Displaying items by tag: Philippines

Philippines: Republic Cement's resource recovery group, Ecoloop, has diverted 21.4 billion plastic sachets in 2023, equating to 110,000t of discarded materials utilised as alternative fuel in cement co-processing. This marks a 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions per ton of cement, according to The Philippine Star newspaper.

Ecoloop director Angela Edralin-Valencia said "This achievement represents a significant amount of materials diverted from landfills and bodies of water, such as oceans and urban waterways and further underscores Republic Cement’s commitment to environmental stewardship and circular economy principles."

Philippines: James Hardie has shut down its HardieFlex fibre cement board plant in Cabuyao, Laguna, ending over two decades of operations. The company will cease all commercial operations in the Philippines in the coming months.

Philippines: First Gen will supply electricity from geothermal sources to Holcim Philippines plants in Mindanao. Under the agreement, First Gen subsidiary Energy Development will provide 22% of the energy needs for Holcim's manufacturing facilities in Bunawan, Davao City, and Lugait, Misamis Oriental. This partnership is enabled by the Mindanao introduction of the retail competition and open access programme, allowing significant power consumers to select their electricity suppliers. Earlier in August 2024, Holcim announced an electricity supply agreement with Alsons Power to supply 80% of the energy needs for the two facilities.

First Gen president and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said "We are pleased to partner with Holcim Philippines to grow viably while decarbonising. It's not an easy journey to decarbonise and provide for a regenerative future. This requires collaboration not just through supplying power, but also through solutions that maximise and optimise electricity requirements and working to find a pathway towards net zero."

Philippines: Thailand-based producer Shera announced that its upcoming fibre cement plant in Mabalacat, Pampanga, has reached 60% completion and is on schedule to commence commercial operations by January 2025. The plant will be the company’s first production facility outside Thailand, capable of producing 0.24Mt/yr of fibre cement. The Mabalacat facility will also export to Taiwan, South Korea and parts of North Asia and Oceania and will create jobs for up to 150 people.

Ongek Taechamahaphant, chair and director, said “Our Mabalacat plant is a major step in Shera’s plan to expand further in the Philippine market. We know that once this facility is fully operational by 2025, more Filipinos will easily be able to access our eco-friendly and durable fibre cement products.”

Philippines: Cemex has received approval from the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to sell 90% of Cemex Holdings Philippines's shares. The approval relates to a joint acquisition by DMCI Holdings, Semirara Mining and Power and Dacon of shares in Cemex Asian South East Corporation, which holds a major stake in Cemex Holdings Philippines. This clearance is a requirement for finalising the transaction, contingent on further compliance by the acquiring companies.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines will invest US$6.5m to upgrade its La Union plant and increase the use of alternative fuels and raw materials to 40%. The project will be implemented by Sinoma CBMIPH Construction and will be completed by late 2025, reports the Manila Bulletin.

Nicolas George, Holcim Philippines president and CEO, said the investment aims to reduce CO₂ emissions, promote recycling, support local waste management and provide income for northern Luzon farmers, who will supply biomass residues as alternative fuels.

General manager Zeng Youbing of Sinoma CBMIPH Construction said “This marks the third collaboration between Sinoma CBMIPH and Holcim Philippines since 2021. We are honoured to contribute to Holcim Philippines' decarbonisation and sustainability goals.”

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has appointed Nicolas George as its president and CEO. He succeeds Horia Adrian, who will assume the role of Head of Decarbonization for Holcim in the Asia, Middle East, and Africa region.

George previously worked as the CEO of Lafarge Algeria from 2021. Before this he was the CEO of Chip Mong Insee Cement in Cambodia. George joined Holcim in 2007 as a Strategy Manager in China and has also worked as the CEO of Myanmar and Uganda for the group. He holds a degree in Industry Management, Innovation, and Performance from the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon.

Philippines: Alsons Power has signed a retail electricity supply agreement with Holcim Philippines, committing to provide 80% of the energy needs for Holcim's facilities in Davao and Lugait, Misamis Oriental.

Edwin Villas, senior vice president and head of supply chain at Holcim Philippines, said “We are confident that our partnership with Alsons Power will help us achieve our business goals and sustainability aspirations. Partnering with Alsons Power is the right choice given its strong and trusted reputation for providing reliable and affordable electricity in its three decades in the energy industry.”

Congratulations to Taiheiyo Cement Philippines (TCPI) this week for inaugurating its new 3Mt/yr production line at its Cebu plant. The US$220m line replaces the old line at the site that was closed in late 2021.

The plant was originally built by Grand Cement Manufacturing in the early 1990s. Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement took over in 2001 and later made the decision to upgrade the site in 2017. It then contracted China-based Anhui Conch and Sinoma (Handan) Construction for the project in 2021 and groundbreaking took place in mid-2022. Commercial operation of the new line was previously scheduled from May 2024. TCPI has also invested around US$140m in related projects such as its Jetty and Marine Belt Conveyor project, which links the Cebu plant to the coast via a conveyor. Other parts of this expenditure encompass the Luzon Distribution Terminal Project at Calaca in Batangas and general port development in San Fernando.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was keen to promote this example of a foreign-owned company investing in local manufacturing. DTI Secretary Fred Pascual pointed out that Japan is the country’s “second-largest trading partner and third-largest source of foreign investment.” He also linked the project to the national Build Better More infrastructure development programme and the Tatak Pinoy Act that was introduced in early 2024 to promote local industry. Along these lines, Republic Cement was awarded the Domestic Bidder’s Certificate of Preference this week. It is the first cement company to receive it. The initiative promotes the use of local manufactured materials in government projects as part of the Tatak Pinoy Act. As one might expect, the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP) supports the Tatak Pinoy Act. It voiced its support for the legislation in June 2024 when the DTI started to implement it. It noted that cement imports were just under 7Mt/yr in 2023 despite the anti-dumping duties imposed on a number of Vietnam-based producers and traders. This compares to a local production capacity of nearly 50Mt/yr.

CEMAP mentioned that new production lines from both TCPI and Solid Cement were expected in 2024. The latter project is a new production line being built at Solid Cement’s Antipolo plant near Manilla in Rizal province. Cemex Philippines held a groundbreaking ceremony for the 1.5Mt/yr line at its subsidiary back in 2019. However, Cemex said it was selling its Philippines-based business to DMCI Holdings and related companies in April 2024. As part of this process Cemex sold its local cement brands to the Consunji family, the owners of DMCI Holdings, in June 2024. Regulatory approval of the divestment is still pending but the sale of the brands suggest that the transaction is progressing. Completion is expected by the end of 2024. Operation of the new line at the Antipolo plant is anticipated from September 2024.

Another forthcoming plant project was announced by PHINMA Corporation in June 2024. It signed a joint venture deal with investment company Anflo Group to build a 2Mt/yr cement plant in Davao del Norte. The project is scheduled to be operational by 2026. Cement from the plant will be marketed under the Union Cement brand. The sums involved suggest a grinding plant but PHINMA’s cement division, Philcement Corporation, is involved with both manufacture and importation. PHINMA also signed a deal to buy Petra Cement in May 2024. The latter company runs a 0.5Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Zamboanga del Norte. PHINMA re-entered the cement market in the late 2010s when it bought the Union Cement brand and built a cement processing plant at Mariveles, Bataan in 2020.

The battles between cement producers and importers continue to play out in the Philippines as the country’s infrastructure plans gather pace. Yet the balance seems to be tilting more towards the favour of the local manufacturers at the moment, as new capacity gets proposed and built. Anti-dumping duties on imports, particularly those from Vietnam, have now been followed up with local procurement rules in the guise of the Tatak Pinoy Act. Whether this is enough remains to be seen. This kind of environment and the departure of Cemex may also start to revive questions about whether any other foreign-owned cement companies might be considering their options too.

Philippines: Taiheiyo Cement Philippines has inaugurated a new US$220m production line at its plant in San Fernando, Cebu, which is expected to support national cement production and reduce reliance on imports. The plant now has a capacity of 3Mt/yr, or 6000t/day of clinker. The new production line replaced the old facility, which was demolished in 2021. The facility incorporates kiln renewal technology that reportedly cuts CO₂ emissions by at least 10% through reduced energy consumption and a lower clinker factor. San Fernando Mayor Mytha Ann Canoy said the new facility is expected to generate 2000 new jobs.