Displaying items by tag: LafargeHolcim
Hima Cement to build US$40m grinding plant in Uganda
22 September 2016Uganda: Hima Cement plans to build a grinding plant at Nyakesi, Tororo district at a cost of US$40m to meet demand for local infrastructure projects and for regional markets. The plant will be built near to the plant of Hima’s competitor, Tororo Cement. It will add an additional 1Mt/yr of cement production capacity to the company.
"Hima Cement is committed to ensuring sufficient cement capacity to serve the national infrastructure and construction projects, individuals and the commercial sector. As a result, we are embarking on several capacity building projects, starting with the construction of a grinding plant at the end of 2016,” said Daniel Pettersson, the CEO of Hima Cement. He added that the company is also in the final stages of exploration for a limestone site in North East Uganda to support a future clinker plant.
In 2010, Hima Cement invested US$120m towards building a new production line at its plant in Kasese. This project increased the plant’s production capacity to 0.9Mt/yr. On completion, the Tororo expansion will further increase Hima Cement's capacity to around 1.9Mt/yr.
Lafarge Malaysia faces clean-up costs after accidental dust discharge
19 September 2016Malaysia: Lafarge Malaysia is facing clean-up costs following the release of dust from its Langkawi cement plant on 12 September 2016. Dust from the plant was accidentally released due to repair work on a clogged processing unit. It was then blown by the wind to three nearby villages comprising around 1000 houses, according to the Free Malaysia Today newspaper. Management at the plant has apologised for the incident and has agreed to cover the cost of the clean up.
LafargeHolcim cuts 250 jobs as it completes merger
16 September 2016Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has announced that it will shed around 250 jobs as part of a reorganisation of its global operations. The announcement comes following the completion of merger proceedings between the former Lafarge and Holcim.
There will be 250 job reductions in corporate functions by the end of 2017, of which around 130 will be in Holderbank, Switzerland, 80 in L'Isle d'Abeau, France, and the remainder in other global sites in the rest of the world. This represents around 0.25% of LafargeHolcim’s 100,000 staff.
Lafarge North America to lay off workers at Joppa cement plant
15 September 2016US: Lafarge North America plans to lay off an estimated 40 workers at his Joppa cement plant in Illinois. The move follows a decision to shut down one of the plants two kilns due to poor demand, according to WSIL-TV. The announcement follows the cement producer’s decision to scrap its expansion at the plant in May 2016. It previously said that no job losses were anticipated.
European Bank for Reconstruction & Development confirms decision to raise stake in Holcim Azerbaijan cement plant
15 September 2016Azerbaijan: The board of directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development's (EBRD) has decided to raise its stake in Holcim Azerbaijan to 20%. The move is intended to support the company’s energy efficiency through the use of alternative fuels.
“The bank will continue to support a major company in Azerbaijan, demonstrating continued support for the country's non-oil sector,” said the bank in a statement. “In addition, the company is committed to sustainability standards and will pursue the use of alternative fuels in its operations.”
LafargeHolcim acquired a controlling stake in Holcim Azerbaijan, formerly Garadagh OJSC, during a privatization process in 1999. The EBRD currently owns a 10% share in the cement producer.
Update on Kenya
14 September 2016Tensions have boiled over regarding imports of cement to Kenya in recent weeks as different importers have received opprobrium in the local press. Last week Dangote Cement was attacked for importing cheap cement into the country from Ethiopia, allegedly off the back of a cheap electricity deal. This week, Chinese imports have been in the firing line, following data reportedly seen by the Business Daily newspaper that showed that the value of Chinese cement imports rose tenfold year-on-year in the first half of 2016.
At the heart of these rows lies a strong demand for cement: Kenya had a cement production utilisation rate of 90% in 2015 according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data. It produced 6.35Mt in that year and used 5.71Mt for consumption and stocks. Its utilisation rate has been rising steadily since 2012. It was 93% for the first six months of 2016.
Unfortunately for the local producers this kind of demand attracts competition from within and without. Nigeria’s Dangote Cement is planning to build a 3Mt/yr plant at Kitui and Cemtech Kenya, a subsidiary of India’s Sanghi Group, is planning to build a 1.2Mt/yr plant at Pakot.
Local producer ARM Cement reported both falling turnover and a loss for the first half of 2016. It blamed this on increased competition in Tanzania. However, in 2015 it increased its turnover in Kenya by importing clinker over the border from its new Tanga plant in Tanzania. It also noted a ‘competitive landscape’ in Kenya and lamented the effects of currency devaluation on its financies as a whole. East African Portland Cement had a tougher time of it for its half-year that ended on 31 December 2015, issuing a profit warning of a loss and expected reduced profits despite a rise of 12% in sales revenue. By contrast, Bamburi Cement, LafargeHolcim’s subsidiary, reported both increases in revenue and operating profit in 2015. Although it too noted problems with interest rates and currency depreciation in the country during this period.
The focus on Chinese imports follows Chinese contractors winning some of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country. The China Rail & Bridge Corporation (CRBC), for example, is building a railway between Mombasa and Nairobi. The Business Daily newspaper has found data showing that Chinese cement imports worth US$19.8m to Kenya in the first half of 2016 compared to US$1.99m in the same period of 2015. The background to this is that China has more than doubled the value of all of its imports to Kenya since 2011 according to the KNBS. Total import volumes of clinker from all foreign countries increased by 51% in 2015 from 1.31Mt in 2014, the largest increase in at least five years.
If local cement producers are being locked out of supplying these kind of deals no wonder they are getting angry. However, another angle on what’s happening here might be that local producers who are suffering from increased competition, falling prices and a precarious national financial situation are lashing out at the easiest target. The local press doesn’t appear to have criticised ARM Cement for moving its Tanzanian clinker north of the border for example. Likewise, a Bamburi Cement spokesperson previously said that the producer had supplied 300,000t of cement to the rail project since September 2014, earning it nearly US$10m. Kenya needs cement as it builds its infrastructure. Fortunes will be made and tempers will be lost as it does so.
Huaxin Cement proposes Lafarge and Holcim managers for board positions
14 September 2016China: Huaxin Cement has proposed Ron Wirahadiraksa and Daniel Bach as candidates for its board of directors. The proposals will be submitted to the shareholders general meeting for approval.
Ron Wirahadiraksa, a Dutch national born in 1960, has been the chief financial officers of LafargeHolcim since 1 December 2015. He graduated with a Doctoral in Business Economics from the Free University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He also graduated as a Certified Registered Controller from the Free University of Amsterdam. Wirahadiraksa joined the Philips group in 1987. He became Chief Financial Officer at LG Philips LCD in South Korea in 1999, during which time he shared operating leadership with the Korean CEO. He became Chief Financial Officer at Philips Healthcare in 2008 and in 2011 he took over as CFO for the Philips Group.
Daniel Bach, a Swiss national born in 1963, has been the Area Manager South East Asia and China (Huaxin) for LafargeHolcim since July 2016. He joined Holcim as project engineer and manager in 1994. In 1998, he moved to Corporate Business Risk Management and in 2002 was made Technical Director for Holcim Indonesia. From 2004 – 2007, Bach acted as assistant to a member of the Holcim Executive Committee before being appointed Senior VP Manufacturing for Holcim Philippines. He became the Area Manager for South East Asia in 2011. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich.
Huaxin Cement is an association company of LafargeHolcim. As of 31 December 2015, the group held 41.8 % of the voting rights in the associate company.
Lafarge Canada completes upgrade at Exshaw cement plant
13 September 2016Canada: Lafarge Canada has announced the completion of modernisation and environmental upgrades at its Exshaw cement plant in Alberta. The plant has increased its cement production capacity to 2.2Mt/yr from 1.3Mt/yr. Environmental improvements have led to a 60% reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions, a 40% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions and a reduction in fugitive dust and noise coming from the plant's equipment. The plant has also achieved zero water discharge from its operations.
"It is an incredible achievement to comple a project of this scale. Completing it safely takes focus and energy and I applaud the team for its dedication to this goal," said René Thibault, President and CEO, Lafarge, Western Canada. "By all accounts we consider the project to be a success, cementing our long term commitment to Exshaw, Alberta and western Canada."
The upgrade consisted of shutting down the plant’s kiln four in November 2015. It modernised kiln five to meet new emissions targets by retiring less efficient gravel-bed filter technology. It then built a new production line, kiln six, with a baghouse to collect particulates, as well as a vertical raw mill, a EcoDome storage facility, a pre-heater tower and a vertical cement mill.
Construction at the plant began in 2013, with more than 600 contracted employees on site at the peak of construction activity in addition to 160 permanent employees. The team achieved nearly three million hours without a lost time incident.
Spanish regulator issues Euro29.2m fine to cement companies
13 September 2016Spain: The National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) has issued total fines of Euro29.2m to 23 cement companies for involvement in a cartel between 1999 and 2014. Among the companies are Cementos Portland Valderrivas, with a Euro10.2m fine, Cemex Spain with a Euro5.8m fine and Holcim Spain, with a Euro4.4m fine, according to the Cinco Días newspaper.
The CNMC’s investigations have shown that the companies coordinated the exchange of commercial information, market sharing and price fixing between 1999 and 2014 in three distinct geographical areas in the north, centre and south of the country. Notably, the southern region examined the companies used email and WhatsApp mobile phone application to share sensitive information.
Lebanon: Intercem is building a hot gas system for a coal mill at the LafargeHolcim Chekka plant. The engineering company won the contract for the job in 2015. It is the second such contract for Intercem to build a hot gas system following a previous project at a plant in Jordan in 2013.
The new hot gas system in the coal mill plant in Chekka connects the preheater with the coal mill and comprises a hot gas duct with a length of 360m and a diameter of 900mm. The process data of the hot gas outlet of the heat exchanger are of 18,500Nm3/hour at 400°C.
The turnkey scope of supply and services for the project includes:
- Project management
- As-built-survey of the existing plant using 3D-Laser scanning
- Review of the statics of the existing steel structure and concrete construction
- Process- and detail engineering
- Supply of the mechanical equipment including steel structure
- Coordination of the locally produced components
- Supply of the electrical equipment including clarification of connections and integration into the existing control systems
- Execution of the complete foundation works
- Transport management
- Electrical and mechanical assembly of the plant
- Commissioning of the hot gas system
- Training of the operating team
In addition ducts, a cyclone, a process fan and several control dampers, compensators, the complete instrumentation and automation as well as a new recirculation duct with two control dampers at the existing vertical coal mill have been supplied.
Handover to the customer is planned for fourth quarter of 2016.