Displaying items by tag: Mexico
Mexico: Corporación Moctezuma has appointed Julio Rodríguez Izquierdo as the chair of its board of directors. This follows the resignation of Enrico Buzzi from the post. The change is a planned and periodic rotation of the holder of the role between the company’s two controlling shareholders: Spain-based Cementos Molins and Italy-based Buzzi Unicem. Together, the European cement companies own a 66.7% share of Corporación Moctezuma.
Rodriguez Izquierdo, a 60-year-old Spanish national, is the chief executive officer of Cementos Molins. Prior to becoming the head of Cementos Molins in 2015, he worked for over 30 years at Schneider Electric in a variety of roles before becoming the Executive Vice President Global Operations in 2011.
Cemex publishes 2021 Integrated Report
28 March 2022Mexico: Cemex has published its 2021 Integrated Report. Under the report’s Climate Action section, Cemex recorded a 4.7% year-on-year decrease in its CO2 emissions per tonne of cementitious material. Alternative fuel (AF) substitution rose to 29%, while its products’ average clinker factor fell to 75%. It was the first company to complete a global roll-out of its reduced-CO2 cement and concrete range (Vertua). It established Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)-verified well below 2°C 2030 climate action goals and joined the UN’s Race to Zero and the Business Ambition for 1.5°C coalition. It also became a founding member of the World Economic Forum’s First Movers Coalition for zero-carbon economic development.
The year also brought major Sustainability and Circular Economy milestones, including managing 57 times the volume of waste it sent to landfill, positively impacting 25m lives through its Social Impact Strategy and processing 61% of global sales through its Cemex Go digital sales platform. For the second consecutive year, its Net Promotor Score was 68, ‘substantially above’ the construction and engineering industry average.
Mexico: Holcim Mexico has launched ISO14044-compliant full-lifecycle Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its ready-mix concrete range. The company says that the EPDs will help designers and builders to inform their materials selection processes. The Redacción newspaper has reported that data from five cement plants contributed to the declarations.
Concrete and aggregates director Manuel Sirtori congratulated the team for "demonstrating leadership by promoting transparency and reducing emissions in the construction industry."
Mexican: Cooperativa La Cruz Azul has relocated back to its historic head office in Mexico City, according to the El Universal newspaper. The producer says that the move is another step forward in its restoration of normality and its institutional refoundation after ‘three decades of struggle.’
Imports drive US cement shipment growth in 2021
09 March 2022US: Cement shipments grew by 4.2% year-on-year to 107Mt in 2021 from 103Mt in 2020. Data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) show that domestic shipments and imports rose by 2.3% to 90.8Mt and 16% to 16.3Mt respectively. Regionally, particular gains were reported in New England and Middle Atlantic, West North Central, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico. Puerto Rico reported a 47% decline in shipments. The largest cement exporting nations to the US were Turkey, Canada, Greece, Mexico and Vietnam. Turkey, Greece and Vietnam each increased their imports by over 30% in 2021.
Cemex to restart CPN cement plant’s Line 2
08 March 2022Mexico: Cemex says that it plans to restart Line 2 at its CPN cement plant in Sonora State. The line has a capacity of 0.8Mt/yr. Cemex will invest US$29m in restarting it, bringing its total recent investments in the CPN plant to US$44m. It previously invested US$15m in a restart of the plant’s 1Mt/yr Line 1 in 2021. When operational in mid-late 2022, Line 2 will join the existing line in supplying cement to Arizona, California and Nevada in the US.
Cemex USA president Jaime Muguiro said “Many cement customers in the western US have been impacted by tight supply constraints for several months, and at Cemex, we are proactively looking for opportunities to further alleviate those conditions and enrich customer experiences by enhancing how we operate while utilising our global reach.” He continued “Customers require more cement to keep pace with the region’s growth, and we want to ensure they have stable and steady access to the high-quality materials that are essential to meet their needs.”
Cemex commissions Line 2 at Tapeaca cement plant
08 March 2022Mexico: Cemex has successfully commissioned its new Line 2 at its Tapeaca, Puebla, cement plant.
Cemex’s Mexico regional vice president operations and technology Ernesto Felix said that the work ‘brought together a great team’ of Cemex colleagues.
Mexican Ready-Mix Concrete Association warns of cost impacts of Ukraine crisis on global cement production
02 March 2022Mexico: The Mexican Ready-Mix Concrete Industry Association (AMIC) says that European natural gas shortages and disruptions to the supply of oil, chemicals and other goods as a result of the conflict in Ukraine may cause a rise in the cost of global cement production.
AMIC president Ana Laura Burciaga said "Having a conflict that delays the arrival of these products can make them more expensive because they would have to be obtained from more expensive sources due to shortages.” Burciaga continued "The area where the conflict is taking place was a major supplier of gas and we are concerned that this will have repercussions, especially in terms of a price increase when we have just suffered a very significant one of a magnitude we had not seen for many years."
GCC worker dies following explosion at Chihuahua cement plant
28 February 2022Mexico: GCC has reported that a worker at its Chihuahua cement has died in hospital following an explosion on 25 Feburary which injured five others. The company says that it activated all safety protocols in response to the disaster and coordinated its actions with the responding authorities. It continues to support the investigation into the cause of the blast.
The company said “Unfortunately, one of the six injured died in hospital. We are currently in contact with his family, to whom we have expressed our deepest condolences, and with the families of our other injured collaborators to make all our support and resources available to them at this difficult time.”
Cemex’s production costs rise due to new mining tax in Nuevo León
23 February 2022Mexico: The Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry (CMIC) has voiced cement price concerns following the introduction of a new environmental tax on mining activity in the state of Nuevo León. Cemex operates a quarry in the state, and has resultingly experienced a rise in the cost of its cement production. The El Norte newspaper has reported that the producer’s Monterrey, Nuevo León, cement plant supplies cement across northeastern Mexico.
CMIC also lobbied the government to begin awarding public works contracts to private investors instead of the Mexican armed forces. It argued that this would help to generate jobs.