Displaying items by tag: Holcim

UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has elected Jan Jenisch as its president. He takes up the role with immediate effect and succeeds outgoing president, Albert Manifold, the chief executive officer (CEO) of CRH. As the first president of GCCA, Manifold oversaw its founding as a global platform for the concrete and cement industry and its work to unite the sector around the launch of its 2050 global roadmap to net zero concrete.

Jenisch was appointed CEO of Holcim (then LafargeHolcim) in 2017, having previously been CEO of Sika. He was also elected to the board of directors of Holcim in 2021. As president of the GCCA Jenisch will oversee the implementation of GCCA’s 2050 roadmap to net zero concrete, launched earlier in October 2021.

Jan Jenisch, GCCA President and CEO of Holcim said: “The net zero roadmap is exactly the collective endeavour that the association was established to deliver. Together we have set out a positive vision for how the cement and concrete industry will play a major role in building the sustainable world of tomorrow. With my board member peers, I look forward to overseeing the key progress we will make along that pathway, turning our vision and commitment into a reality.”

France/US: Fortera has appointed Thierry Legrand as the president of its European region. The company said that the addition of a president in Europe was the first step in creating a broader presence allowing for Fortera's carbon reducing cement to be deployed on a global scale.

Legrand previously worked for Lafarge and Holcim for over 25 years in European, Asian and African markets. During this time he became the country chief executive officer (CEO) in South Africa and Malaysia before finally becoming the Project Director Logistic Europe for LafargeHolcim between 2018 and 2020. Legrand follows former LafargeHolcim CEO Eric Olsen in joining Fortera. Olsen was appointed to Fortera’s board of directors in June 2021.

Read more about Fortera in the October 2021 issue of Global Cement Magazine

Zimbabwe: Lafarge Zimbabwe says that a ‘critical’ incident occurred at its Manresa plant in Harare on 11 October 2021 when the roof collapsed over a cement mill. It reported no fatalities or injuries. However, the subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim warned that the incident might have an impact on its business performance for the last quarter of 2021. It added that it had already started taking action to repair the structure and restart the mills.

The Herald Zimbabwe newspaper reports that there has been a “general low visibility of the company’s cement in the market.” It added that the company started building a new cement mill at the plant in March 2021 with an expected commissioning date of March 2022.

Croatia: LafargeHolcim Croatia has successfully commissioned a continuous mercury monitoring system in the stack of its Koromačno cement plant in Istria. Gasmet supplied the system via its regional distributor RACI.

LafargeHolcim Croatia Production Engineer Ivan Marićsaid “The product gives us exactly what we want – peace of mind. We now know where we stand with our mercury emissions.”

Switzerland: Holcim has announced new global social impact targets for 2030 under its new People Strategy. The targets fall under three pillars. These are ‘bridging the housing and infrastructure gap,’ ‘improving livelihoods’ and ‘upholding human rights.’ The company says that this will entail efforts to ensure adequate housing and infrastructure for all, support for health, education and skill building and the implementation of due diligence across its value chain. The strategy includes a target to create Euro468m of social value by 2030. The figure will include the total value of schools, hospitals, rural roads and affordable housing renovated or built in the period. Between 2016 and 2020, Holcim benefited over 31m people with Euro187.21m in social investment.

CEO Jan Jenisch said “Our business plays an essential role in society's progress. We build the roads, bridges, hospitals and schools that enable people to thrive around the world. With 3bn people expected to lack access to adequate housing by 2030, I am committed to putting our business to work to uplift our communities.”

Switzerland: Holcim Schweiz has replaced the kiln stack at its Eclépens cement plant. Deputy plant manager Christian Petit said that the previous stack had been in place since 1971. He thanked the team which installed the new 100m-high stack on 22 October 2021.

UK: Aggregate Industries has appointed Lee Sleight as the managing director of its Readymix Concrete division. He has also been appointed to the company’s executive committee. He succeeds Barry Hope, who will remain on Aggregate Industries’ executive team managing strategic projects in a new role as Business Development Director. Sleight previously worked for Sika for over a decade. Most recently he held the position of Business Unit Manager with responsibility for concrete and waterproofing divisions.

Cameroon: Cimenteries du Cameroun has begun building a new US$88.4m 0.5Mt/yr line at its 0.15Mt/yr Figuil cement plant. Agence Ecofin News has reported that the line is scheduled for commissioning in October 2023. It will have an additional clinker capacity of 0.1Mt/yr. When commissioned, the expanded plant will serve northern Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic, and bring the company's total cement capacity to 2.5Mt/yr.The LafargeHolcim Maroc Afrique subsidiary, in which the Cameroon National Investment Company (SNI) holds a minority stake, aims to compete with market leader Dangote Cement in Cameroon.

India: ACC's third-quarter sales in the 2022 financial year were US$501m, up by 6% year-on-year from US$472m in the third quarter of the 2021 financial year.Its cement sales were 6.57Mt, up by 1.2% from 6.49Mt, while its costs rose by 5.3% to US$428m from US$406m. Press Trust of India News has reported that the company's net profit in the quarter rose by 24% to US$60.1m. The company attributed its 'solid' quarterly performance to its focus on sustainability while meeting customers' needs.

Managing director and chief executive officer Sridhar Balakrishnan said "Despite a steep increase in fuel costs, our cost efficiency measures under Project Parvat have enabled us to maintain robust performance." Regarding the full-year outlook, he added "We are positive that the cement sector will benefit from increasing demand in various sectors such as housing, commercial and industrial construction."

Ivory Coast: LafargeHolcim Côte d'Ivoire has announced plans for the launch of white cement production at its Abidjan grinding plant in 2022. APA News has reported that the plant's clinker costs increased by 80% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of 2021. This, along with a drop in grey cement prices, inspired the strategic change.

Chief executive officer and managing director Rachid Yousry said "Our ambition is clear; it is to be the benchmark cement supplier in the Ivory Coast through our services." The 2.5Mt/yr-capacity producer held a 20% market share in the country in 2020.