Displaying items by tag: Holcim

Mexico: Holcim Mexico has replaced 11% of its concrete truck fleet with 61 new natural gas and Euro V diesel-fuelled Sinotruk vehicles worth US$6.2m. The company says that some of the trucks run on 100% natural gas, reducing both their CO₂ and particulate emissions by 25%. Parent company Holcim hopes eventually to roll out Sinotruk vehicles throughout operations in its Latin American region. Each truck has an 8m3-greater capacity than Holcim Mexico’s previous models, and also generates less noise.

Bangladesh: LafargeHolcim Bangladesh’s full-year sales were US$243m in 2021, up by 27% year-on-year. Its net profit was US$45.8m in 2021, up by 64%, according to the New Nation newspaper.

During the year, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh launched its new Water Protect and Shokti cements and continued to accelerate alternative fuel (AF) co-processing across its cement plant network.

Switzerland/France: Holcim is collaborating with Engie and and the French National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) Lyon to develop a cement-based energy storage technology to serve as an alternative to batteries. The solution will use cement hydration to store heat as energy and release it when needed in an infinitely repeatable cycle. The partners say that it will make energy storage local, safe, affordable and recyclable.

Holcim’s head of global innovation Edelio Bermejo said "The world needs innovative solutions to accelerate our shift towards renewable energy generation, distribution and storage – all areas in which Holcim can play a big part. With this collaboration, we are moving energy storage forward, opening up a new range of solutions based on materials that are local and recyclable."

Argentina: Holcim Argentina has appointed Sergio Vaimberg as its Chief Marketing Officer. He joined Holcim in mid-2020 with roles in Argentina and Mexico, according to the Norte en Linea newspaper. Prior to this he worked mostly for Coca-Cola in Argentina. Vaimberg is a certified public accountant, holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and has a postgraduate degree in leadership from the Harvard Business School.

Colombia: Analyst S&P Global has given Grupo Argos the rank of Gold in its Sustainability Yearbook 2022. Grupo Argos is the only construction materials company to have achieved Gold in the yearbook. Thailand-based Siam Cement Group (SCG) ranked Silver, while Ireland-based CRH and Switzerland-based Holcim, along with the latter’s subsidiary Ambuja Cements, ranked Bronze.

Legal and sustainability vice president María Isabel Echeverri said “This recognition is a result of teamwork and the permanent commitment of Argos to building a better future in which the creation of value for society and for the company is our greatest motivation. We will continue to strengthen our initiatives and strive to positively contribute to the responsible development of our sector and the well-being of our stakeholders, to enable a more sustainable, prosperous and inclusive society.”

Russia: LafargeHolcim Russia plans to restart its integrated Voskresensk cement plant near Moscow. The 1.3Mt/yr unit was originally stopped in 2016. The subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim says it will spend Euro23m on restarting the plant. It also intends to build a dry construction mix unit at the site.

Italy: Holcim has signed a collaboration agreement with energy company Eni for the development of ENI’s magnesium silicate-based carbon utilisation technology. The reaction of the magnesium silicate with captured CO₂ emissions yields a product which Holcim hopes to use in its cement production.

Holcim Innovation Center head Edelio Bermejo said “Reaching net zero in cement manufacturing will require the deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and storage technologies at scale. ENI’s solution is very promising, and we are happy to explore its potential as it could take us all one step further on our decarbonisation journey.”

Czech Republic: The high prices of European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) emission allowances, more than Euro84/t of CO₂ emitted in the week to 28 January 2022, are likely to make cement production more expensive. Manufacturers are currently unclear how much prices will have to rise but stated that they could no longer absorb the rising cost of buying extra allowances.

Pavel Pavel Zdeněk, sales director of Lafarge Cement, the local Holcim subsidiary, said "The price of emission allowances are around Euro85/t. This year, the price may remain the same, but it could also rise to Euro100/t. This will already be reflected in the costs."

UK: Northern-Ireland-based Cookstown Cement plans to invest around Euro14m on environmental and process upgrades to its integrated 0.45Mt/yr plant in Cookstown. The company is managed and co-owned by David Millar, a sales director with Lafarge, according to the Belfast News Letter newspaper. Holcim announced the sale of its cement business in the region in late January 2022. Cookstown Cement has acquired a cement plant, a limestone quarry in Cookstown, a shale quarry in Dungannon and a terminal at Belfast Harbour.

UK: Ecocem has appointed Olivier Guise appointed as its Executive Director for Strategy, Technology and New Business. The newly created role will see him join the Ecocem executive team to develop and operate the company’s strategy and to accelerate progress in bringing products to the global cement and concrete market.

Guise holds over 17 years of experience working in the construction materials industry, having been General Manager of Cement and ExCo at LafargeHolcim France until 2021. Prior to this, he held various roles at LafargeHolcim across both its French and Algerian markets, including General Manager of the Aggregates Business in the South of France, Innovation and Route to Market Director and Cement Capacity Development Director.