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There were mixed feelings evoked by HeidelbergCement’s good news last week that its French subsidiary Ciments Calcia is to set to spend Euro400m on a modernisation project. Sadly, this came with the bad news that the integrated plants at Gargenville and Cruas will be downgraded into a grinding plant and a terminal respectively, and there will be a review of the company’s headquarters in Guerville. All of this will cut 160 jobs but create 20 new ones.

Make no mistake, this is serious money to invest. Euro300m alone will go towards an upgrade of the integrated Airvault cement plant in the former Poitou-Charentes administrative region. HeidelbergCement didn’t say it in its press release but French press reported that the pyroprocessing line at Airvault will be rebuilt starting in 2022 with commissioning scheduled for 2025. If correct then this certainly suits an investment on this scale for a single plant. Smaller investments in the region of Euro25 – 50m were also said be earmarked for the integrated plants at Bussac-Forêt, Beaucaire and Couvrot. These are serious commitments to HeidelbergCement’s production base in France.

Generally speaking, the French cement and construction market has done as well as expected for a country forced to implement two coronavirus lockdowns so far in 2020. Half-way through the year the major cement producers were reporting sales declines of around 10% year-on-year with business picking up again over the summer. Vicat, for example, reported a 9% fall in sales volumes in the first half followed by ‘solid business growth’ in June 2020. LafargeHolcim, CRH and HeidelbergCement all reported a similar situation for their local subsidiaries.

Looking at the wider construction industry, in October 2020 analyst company GlobalData stuck by its forecast of a contraction of construction output by 11.6% in France in 2020. It noted a 35.5% quarter-on-quarter rebound in the third quarter, although it reckoned output was still down by around 5% in the quarter year-on-year, using French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) data. With a second national lockdown initiated in late October 2020, it said that INSEE expected a contraction in the fourth quarter of 2020 even with construction sites being allowed to stay open. This follows a peak of cement production above 20Mt in the late 2000s before hitting a low of around 15.5Mt in 2015 and a gradual recovery since then, according to data from the French cement industry union (SFIC).

Ciments Calcia’s upgrade at Airvault is noteworthy for the whole of Europe because it is one of only a few new pyroprocessing line projects in the last decade. The last major one was the new 4000t/day line at HeidelbergCement’s Burglengenfeld plant in Germany that was commissioned in 2018. The trend since then has generally been one of integrated plants slowly closing as markets shrank following the 2008 financial crisis, international clinker levels boomed and environmental measures tightened. Dominik von Achten, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement, addressed this last point directly with the announcement of the Airvault project when he said, “This is why we focus our initiatives on the main CO₂-emitting plants in France.” The competitors to the larger established cement producers in France are certainly thinking about CO₂. Alongside the general European trend of fewer new clinker production lines has been rise in France of the smaller cement producers with grinding and/or reduced-clinker factor models like Cem’In’Eu, Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies and Ecocem. Anyone spending Euro300m on a clinker kiln spewing out CO₂ would do well to consider how much the CO₂ price might be in fifty years time.

UK: Breedon Group has appointed James Brotherton as its chief financial officer (CFO) designate with effect from 1 January 2021. He was previously the CFO of Tyman between 2010 and 2019, prior to which he was Director of Corporate Development for five years. Prior to Tyman, Brotherton worked in investment banking roles at Citi and HSBC, after qualifying as a chartered accountant at Ernst and Young. He is currently a director of the Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) and represents the QCA on the Takeover Panel.

As announced previously, Rob Wood, Breedon Groups' current Group Finance Director, will succeed Pat Ward as chief executive officer (CEO) upon Ward’s retirement during 2021. It is anticipated that Brotherton will be appointed to the board as CFO at that point to ensure an orderly transition.

Kuwait: Spain-based Cemengal says that it has received a second order from ACICO Cement for a 1Mt/yr ball mill with a XP4i-130 type Magotteaux classifier for a new grinding plant. The company said that the project, which it expects to commission in the first quarter of 2021, encompasses “full engineering and complete supply of mechanical, process, electrical and automation equipment, as well as steel manufacturing from the raw materials handling areas up to the silos cement discharge. In addition to the delivery of technology, the site supervision, training and commissioning activities.”

The supplier said that the new mill “will help our Kuwaiti client to satisfy the growing demand for high quality cements for major infrastructure developments” in the country.

Thailand: Siam City Cement has signed a new contract with US-based SAP Ariba for the further digitisation of its end-to-end procurement processes by using the latter’s software products. The producer first partnered with the company for “sourcing, contracts, catalogues, supplier information management and supplier collaboration” in 2016. Following the latest release in August 2020, SAP Ariba’s products support the Thai language, “making it easier for buyers and suppliers to communicate and transact over Ariba Network.”

Head of group procurement Benjamin Goodwin said, “From the beginning, we saw our procurement transformation as an opportunity to bring more value to the organisation and to our network of suppliers in Thailand and beyond. Our recent renewal of SAP Ariba solutions is a result of the successful partnership cultivated over the years, which set us up to achieve process efficiencies and cost savings from automation, standardization and improved collaboration with suppliers. We look forward to continuing our journey with SAP Ariba.”

Germany: HeidelbergCement has strengthened its climate neutrality commitments by joining the Stiftung 2° support group, a network of private companies lobbying for climate goals. The group says that it wants “to develop cross-sector approaches and concepts for Germany and Europe in order to make climate protection a sustainable and successful business model.”

Managing board chair Dominik von Achten said, "For the development of a carbon neutral construction industry, we need the right social and political framework as well as strong partners with whom we can also be economically successful on our path to climate neutrality. As one of the leading companies in the building materials industry, we have been committed to sustainable construction for a long time. Through our involvement in Stiftung 2°, we want to work with other like-minded companies and set the course for a successful, climate neutral future now."

Americas: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim has begun its roll-out of ECOPact low-carbon concretes in its Latin America region, launching the product range in Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico to “meet growing demand for green products.” The company says that the launch in other markets will follow in early 2021. It said “this roll-out of ECOPact builds on its successful market adoption across Europe, the UK, the US and Canada.” The producer additionally plans to introduce its ECOLabel “to transparently communicate the environmental benefits of its green cement range” across the Disensa retail network from December 2020, enabling customers to “easily identify products that comply with the company’s green criteria, including lower carbon dioxide (CO₂) footprint and recycled content.” Every country in the region will have at least one ECOlabel product, according to the company.

Latin America regional head Oliver Osswald said, “With the roll-out of the widest range of green building materials in Latin America, we are committed to leading the way in sustainable construction. Building on our region’s excellent third quarter 2020 results, demonstrating strong resilience despite an unparalleled health crisis, Latin America is well positioned to tackle the challenges ahead. We have a clear and unified strategy supported by two strong pillars: a rapidly expanding Disensa retail franchise network, and a fully orchestrated regional push toward green building solutions.”

LafargeHolcim’s Latin America retail network Disensa will reach 2500 stores in 2020, almost double the number in 2018. The company said, “Disensa will become the central network to reach millions of consumers with a diverse product portfolio, based on quality and environmental benefits by offering ECOLabel products on a wide scale. Disensa will also introduce new digital experiences to the buying process and eventually become a full line of stores from Disensa Express to Disensa MAX!”

LafargeHolcim will host the First Latam Virtual Convention for current and potential Disensa franchisees from 25 – 27 November 2020, with participants from eight Latin American countries.

Ireland: CRH recorded earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$3.40bn in the first nine months of 2020, up by 2% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis from the corresponding period of 2019. The company said that it now expects full-year EBITDA in 2020 to exceed 2019 levels on a like-for-like basis at over US$4.40bn. Sales fell by 3% to US$20.6b but group added that it had “continued strong cash generation.”

Chief executive officer (CEO) Albert Manifold said, “Markets continue to be impacted by the global pandemic and, while we have seen some lower activity levels, I am pleased to report further improvement in trading performance, with an advance in both profitability and margins. The outlook for the coming months remains uncertain and visibility is limited, however I am confident that we are well positioned for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”

Greece: Titan Cement has signed a new service agreement with Denmark-based FLSmidth. The agreement covers sustainability, digitisation and productivity support across 17 of the producer’s cement plants in Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Titan Group strategic planning director Antonis Kyrkos said, “We are constantly on the lookout for more efficient ways of running our operation. With this service partnership agreement, we tap into a wealth of knowhow and hundreds of specialists without carrying the full cost. The two-and-a-half-year agreement allows both parties to work strategically on maintenance programmes and upgrade projects based on data and the best allocation of resources.”

FLSmidth Europe, North Africa, Russian and Commonwealth of Independent States regional head of cement sales Carsten Pustelnik said, “The agreement reaffirms our belief in planned maintenance programmes, supported by digitalised processes, as the next level in service optimisations. We have invested heavily in acquiring the skills and infrastructure to provide online condition monitoring and safely handle and analyse data from our customers.”

Philippines: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim Philippines has announced plans to merge with its subsidiaries Bulkcem Philippine Incorporated and MabiniGrinding Mill Corporation. The Philippine Star newspaper has reported that the board has approved the planned merger, and that a special stockholders’ meeting will take place on 15 January 2021 to finalise the transactions.

Bulkcem Philippine Incorporated leases the Iloilo cement terminal in Western Visayas, while MabiniGrinding Mill Corporation leases the Mabini grinding plant in Calabarzon.

The board also approved the dissolution of Holcim’s Business Service Center, HuBB Stores and Services and British Virgin Islands-based WellBorne Group International.

Austria: Loesche subsidiary A TEC has won a contract for the supply and installation of a Flash Dryer for alternative fuels (AFs) in the kiln line of Lafarge Zementwerke's 1.1Mt/yr Mannersdorf cement plant in Lower Austria. The supplier said that it will complete the project in early 2021.

The company said, “Reaching high thermal substitution rates (TSR) requires firing of alternative fuels at the kiln burner. To reach a stable sintering zone for the required clinker quality a high fuel quality (high LCV, small particle size) is needed, otherwise the clinker quality may suffer or the TSR can be limited. With the A TEC Flash Dryer various waste heat sources can be used (clinker cooler flue gas, bypass gas, preheater gas, etc.). The material is dosed to the hot gas flow in the flash dryer and transported with this gas flow, while the moisture is evaporated, to a cyclone and a subsequent filter where the fuel is separated from the gas flow and on-line fed to a kiln burner or a satellite burner. In addition to the drying the lifting effect of the gas can separate 3D impurities which contributes in a further increase of the fuel quality.”