Displaying items by tag: GCW390
New cement plant planned for Ivory Coast
01 February 2019Ivory Coast: A new cement plant is being planned for construction near Gagnoa. Mayor Issouf Diabaté made the announcement to the city council, according to the Agence Ivoirienne de Presse. Sales tests on cement from the company building the plant are being conducted in the local market. The preferred location for the plant is in Galbré sub-prefecture between Soubré and Gagnoa.
Lucky Cement’s earnings under pressure in first half
01 February 2019Pakistan: Lucky Cement’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 16.5% year-on-year to US$51.3m in the six months to 31 December 2018 from US$63.7m in the same period in 2017. The cement producer said that its cost of sales rose by 14.2% due to mounting packaging, coal and other fuel prices. Its revenue grew by 6.2% to US$250m from US$235m. It attributed this to higher export volumes of cement and clinker. Its local sales of cement and clinker fell by 8.4% to 2.99Mt from 3.27Mt. Exports more than doubled to 1.02Mt from 0.5Mt. Accordingly, overall sales volumes increased by 6.8% to 4.01Mt from 3.76Mt.
The company reported that levelling work at its Samawah 1.2Mt/yr integrated cement plant project in Iraq started in January 2019. Civil work is scheduled to start in March 2019 and commercial production at the unit planned to start in mid-2020.
Pakistan: Power Cement has provided an update on construction work towards building a third line at its Nooriabad plant. 97% of the equipment ordered from Denmark’s FLSmdith has been received. 22% of errection work has been completed. The design phase of a new 40MW grid station and its fixing has been completed and civil work has commenced. Overall civil work is reported 91% complete.
The cement producer ordered the new 7700t/day line from FLSmidth in 2017. China’s TEPC has been handling the construction and errection contract. China’s CECC Tianjin (Pakistan) Electric Power Construction has been in charge of civil construction.
Vassiliko Cement wins environmental awards
01 February 2019Cyprus: Vassiliko Cement has won the Gold Environmental Protection Award in 2018 at the Pancyprian Environmental Awards for Organisations and Businesses. The prize was given for the cement producer’s implementation of its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy. Company staff worked with local communities, non-government organisations (NGO) and others. The competition was organised by the Cyprus Center for Environmental Research and Education, in cooperation with the government and other groups.
Taiwan Cement reassures public about quality of cement
31 January 2019Taiwan: Taiwan Cement has reassured the public about the quality and safety standards of its cement and other products. It follows fraud charges being issued to a former government official for supplying raw materials mixed with industrial waste to the cement producer, according to the Taipei Times. Taiwan Cement says it is conducting inspections on all raw materials, including taking random samples of the top and bottom layers of delivery trucks from suppliers.
Lai Chin-kun, a former Hualien County Council speaker, secured local government contracts for his family’s companies to dispose of industrial waste, including industrial byproducts and inorganic debris from electroplating, optoelectronics and display panel manufacturers and pulp paper processing companies. Another family company won a contract with Taiwan Cement in 2010 to supply limestone, clay, sand and other raw materials required for cement production.
Prosecutors allege that when supplying raw materials to Taiwan Cement, Lai instructed company drivers to fill the bottom half of the trucks with industrial waste and place natural materials, such as clay, sand and limestone, on the top half to fool inspectors. Lai reportedly made US$14.1m from the scheme from 2010 to 2015.
Philippines: Cemex Philippines has received a set of tax breaks and financial incentives for the new 1.5Mtyr production line it is planning to build at its Solid Cement plant in Antipolo, Rizal. Its subsidiary Solid Cement has obtained ‘pioneer’ status from the Board of Investment (BOI) but with ‘non-pioneer’ incentives, according to the Inquirer newspaper. This means that the project may be able to benefit from a longer income-tax holiday. The new production line is scheduled to be operational by early 2020.
Colombian cement production grows modestly in 2018
31 January 2019Colombia: Ordinary Portland Cement production grew by 1.2% year-on-year to 12.5Mt in 2018 from 12.3Mt in 2017. Data from DANE, the Colombian statistics authority, shows that deliveries to the local market increased slightly, by 0.2%, to 12Mt. Production grew faster in December 2018 on a year-on-year basis with 6.8% growth.
Mining market drives FLSmidth’s sales in 2018
31 January 2019Denmark: An improving mining market has driven FLSmidth’s sales, order intake and earnings in 2018. Its overall order intake grew by 13% year-on-year to Euro2.91bn in 2018 from Euro2.57bn in 2017. Its revenue increased by 4% to Euro2.51bn and its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 5% to Euro212m.
"The high order intake in 2018 is due to an improving mining market, but it also reflects the performance of our organisation, our position and strong lifecycle solutions. This combination lays a good foundation for future growth," said group chief executive officer (CEO) Thomas Schulz.
However, the group’s cement business order intake remained stable at Euro1.19bn. Sales revenue fell by 3% to Euro1.10bn and EBITDA dropped by 22% to Euro51m. It described the cement market as “very competitive with stable pricing at a low level.” It did note a ‘healthy level’ of small to mid-sized orders related to grinding plants, upgrades, retrofits and single equipment. Replacement and upgrade projects are anticipated to show continued growth in 2019.
Bedeschi to supply crusher for Quicklime Plant
31 January 2019Vietnam: Italy’s Bedeschi has signed a contract to supply a double roller crushing unit and relevant control panels for the Quicklime Plant being built in Hoa Binh, Northern Vietnam. The unit is being built by a local cement producer. Start-up is scheduled by mid-2020.