2015 petition, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged instances of corruption in the cement producer, according to the Press Trust of India. Justice B Sudheendra Kumar described the situation as ‘alarming.’

In early 2017 the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, a corruption body in the state of Kerala, arrested Prakash Joseph, a legal officer at Malabar Cements, in relation to a loss of US$0.4m. Previous to this in mid-2016 the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested K Padmakumar, the managing director of Malabar Cements, on charges of corruption and irregularity.

India: UltraTech Cement’s costs are growing over its offer to buy Binani Cement. A legal counsel in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) told the Business Standard newspaper that the subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group is liable to pay lenders around US$0.22m/day in additional interest until the takeover is completed. Any decision made by the NCLT will still have to go before the Supreme Court further delaying the process.

UltraTech Cement made a direct bid of US$1.12bn for the bankrupt Binani Cement following an auction in March 2018 that was originally won by Dalmia Bharat. However, Dalmia Bharat’s offer did not include paying interest to lenders. Binani Cement’s insolvency resolution process has overrun its 270-day time frame by nearly two months.

Indonesia: Yostinus Hulu, the chairman of the Association of North Nias Community (Himni) has urged the city administration of Gunungsitoli, Nias in North Sumatra to set up a government-backed company to cope with cement shortages. He said that cement supplies had been disrupted by infrastructure projects in the region, according to the Antara news agency. The city has faced frequent cement shortages.

Germany: Beumer has opened a new sales office in the Ruhr area. The new ‘West’ office will enable Beumer Customer Support to handle worldwide retrofitting and modernisation projects including, for example, currently operating conveying systems like bucket elevators and clinker conveyors, and those from other suppliers. The engineering company says that its goal is to cooperate closely with its headquarters in Beckum and provide everything from one source, from receiving a query, to technical dimensioning and on-site installation.

China: Austria’s Semperit has closed its Sempertrans Best (Shandong) Belting plant in Shandong. The decision was made as part of review of the group’s production footprint. The plant had a higher margin than other sites. The closure is also expected to reduce the complexity of operations at the group level. 120 employees will be affected and the shutdown is expected to burden the group’s earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) by Euro10m in 2018.

The groups subsidiary in Shandong was founded by Semperit as a joint venture with the state-owned energy company Wang Chao Coal & Electricity Group in 2010. The Chinese partner currently holds a 16.1% stake. The production site manufactures textile and steel cord belts and has served the export markets and the Chinese market so far.