Displaying items by tag: Spain

Spain: The Andalusian Labour Foundation for Cement and the Environment (FLACEMA) has announced the shortlist for the Award for the Best Communication on Sustainable Development in the Andalusian Cement Industry 2019 - 2020. The jury will select a winner from 19 articles by 13 writers, published between 1 January 2019 and 31 May 2020, taking into account “aspects such as the journalistic quality of the piece, its rigour and provision of data, the sources consulted and the investigativeness of the work” in highlighting the regional cement industry’s commitment to “principles such as sustainable development and the circular economy.”

FLACEMA said, “Due to Covid-19, 2019 – 2020 presents a novel situation. As such, the jury has especially taken into account those works on sustainable development in the industry that address initiatives designed to combat the outbreak.”

The jury announces the winner of the Euro2000 prize and runner-up for the Euro1000 prize on 1 November 2020.

Spain: LafargeHolcim España has appointed Oswaldo Pereda as the director of its integrated Villaluenga de la Sagra cement plant near Toledo. He was previously the director of the plant from 2010 to 2012. He succeeds Maruxa Suárez, who will work at the company’s Carboneras plant in Almería.

Pereda is a graduate in mechanical engineering from the Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela. He first worked for Venezolana de Cementos in 1987 before moving to Lafarge Venezuela in 1995. He has since worked in production and operation roles for Lafarge, Cementos Polpaico and LafargeHolcim in Spain, Brazil and Chile.

Spain: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim España has announced the launch of the Carbon Challenge, a think tank to promote CO₂ emissions research and reduction. The company says that the plan involves “the formation of various working groups in areas such as reducing process emissions, reducing the emission factor for fuels and changing cement content of concrete and investigating alternative additives.” This is part of its Ecological Transition strategy, in addition to its Euro20m carbon footprint reduction investments announced on 31 December 2019.

Sustainability and Health director Raúl Pérez said, “We have high expectations for this project. It is a laboratory of ideas that will allow us to add and share knowledge that materialises in concrete initiatives applied to our processes, products and solutions, all with a common denominator: anticipating the new European decarbonisation scenario with an established plan to be carbon neutral by 2050.”

Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas helped make the Molinos de Guadaíra Special Education Centre (MGSEC) in Alcalá de Guadaíra, Seville Province suitable for socially-distanced teaching with a donation of desks and chairs. MGSEC director Nuria Gómez Pascual said that the materials "allow us to improve teaching, facilitating the distribution of students and enabling a greater distance between them,” in accordance with educational and health authorities’ recommendations against Covid-19.

Cementos Portland Valderrivas Alcalá de Guadaíra plant head of environment Pedro Lanagrán said, “The company is committed to the population of Alcala, and especially to the education sector – key to the proper development of our town.”

Gabon: A new 0.35Mt/yr production line has started production at Ciments d'Afrique’s (CIMAF) Owendo grinding plant. Spain-based Cemengal supplied a 50t/hr Plug&Grind X-treme grinding plant for the project. Successful commissioning and start-up of the unit was managed remotely from Madrid in Spain due to the coronavirus pandemic. The upgrade cost around US$16m.

The addition brings the plant’s total production capacity to 0.85Mt/yr, according to Direct Infos Gabon. The cement producer is also planning to spend US$120m towards building an integrated plant in the country. Nationally, the country reportedly now has a production capacity of around 1.2Mt/yr.

Spain: Total domestic cement consumption was 6.19Mt in the first half of 2020, down by 17% year-on-year from 7.41Mt in the first half of 2019. Interempresas News has reported that the coronavirus lockdown caused consumption in the period to decrease. June consumption rose by 5.2% to 1.34Mt from 670,000t in June 2019.

Oficemen president Victor García Brosa said, “In June 2020 many of the works paralysed during the confinement, for example real estate developments, were resumed, but the monthly positive data should not make us think of a recovery in the sector." He added, “We continue to insist that construction is the driving force for the employment that our country needs right now and cannot continue to be forgotten by the administration. Other sectors such as the automotive or tourism sectors already have contingency plans activated, while ours continues to be largely forgotten, even though it could generate a significant volume of jobs.”

Spain: Votorantim Cimentos España has appointed Juan Aguilera as the new Industrial Director of Cementos Cosmos. He will supervise the management of the four integrated and two grinding plants the company operates in Spain, according to the Diario de León newspaper. Aguilera has worked for Votorantim and related companies for nearly 20 years spending time managing plants at Córdoba, Niebla and Malaga. He has also worked as the Director of Operations for Votorantim Cimentos in Brazil. Aguilera started his career at the Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Sciences and he holds a doctorate in chemical sciences.

Spain: LafargeHolcim has appointed Verónica Martín Martínez as its new director of human resources and communication in Spain. She has nearly 20 years of experience in human resources working in both Spain and Latin America for a diverse range of companies in various sectors including chemical and automotive sectors. She will also join the management committee of LafargeHolcim Spain. Martín holds a degree in Law and Business Administration from the University of Deusto and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Instituto de Empresa.

Spain: LafargeHolcim España has announced the launch of a range of mortars specially suited to use in 3D printing. EN News has reported that the range, called Tector 3D build, includes cement and natural hydraulic lime mortars. The company says that the products can sustain pressures of up to 90MPa for high-speed application. It is collaborating with construction companies to apply the products to 3D printing in large residential and energy infrastructure projects

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.