Displaying items by tag: Russia

Russia: According to Prime News, Mikhail Skorokhod, president of Eurocement Group, has said that the cement industry of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, may receive about Euro4.42bn of private investment until 2020.

"Speaking of plans until 2020, we expect to see launches of about 40Mt/yr of capacities and about Euro4.42bn of private investment will be needed for that," said Skorokhod, adding that investments in Russia will account for about 80% of the total sum. Investment in the sector amounted to Euro13.3bn until 2014 and production capacities totalling 45Mt/yr cement were launched.

Russia: According to Heavy Lift, Germany-based Dako Worldwide Transport has transported a 185t cement mill over 5700km from the manufacturer's location in Austria to a cement plant in Sterlitamak, Russia.

The mill, which measured 18.5m x 5.7m x 6m, was first loaded onto a barge in Linz, Austria for transport along the Danube River to the Romanian port of Constanta, where the cargo was loaded onto a vessel and shipped across the Black Sea to Rostov, Russia. From Rostov, the vessel travelled down the Volga-Don River system to eventually arrive at Nizhnekamsk, where the cement mill was lifted by a heavy lift port crane onto a ro-ro barge for onward transport down the Kama and Belaya rivers to Ufa, Bashkortostan.

On arrival at Ufa, the mill was unloaded using a bespoke roll-off jetty that had been designed and constructed by Dako in Russia. The company explained that this was extremely challenging due to the very low water level in the river at the time. Special steel plates were placed on the jetty and two heavy-duty prime movers were used to pull the 24-axle hydraulic trailer and its load off the barge and onto land. The same trailer was then used to transport the cement mill to its final destination in Sterlitamak, Bashkortostan by road. En route, the vehicle had to pass over several bridges, many of which had been reinforced for this transport.

Russia: Russia's cement consumption may fall by 5 - 10% in 2015, according to Eurocement Group forecasts. The cement market contracted by 9% in January - April 2015. The decline slowed to 4 - 5% in May 2015, according to preliminary data.

The situation on the construction market is currently unfavourable for cement production as borrowing is too expensive, which slows new construction and gives developers an incentive to monetise projects at the implementation stage. "Developers are currently trying to complete projects that are already underway, so consumption of finished products has increased and companies are reluctant to begin new construction projects, which takes a toll on cement consumption," said Eurocement president Mikhail Skorokhod.

Eurocement has continued to upgrade its cement plants and all of its plants will switch to the dry-process for cement production by 2020. The programme will boost Eurocement's production capacity to 60Mt/yr from 50Mt/yr. Capital investment in the upgrades will total an estimated Euro1.62bn.

At the start of July 2015, a 1.3Mt/yr capacity plant will be commissioned in Ulyanovsk region's Sengileevsky district, according to Skorokhod. The plant will have the option of shipping product on the Volga river, reducing some of Eurocement's logistical costs.

Russia: Eurocement has publically supported the merger between Lafarge and Holcim. In a statement the Russian producer and minority shareholder in Holcim said that it found the development potential of the merged company 'very positive'.

In late March 2015 Eurocement announced that it planned to vote against the LafargeHolcim merger unless the financial terms of the deal were altered. Subsequently in mid-April 2015, it then proposed its chairman Filaret Galchev to the board of directors of LafargeHoclim but Holcim said the proposal was submitted too late to be considered. Eurocement owns a 10.82% stake in Holcim.

Russia: The government of Chelyabinsk and China's Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited are negotiating the construction of a cement plant. Anhui Conch has been provided several plots for assessment. According to general manager Wang Jianchao, a project scheme will be determined in the near future and will either consist of the modernisation of existing facilities or the construction of a new cement plant at undeveloped limestone deposits.

Russia: Ulyanovskcement, a subsidiary of Eurocement, is setting up a new cement shipping and packaging department. The project includes a new 6200t/day dry-process production line. Equipment produced by Ibau Hamburg Ingenieurgesellschaft Industriebau GmbH will be installed.

Russia: Donskaya Tekhnicheskaya Company, one of the largest suppliers of construction materials, intends to construct a cement terminal in Azov, Rostov in 2015, for Euro3.13m. The terminal will load out over 490,000t/yr or 2000t/day of cement. The cement will be dispatched by rail and by ships from the Sebryakovcement plant in Volgograd and the Novoroscement plant in Krasnodar. The project will help solve the cement deficit in the region.

Russia: Eurocement's new plant in Sengileevskaya is scheduled to begin production at the end of May 2015, bringing the total production capacity of the Ulyanovsk region close to 4Mt/yr. Eurocement Group president Mikhail Skorokhod said that the plant will meet the highest standards in terms of equipment quality and performance. Governor of the Ulyanovsk region, Sergey Morozov, said that the arrival of Eurocement will improve the quality of life for people in the region. On completion, the plant will provide 320 jobs.

Russia: According to the Russian Cement Association (CMPRO), for the first time since 2009, domestic cement consumption is expected to decline by 15% in 2015 due to the reduction in housing and infrastructure development.

Sales have dropped by at least 5% since the start of 2015. The slow decline may continue for several years. Lafarge expects that the strongest drop, by some 8 - 12%, will be seen in central regions of Russia. Lafarge intends to produce about 2.6Mt in 2015. Siberian Cement has predicted that the cement market of Siberia may shrink by 5 - 7% in 2015 and will reduce its production by 7% to 4Mt during the year. According to the NEO Centre consulting group, cement output in Russia grew by 3% year-on-year to 68.4Mt in 2014.

Russia/Brazil: Refractory materials producer Magnezit Group has signed a cooperation agreement with the Brazilian company Vamtec, a diversified manufacturer and trader of materials for metallurgical and cement plants. The agreement specifies distribution and promotion of Magnezit Group's products and services in Brazil. It also includes research collaboration in the metallurgical industry.

"During recent years we have carried out a number of changes in the company, including the construction of a plant for the production of magnesia clinker in Satka, Chelyabinsk region and the purchase of a new deposit in Krasnoyarsk Territory. Cooperation with Vamtec will let Magnezit Group find new possibilities for growth and continue efficient development of business in the South American market," said general director of Magnezit Group Sergei Odegov.

Vamtec SA was founded in the 1980s. It carries out development, production and promotion of materials and services for steel making industry, non-ferrous metallurgy, foundries and other industries.