Displaying items by tag: GCW538
Nepal: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has agreed to supply ten industrial users, including cement producers, with an additional 151MW of electricity as part of a drive to increase domestic consumption. The cement producers concerned include Maruti Cement, Huaxin Cement, Hongshi Shivam Cement and Arghakhanchi Cement, according to the Republica newspaper. The other industrial users are mostly steel producers. In addition another 111MW is in the final stages of being allocated by the NEA to seven other industrial plants and a further 99MW has been identified for further distribution to industrial users. The government-supervised power supplier and distributor has identified around 500MW of wasted electricity supply due to low domestic consumption and a lack of transmission lines.
Melón seeks pozzolana supply for cement plants
29 December 2021Chile: Melón has filed an Environmental Impact Statement with the authorities in Santiago for a project to extract pozzolana at a site at Culiprán in Melipilla. The deposit has total reserves of 20Mt and an extraction rate of 0.4Mt/yr is anticipated, according to Minería Chilena. Pozzolana from the site would be used to supply Melón’s cement plants at La Calera and Ventanas
MAN Energy Solutions to supply compressor system for Norcem carbon capture and storage unit
29 December 2021Norway: Germany-based MAN Energy is supplying a compressor system for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) unit being built at Norcem’s Brevik cement plant. The scope of supply includes an RG 63-7 type electrically-powered compressor train. The steam generators cool the CO2 mixture between the compressor stages and generate steam that is in turn used for capture. The project will be the first to use the ‘Carbon Capture Heat Recovery’ technology (CCWHR) developed by MAN and Aker Carbon Capture. This new process allows the heat emerging from the compressor system to be recovered and used as steam to meet approximately one third of the total heat demand from the Aker Carbon Capture plant. Consequently, MAN says that the system solution demands less energy compared with conventional carbon-capture technologies.
Alexander Sobolyev, Head of Standardisation & Solutions at MAN Energy Solutions, said: "As part of the Norcem project, the digital-twin-based engineering approach of MAN Energy Solutions has led to concrete optimisations. The dynamic process simulation showed that originally planned system components, including heating, valves and additional pipes for safe plant operation, were not required. The time taken for a cold start of the plant can thus be reduced from around 12 hours to 20 minutes – an important characteristic as quick-start capability is always a central criterion for renewable energies."
Zambezi Portland Cement facing renewed legal battles over ownership
28 December 2021Zambia: Zambezi Portland Cement is facing fresh legal proceedings over its ownership. The Lusaka Times newspaper reports that proceedings at the Court of Appeal are ongoing against businessman Phesto Musonda. Musonda, a former director of the company, allegedly attempted to take control of part of the company’s plant in September 2021. Unrest has also been reported at the cement producer’s plant with youths throwing stones at workers.
The current owners of Zambezi Portland Cement, the Ventriglia family, previously won a 10-year battle of control of the company against businessman Rajan Mahtani. In 2018 the High Court of Zambia awarded the family full ownership of the business.
Germany: Holcim Germany has published environmental reports for 2020 focused on each of its cement plants. The subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim has decided to target its reports on local issues by issuing separate reports for each of its four integrated plants in the country, at Beckum, Höver, Lägerdorf and Dotternhausen respectively. Each report covers national developments for the sector and the company. Local data is then included as well as data on connected cement grinding and concrete plants. The reports can be downloaded from Holcim Germany’s website.
Malawi/Zambia: Huaxin Cement says it has completed its acquisition of Lafarge Zambia and Lafarge Cement Malawi. In late December 2021 the Chinese cement producer completed the equity delivery conditions for Lafarge Cement Malawi. This follows a similar process for Lafarge Zambia in late November 2021.
In June 2021 Huaxin Cement said it had agreed to spend US$150m on purchasing a 75% stake in Lafarge Zambia and US$10m on acquiring Pan African Cement from Lafarge Cement Malawi. The former operates two integrated cement plants in Zambia with a combined production capacity of 1.5Mt/yr. The latter operates a 0.25Mt/yr grinding plant at Blantyre in Malawi. Following the completion of the takeover Huaxin Cement now intends to increase its cement grinding capacity in Malawi by 0.25Mt/yr.
Georgian cement imports rise by 16% so far in 2021
27 December 2021Georgia: Cement imports rose by 16% year-on-year to 0.78Mt in the first eleven months of 2021 from 0.68Mt in the same period in 2020. Data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia and the Trend News Agency show that the value of these imports increased to US$40.2m from US$34.6m. Azerbaijan was the leading cement exporting nation to Georgia with a 75% share followed by Turkey with most of the rest. Russia, Greece and Germany have also exported cement to Georgia so far in 2021.
Cementos Argos invests US$42m on new terminal in Cartagena
24 December 2021Colombia: Cementos Argos has invested around US$42m on a new terminal in the free trade zone of Cartagena. It is expanding its port infrastructure and tripling the import-export capacity of the site to 3.5Mt/yr. The new terminal, which adds to Argos' existing port facility, from which it exports cement and clinker to the US and other destinations in the Caribbean and Central America, will begin operations in the first quarter of 2022. An official ceremony marking the opening of the terminal will be held in January 2022.
"This new terminal will allow us to substantially increase cement exports to the US, taking advantage of the growing demand for construction materials in that country," said Juan Esteban Calle, the chief executive officer of Cementos Argos.
Cementos Molins buys precast concrete supplier Pretersa Prenavisa
24 December 2021Spain: Cementos Molins has acquired a 100% stake in precast concrete supplier Pretersa Prenavisa for an undisclosed sum. Molins, through its subsidiary Precon, made the purchase from the European investment group Kartesia. It says the transaction will boost its presence and product mix in the precast concrete market in Spain, Portugal, and France.
Pretersa Prenavisa supplies the engineering, design, manufacture, and assembly of precast concrete structures. Its headquarters is based at Teruel and it operates three production plants at Teruel, Jaen and Segovia. It has around 770 employees and reported a turnover of Euro56m in 2020.
Cementos Molins operates in the precast business in Spain through its subsidiary Precon. It operates ten production plants located throughout Spain. The acquisition of Pretersa Prenavisa is Molins’ fifth in 2021. It follows the takeover of Escofet, a concrete design specialist, the acquisition of a white cement plant in Spain from Çimsa group, the acquisition of Calucem, a calcium aluminate cement producer, and the acquisition of the aggregates and ready-mix concrete businesses of HeildelbergCement in Catalonia.
Holcim to buy Malarkey Roofing Products in the US
23 December 2021US: Holcim has signed an agreement to acquire Malarkey Roofing Products for US$1.35bn. The transaction will be financed with cash and it is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2022. The Switzerland-based construction materials group said that the acquisition would fit well with its Firestone Building Products subsidiary and that the purchase would position it as a full roofing provider. Malarkey Roofing Products has forecast net sales of US$600m and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$120m in 2020.
Jan Jenisch, the chief executive officer of Holcim, said “We are off to a strong start to our ‘Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth’ with the acquisition of Malarkey Roofing Products, expanding our Solutions & Products business to become a global leader in roofing systems.” He added “Our companies are highly complementary with many upsides.”
Malarkey Roofing Products was founded by Herbert Malarkey in 1956 and has its headquarters in Portland, Oregon. It provides products for the residential roofing market from roofing shingles to ice and water barriers. It operates production plants in Oregon, California and Oklahoma.