Displaying items by tag: Spain

Spain: Following a partial easing of Spain’s coronavirus lockdown on 25 May 2020, LafargeHolcim España employees returning to the company’s Villaluenga de la Sagra cement plant in Toledo, Castile-La Mancha were surprised to discover that an Iberian lynx had moved in during the 2.4Mt/yr integrated plant’s 10-week suspension due to the coronavirus lockdown. Staff contacted the Castile-La Mancha Environmental Agency, which determined that the site was ‘not an ideal habitat’ for lynx due to the risk presented by vehicles inside and outside of the cement plant when operations resume. The Castile-La Mancha Environmental Agency has tweeted that it has released the one-year-old female cat at a secret location in the Montes de Toledo region, following a medical check-up and tagging.

Spain: Cemex has supplied concrete made with barite (BaSO4)-containing cement for the construction of a bunker at the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid where radiological coronavirus treatments will be carried out. Alimarket Construction News has reported that the facility will have walls 2m thick. Cemex Spain Operations said, “Cemex is an expert company in the supply of special concretes for this type of hospital facilities. Proof of this is that it has already carried out more than a dozen actions of this type throughout the country.”

Spain: HeidelbergCement subsidiary HeidelbergCement Hispania has informed clients that its plants remain open ‘in order to continue to provide required products and services, combining this availability with the mandatory security measures.’ Deliveries and collections continue, subject to the requirements of its Prevention and Safety protocol. In the interests of safety, HeidelbergCement Hispania’s service team has replaced most site visits with additional telephone services.

Spain: Cement demand in the first quarter of 2020 was 3.14Mt, down by 13% year-on-year from 3.60Mt in the corresponding period of 2019. In March 2020 cement consumption in Spain was 924,000t, down by 28% year-on-year from 1.28Mt due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak. Agencia EFE has reported that this is the lowest level of demand in any month since the immediate aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. Construction activity has been restricted by a government-imposed coronavirus lockdown since 14 March 2020.

On 23 April 2020 Spain’s confirmed coronavirus case count was 213,024, with 22,157 deaths.

Spain: A 25% alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate has accounted for a 9650t reduction in CO₂ emissions at Cementos Cosmos’ 0.7Mt/yr Oural, Galicia plant, lowering the specific CO2 emissions of its clinker by 45kg/t. A main constituent of the AF mix was olive stones. Cementos Cosmos Oural plant managing director Jaime Santoalla said, “At Cementos Cosmos, we accept our responsibility to meet the global objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Spain: Coronavirus has forced the suspension of operations at all Cementos Molins facilities, in accordance with a royal decree. Europa Press has reported that the company began the progressive shutdown of the 1.6Mt/yr integrated line at its Sant Vincenç dels Horts cement plant in Barcelona, Catalonia, on 31 March 2020, and switched off the plant on 2 April 2020.

Cementos Molins said that it has already suspended production in Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Colombia and Tunisia. It says it has ‘implemented the teleworking model in the areas of the company where its application is possible.’

Spain: Members of the Spanish cement association Oficemen have offered help to the government in the disposal of medical waste contaminated with the coronavirus, for which any kiln line with the right alternative fuel processing capabilities will be made available. Minister for Industry Reyes Maroto said that the plants will be used for waste’s elimination ‘only insofar as companies can continue operating.’

Spain: Andalusian cement demand typified the slight slow down of the Spanish construction sector in the first two months of 2020, with a fall of 4.6% year-on-year to 435,000t from 441,000t in 2019.

Work continues as normal however Arquitectura y Sostenibilidad Online newspaper has reported that Andalusian Cement Manufacturers Association (AFCA) president Isidoro Miranda forecasts a sharp drop in consumption in March 2020. He said, "We support the communiqué of the Spanish Confederation of Associations of Manufacturers of Construction Products (CEPCO), regarding not stopping the works.” He called construction a ‘pillar of the Spanish economy,’ adding, “It is of utmost importance that all current works, including infrastructure works, maintain their activity.”

Spain: Oficemen, the Spanish cement industry association, has joined other voices in the construction sector to advocate for the continuation of construction works, including infrastructure projects, during the coronavirus outbreak. According to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, "The closure of the works is not obligatory, as this activity has not been expressly suspended." However, increasing numbers of local authorities are stopping them, including those in Barcelona, which has ordered the closure of all building work in the city, both public and private.

Oficemen's president, Víctor García Brossa, argued, "Once the service sector is paralysed, construction becomes one of the main pillars of the Spanish economy" asserting that its work is "of the utmost importance… to prepare our country for the way out of this crisis." Regardless of whether works can officially continue or not, García Brossa has confirmed that the current situation predicts a ‘sharp short-term drop’ in cement consumption.

In February 2020, cement consumption in Spain fell by 0.5% year-on-year to 1.17Mt, about 5500t less than in February 2019, according to Oficemen’s latest data. This represented the fourth consecutive month of falls, although in year-on-year terms (from March 2019 to February 2020) consumption increased by 3.9%.

Exports continued their dire performance, falling for the 33rd consecutive month. A decrease of 31.4% month-on-month was seen in February 2020, which was down by 24.2% year-on-year compared to February 2019.

Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas has said that it has donated to Cáritas Internationalis’ Samuel Project, which provides values and family workshops and quarterly excursions to disadvantaged people aged between six and 18. Cementos Portland Valderrivas Alcalá de Guadaíra plant environment manager Pedro Lanagrán said that the company is a part of the Alcalareño fabric, and therefore has a ‘responsibility towards society, which includes providing minors with the best education and the best values in order to coexist with society.’