Displaying items by tag: Russia

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.

Russia: The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has found that the 'Stroiindoustria' Bakhchisaray cement plant in the Crimea violated antimonopoly law by 'unreasonably' raising prices of cement. In April – May 2014 Bakhchisaray increased prices for its different product brands by an average of 45%. FAS established that the company had the dominant position on the cement market in the Crimea Federal District.

Completing the investigation, the antimonopoly body did not reveal any economic, technological or other justifications for the increased prices of the company products. The case against Bakhchisaray was initiated following an inspection of the largest producers of construction materials in the Crimea Federal District to verify whether prices complied with the antimonopoly law.

Russia: LSR Group has completed the sale of its cement plant in Slantsy, Leningrad to Eurocement. Following the closure of the deal, Eurocement has acquired full operating control over the facility. The plant, which began operations in September 2010, operates a 5000t/day clinker line and a 1.86Mt/yr cement line.

LSR reiterated that the divestment is part of its strategy of focusing on projects 'with the highest returns on invested capital and the fast-growing real estate development business.' As a result, LSR has significantly reduced its debt and made it 100% Ruble-based.

Russia: BaselCement Holding produced 2Mt of cement and clinker in 2014, 37% more than in 2013. At the Serebryansky Cement Plant, production reached 1.02Mt, 95% more than in 2013. (The plant was only commissioned in the middle of 2013). The shipment of cement and clinker from Achinsk Cement increased by 5% and exceeded 0.9Mt.

Russia: Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply power plants for 11 Eurocement cement plants. The project is part of a modernisation program focusing on energy-efficiency and environmental upgrades. The contract was signed in November 2014.

"Wärtsilä's solutions will allow us to create a high technology cement industry in Russia and provide national infrastructure and housing projects with high quality cement," said Eurocement president Mikhail Skorokhod.

The full equipment delivery order consists of 36 natural gas-fired Wärtsilä 34SG engines. The size of the industrial power plants varies from two to five engines, or from 19MW to 48MW. The combined capacity of the power plants will be 314MW. The plants will produce electricity for each cement plant and work in parallel with the electricity grid. All projects are scheduled to be fast-track-delivered during 2015.

"This multi-plant project is nicely in line with our strategy to grow in the industrial sector. Cement manufacturers and other industrial customers recognise the value of reliability of our solutions," said Regional Director Alf Doktar, Wärtsilä Power Plants. Wärtsilä's total installed power generation capacity in Russia is approximately 1000MW.

Russia: The workers of the Granit company, which is involved in construction of a new line at the Holcim cement plant in Saratov, Volga Federal District, conducted a one-day strike on 18 December 2014. Their actions were due to a disagreement caused by overdue salaries.

Russia: Austrian company Atrus Cement has halted construction of a cement plant in Krasnodar territory indefinitely. The project has been temporarily put on hold due to a lack of funds to finance the construction, according to Interfax.

Atrus Cement was planning to build and launch a cement plant in the Crimean district of Krasnodar territory by 2016. The project will cost over US$188m and will have a cement production capacity of 2.1Mt/yr. The company had hoped to start construction in 2012 and complete the project by 2016.

Russia: LSR Group is selling its Slantsy plant in the Leningrad region of Russia to Eurocement Group. The parties have signed a preliminary sales agreement, with Eurocement having obtained approval from Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (FAS).

Control of plant operations is expected to be transferred later in December 2014. LSR said that the deal is part of its strategy to 'focus on projects with the highest returns on invested capital and fast growing real estate development business, thus maximising value for shareholders.' LSR will use most of the proceeds to reduce its debt and make it 100% Ruble-based by the end of 2014.

Russia: Topkinsky Cement, a part of Siberian Cement, has received the Federal Antimonopoly Service's (FAS) permission to purchase a 24.92% voting stake in Iskitimtsement. Siberian Cement's stake will therefore grow to 49.899%. In February 2013 the FAS blocked Sibirsky Cement from acquiring a 90% stake of Iskitimtsement's voting shares.

Iskitimtsement posted a revenue of Euro85m and a net profit of Euro11m in 2013 compared to a revenue of Euro77m and a net profit of Euro16m in 2012. The cement plant holds 17% of the Siberian Federal District's cement market.