Displaying items by tag: Russia

Germany: The European Commission has approved the acquisition of Fels-Werke by Ireland’s CRH. Fels-Werke is active in mining, processing and distribution of lime and limestone products, gypsum and mortar in Germany, the Czech Republic and Russia. The commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because there is limited geographic overlap between the companies' activities. It described them as ‘remote’ competitors. Fels’ owners Xella agreed to sell the business to CRH in August 2017 for an undisclosed sum.

Russia: Russian construction materials producer Eurocement Group plans to build a cement plant in the Danor industrial area in the exclave of Kaliningrad. The intention is to reduce the region’s dependence on outside supplies, according to a local government statement. The sum of the investment will be calculated in December 2017.

Europe: RHI and Magnesita have announced divestment agreements ahead of their proposed merger. RHI has signed a contract with a European refractories supplier for an undisclosed sum regarding the sale of its dolomite business in the European Economic Area. The sale consists of the production sites at Marone in Italy and Lugones in Spain. Magnesita has entered into a definitive agreement with Intocast to divest its business related to the production and supply of magnesia carbon bricks produced at the company's Oberhausen plant in Germany for Euro20.3m. Both sales were required by the European Commission as part of the merger process.

“With the sale of the two sites, the combination of RHI with Magnesita is also still right on schedule,” said RHI’s chief executive officer Stefan Borgas with regards to his company’s divestments “We expect the confirmation by the European Commission in the near future.”

RHI signed a contract in August 2017 to sell its production sites at San Vito in Italy and Sherbinska in Russia that produce fused cast refractories for the glass industry. Production at the company’s plant at Aken in Germany was stopped in the first half of 2017 for an indefinite period. RHI plans to sell or close the plant to maintain its production utilisation rate across the business.

Germany: Ireland’s CRH has acquired Fels, a lime and aggregate business, for Euro600m from Xella International. The purchase includes nine production locations in Germany, one in the Czechia and one in the Moscow region of Russia, as well as over 1Bnt of limestone reserves. The assets will be added to CRH’s Europe Heavyside division. The purchase is expected to make CRH the second largest business in the European lime market. The acquisition has been funded by the sale of CRH’s Americas Distribution business to Beacon Roofing Supply for Euro2.2bn.

Russia: LafargeHolcim’s local subsidiary Holcim Russia has launched an upgrade at its cement plant in Saratov Region at a total cost of US$300m. The project to build a new dry process line began in 2012 and has increased the plant’s capacity to 4500t/day. According to local press the plant meets all modern standards and environmental safety requirements. It is expected that the line will be at full capacity by the end of 2017.

Russia: Sibirsky Cement’s cement production fell by 11% year-on-year to 1.4Mt in the first half of 2017. Particular declines were registered at its Topkinsky Cement and Timlyuysky Cement plants. The cement producer has blamed falling production on the poor economic situation in the region. Cement consumption in the Siberian federal district fell by 10% to 1.9Mt in the five months to 31 May 2017. The majority of this cement is used for residential construction.

Russia: Anhui Conch plans to start building a cement pant in the Ulyanovsk region by the spring of 2018. The local development corporation also announced that staff have been recruited for the project and early design work has started, according to Construction magazine. The 5000t/day plant is expected to start operation by early 2021.

Russia: Iskitimcement has expanded its fleet with the purchase of three Scania P Series trucks with Sespel bulk cement semi trailers for Euro557,000. The new 28.1t vehicles have been designed specifically for the Russian market. The trailers can transport up to 30t of cargo each. Vladimir Skakun, the general director of the cement producer, commented that its road shipments are growing and that it expects to deliver up to 24,000t/month of cement in the summer of 2017 from a fleet of 26 vehicles. The company has plans to increase its fleet further in the future.

Iran: The Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture has urged cement producers increase their exports to Russia to take advantage of rising demand. Russian cement consumption is expected to reach 140Mt as it builds infrastructure for projects like the FIFA 2018 World Cup, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. Iran exported 11.5Mt of cement in the 11 month period to 18 February 2017. Exports are hoped to nearly triple to 32Mt/yr by 2025 following targets set by the government’s Vision Plan.

Russia: The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has approved Siberian Cement Holding Company (SibCem) to acquire executive body rights in Angarskcement and Iskitimcement. In the case of the transactions, the charter capital structure of Angarskcement and Iskitimcement will not change, the companies will sign management contracts, according to the Kommersant newspaper. Sibcem holds a 49.9% stake in Iskitimcement, via Topkinsky Cement, and a 43.33% stake in Angarskcement.