Displaying items by tag: GCW488

LafargeHolcim took what appeared to be a surprising decision this week when it announced it was buying roofing and building envelope producer Firestone Building Products (FSBP). The deal raises eyebrows because it seems to be a departure from the building material producer’s previous dedication to its three major pillars: cement, aggregates and ready-mixed concrete. Yet, it follows the logic of sticking to safer markets both geographically and in terms of sustainability.

First some background. Originally, Global Cement was following the auction for FSBP via its sister publication Global Insulation. Reporting from Bloomberg in December 2020 focused on more obvious bidders such as Ireland-based insulation producer Kingspan and roofing products producer Standard Industries. However, Kingspan has been struggling publicly with fallout from the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry in the UK. Despite not formally supplying any of its products for the tower block in London, it has become embroiled in the allegations of a general culture of cheating safety tests for foam board-based insulation products. At the almost the same time that it dropped out of the FSBP bidding, its chief executive officer (CEO) Gene Murtagh apologised for ‘process shortcomings’ that had been highlighted by the ongoing inquiry. Make of this what you will. No word on why Standard Industries left proceedings but it also seems to part of a consortium trying to take over US-based chemical producer WR Grace. All of this is relevant because, from publicly-available sources, LafargeHolcim appeared to emerge out of nowhere to snaffle up FSBP. However, it seems ludicrous that a company with a revenue of around Euro25bn in 2019 could simply pull something like Euro2.8bn out of its pocket at the last minute. It’s likely it was quietly in the bidding process the whole time.

Back in the early 2010s Lafarge was busy selling off its major ‘non-core’ assets like its gypsum business in the wake of picking up debts from acquisitions like cement-producer Orascom in the Middle East. This then turned into a string of divestments following the merger with Holcim to try and shore up the business along with a general pivot towards concrete as the key end-product as sustainability concerns gathered pace. Producing cement remains a major part of LafargeHolcim’s business but a focus on the whole lifecycle of concrete is vital as a hedge against the high process emissions associated with making clinker. Cement factories run the risk of becoming so-called stranded assets depending on future government regulations.

In its acquisition statement LafargeHolcim played up the sustainability credentials of buying FSBP. It noted that up to 60% of buildings’ energy is lost through roofs and that FSBP’s products help to reduce this. Then it made the link that FSBP’s technologies and products complement LafargeHolcim’s sustainable building solutions like its ECOPact green concrete and its EcoLabel sustainable product range. Later, when LafargeHolcim CEO Jan Jenisch spoke to US broadcaster CNBC he described the move as a ‘perfect fit’ for his company’s goal, “to be the most sustainable and most innovative building materials supplier in the future.” The geographical point of the acquisition hasn’t been dwelt on as much as sustainability but no doubt buying a business based in the US with revenue of US$1.8bn is seen as being far safer than buying, say, a similar concern in East Asia.

Investing in a business that sells products that reduce energy loss in the building envelope follows the trend of the moving sustainability-related risk along the supply chain from cement to concrete and beyond. Ultimately consumers will have to pick up the true carbon price of their buildings, but if building materials producers buy more of the envelope they can spread this cost more thinly and hopefully build up the market in the process. One can also imagine it fitting with the mindset of CEO Jan Jenisch, the former boss of Sika, a company that sells speciality chemicals across a wide range of markets. The real test here is whether LafargeHolcim will buy more companies in the wider building materials sector or if other heavy building materials producers will copy them. If so then the days of heavy building material producers sticking to the three pillars of cement, aggregates and concrete may be numbered.

Romania: Holcim Romania has appointed Bogdan Dobre as its chief executive officer (CEO). He suceeds Horia Adrian, who has held the post for the last three years.

Dobre started working for Holcim Romania in 2000. Originally he worked as Regional Cement Sales Manager before later becoming National Cement Sales Manager and eventually Commercial Director for the company in 2013 until 2020. He graduated from the Organic Chemistry Faculty within Bucharest University and holds an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) from Tiffin University, US.

Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement has appointed Hamad bin Sulaiman Al-Bazai as the chairman of its board of directors. Other appointments include Muhammad bin Nasser Al Nabit as vice-chairman of the board and Saud bin Safar Al Burgan as secretary.

UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has appointed Jeremy Greenwood as the Chair of UK Concrete. He will work with Chris Leese, the Director of UK Concrete, to coordinate the work of the Concrete Centre, MPA Cement, British Ready-mixed Concrete Association (BRMCA) and British Precast on the roadmap the sector is implementing to go ‘Beyond Net Zero by 2050.’ Greenwood previously worked for Tarmac as its managing director, having been at the company since 1988.

Germany: INFORM has appointed four new co-chief executive officers (CEO) alongside Adrian Weiler, the company’s CEO since 1986, who will continue in his leadership role. Andreas Meyer, Matthias Berlit, Peter Frerichs and Jörg Herbers all assumed their new roles at the start of 2021. The four new executives hold over 75 years in leading positions at the company. Their appointments are intended to hasten the company’s development.

INFORM is a provider of artificial intelligence (AI) driven optimisation software for digital decision making and agile operations that was founded in 1969. In the construction materials industry is has a particular focus on improving supply chains and logistics. The company has its is headquarters in Aachen, Germany with a North American regional office in Atlanta, Georgia in the US and an Australian office in Sydney.

US: Kevin R Peterson is to retire from Vortex Global in late January 2021. During his 25 years with Vortex, he has held many key positions including Director of Marketing, Special Projects Director, Regional Sales Manager and Director of Business Development.

Peterson’s involvement in the dry bulk industry includes membership in the International Association of Operative Millers, International Milling Education Foundation, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, and the Industrial Minerals Association of North America. He was elected an Emeritus Member of the International Association of Operative Millers, was a past Advisory Board Member of the Powder & Bulk Solids Expo, and served on the board of directors of the Industrial Minerals Association of North America. Peterson received the Outstanding Service Award from Kansas State University’s Department of Grain Science and Industry. He was also a contributor to the Dust Control Handbook for Industrial Minerals Mining and Processing published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

India: Cement producers in southern India have joined together to form the South Indian Cement Manufacturers’ Association (SICMA). United News of India has reported that the association aims to serve as an intermediary between producers and federal and state governments. In this, it says that it will help to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘affordable housing for all’ and ‘infrastructure for future.’ The India Cements vice-chair and managing director Narayanaswami Srinivasan will head the new organisation, supported by Barathi Cement’s director Ravinder Reddy as vice-president and Penna Cement’s director Krishna Srivastava as secretary.

SICMA alleges that the construction industry has exaggerated the effects of rising cement prices on its costs. In so doing, the association says, it has deprived the public of the housing the government had planned. It added that, with around 30% of India’s limestone reserves situated in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana alone, the South has the potential to become a cement hub for development across India, as well as for export.

India: Credit ratings agency ICRA expects cement demand to rise by 20% year-on-year in the 2022 Indian financial year, which starts in April 2021, allowing the local market to return to volumes previously seen before the coronavirus pandemic. In its latest report the credit ratings agency predicts that growth will be supported by rural demand, including affordable housing, and recovery in infrastructure segment, according to the Press Trust of India. Cement production capacity is forecast to increase by up to 22Mt compared to 17Mt in the previous year. Most of this additional capacity is expected to be in the eastern region. Capacity utilisation rates should recover to 64% from 56%.

Switzerland: Dürr is supplying a regenerative thermal oxidation system (RTO) to Jura Cement Fabriken integrated plant in Wildegg as the main stage in its air pollution control system. The upgrade is intended to enable the cement producer to comply with anticipated lower gas emission limits for carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and ammonia (NH₃). The supplier says its solution combines Dürr’s Ecopure RTO multiple-chamber principle with an optimisation of the existing process technology in the calciner. It is scheduled to start operation in 2022.

Jura Cement operates two integrated plants in Switzerland. It is part of the Switzerland-based Jura Materials Group, which has been part of the Ireland-based CRH since 2000.

France: Vicat has joined US-based Schlumberger New Energy, clean energy specialist CEA, Vinci Construction and the Occitan Regional Agency of Energy and Climate (AREC) in a hydrogen production technology joint venture called Genvia. The partnership will establish a ‘gigafactory’ at which to develop high-temperature reversible solid oxide electrolyser technology. The gigafactory will be situated in Béziers, Occitan. Deployment will take place via CEA’s Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes site.

“We are very pleased to be working alongside such experienced and strong partners as we strive to develop technologies that enable decarbonisation,” said François Jacq, chairman of the CEA. “Together, building on a set of technologies developed by the CEA over the last decade, we have ambitious growth plans for a technology that we expect to be a game-changer in the production of clean hydrogen. This initiative demonstrates an alignment of environmental and economic growth ambitions that is important for France and Europe in support of the government's and the commission's recovery plan.”

The technology Genvia plans to use is intended to achieve a high system efficiency, resulting in less electricity use per kg of hydrogen produced. The venture says that the technology is the first of its kind that is fully reversible, giving it the flexibility to switch between electrolysis and fuel cell functions.