Displaying items by tag: Sungshin Cement

South Korea: SungShin Cement has placed an order with Denmark-based FLSmidth for the supply of two HotPlate combustion devices for installation in lines three and six of its SungShin cement plant. The plant is in the transition from coal fuel to the possibility of 100% alternative fuel (AF) use in the two lines, which it plans to commission in mid and late 2021 respectively.

Team manager of production technology Cho K-R said, “With its degree of flexibility, the HotDisc allows us to substitute coal with a wide range of AFs – refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in our case. As we turn waste into energy, the HotDisc lowers our operating costs without compromising energy efficiency.”

FLSmidth previously delivered two HotDiscs to South Korea, to SsangYong’s Donghae and Yeongwool cement plants.

South Korea: All nine domestic cement producers and the Ministry of Environment have agreed on measures to reduce NO_x emissions. Asia Cement, Halla Cement, Hanil Cement Manufacturing, Hyundai Cement, Korea Cement, Sampyo Cement, Ssangyong Cement Industrial, SungShin Cement and Union Corporation have agreed to invest in upgrades to filters or new high-efficiency filters and process improvements, according to the Korea Times newspaper. There was also an agreement to set NO_x emissions reduction targets for the allocation of funding. The Korea Environmental Industry Technology Institute is investing US$2.93m in research towards developing methods of selective catalytic NO_x emissions reduction and selective non-catalytic NO_x emissions reduction.

The government aims to reduce national NO_x emissions by 20% to 155,000t/yr from 195,000t/yr through subsidies to emissions reduction technologies development and uptake. The cement sector presently emits 62,500t, 32% of the domestic total.

South Korea: Sungshin Cement will become the new owner of bigger rival Halla Encom Corporation, a ready-mixed concrete (RMC) manufacturer from Halla Corporation, by purchasing an 85% stake in it for US$49.3m.

Sungshin said that it had signed a share purchase agreement by forming a consortium with BCH Peregrine Investment, a private equity fund, to take over Halla Encom. It said that that the purpose of the sale was to improve its financial soundness and raise funds for new businesses.

Halla Encom ranked seventh among South Korea’s eight RMC producers in 2017, producing 3.44Mm^₃ of concrete. Sungshin Cement was eigth, with shipments of 1.91Mm³. The combined entity is expected to become the third largest producer of RMC in South Korea, larger than Ssangyong Remicon (5.34Mm³) Sampyo Industry (7.59Mm³) and Eugene Corporation (7.5Mm³).

South Korea: Four companies have been shortlisted to buy a full stake in Halla Cement. Asia Cement, Sungshin Cement, Aju Corporation and LK Investment Partners are all contenders for the sale, according to sources quoted by the Maeil Business Newspaper. Six investors submitted preliminary bids for the cement producer and Halla Cement’s largest shareholder Baring Private Equity Asia and its sales advisor Citigroup Global Market Securities Korea chose the final selection.

The shortlisted companies will have up to six weeks to conduct due diligence procedures before submitting final bids in early November 2017. The seller intends to pick a final bidder by mid-November 2017.

Baring Private Equity Asia and Glenwood Private Equity bought Lafarge Halla Cement from LafargeHolcim in mid-2016 for Euro427m.

South Korea: Glenwood Private Equity, a South Korean investment company, is in talks to buy Lafarge Halla Cement for US$497m. The private equity fund is in talks to buy the cement company in cooperation with Eugene Group, the country's largest ready-mixed concrete manufacturer, and Sungshin Cement, another Korean cement maker, according to sources cited by the Maeil Business Newspaper.

If the sale completes it will make Sungshin Cement the country's largest cement producer. At present Lafarge Halla Cement is the fourth largest producer with 12.1% of the market. The current market leader, Ssangyong Cement Industry, holds 19.8% of the market. Sungshin Cement could also benefit from buying Lafarge Halla Cement due to the company's diverse locations.

Lafarge Halla Cement was acquired by Lafarge in 2000 and is wholly owned by LafargeHolcim. Lafarge Halla Cement recorded US$367m in sales and US$30m in operating income in 2014.

South Korea: The South Korean Fair Trade Commission has started an investigation into major cement companies including Ssangyong Cement Industrial and Hanil Cement for suspected price fixing. The companies had notified ready-mixed concrete operators that they would raise their cement prices by 9-10% in 2012.

On 9 April 2013 the commission sent investigators on a two day probe to seven cement producers: Ssangyong Cement Industrial, Hanil Cement, Tongyang Cement, Sungshin Cement, Lafarge Halla, Asia Cement and Hyundai Cement.

An industry source said, "Lately cement producers and ready-mixed concrete operators are at loggerheads over cement prices. It appears that the Fair Trade Commission is looking closely into the matter. In 2003, the commission had imposed penalties of US$22.5m for restricting the supply of cement to ready-mixed concrete makers in order to prevent them to use slag powder in place of cement."