Displaying items by tag: Türkiye

Turkey: Medcem has chosen Sintek Group to build a new 9000t/day production line at its integrated Mersin cement plant. Sintek Group’s part of project has a budget of US$128m, according to CemenTürk magazine. The supplier will provide civil works, mechanical equipment manufacturing, supply and assembly, technological manufacturing and assembly, structural steel manufacturing and assembly, auxiliary equipment supply and commissioning services. Medcem, a subsidiary of Eren Holdings, previously said that the overall project to upgrade its Mersin plant has a budget of over US$200m. It originally intended to start construction work in mid-2021, with commissioning scheduled for early 2023.

Turkey: Sanko Holding subsidiary Çimko Çimento has agreed to acquire several assets from Sabanci Holding subsidiary Çimsafor US$127m. The Dünya newspaper has reported that the deal covers two cement plants – the Nigde plant and Kayseri plant – the Ankara grinding plant and seven ready-mix concrete plants.

Turkey: Aşkale Cimento has launched new branding including an updated logo. The company said that the rebrand signifies its transition from a local to a global cement company.

CEO Fatih Yücelik said “We took a big step to be an international player with innovator and sustainable solutions, on our new journey to build the future.” He added “We are determined to do our part to build a better future for both our country and the world. Our new corporate identity is our first step, showing that we are fully committed to our goal of being the pioneer of change and transformation in the industry.”

Ukraine: The Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade (ICIT) has introduced anti-dumping duties of 33 - 51% on cement imports from Turkey for five years. The rates are variable depending on the specific manufacturer and exporter, according to the Ukrainian News Agency. This follows an investigation that was launched in September 2020 following complaints by local producers including Buzzi-Unicem subsidiary Dyckerhoff, HeidelbergCement subsidiary Kryvyi Rih Cement and CRH subsidiary Podilsky Cement. ICIT concluded that there was the threat of causing ‘significant’ harm to local cement producers due to growing exports from Turkey, large amounts of idle production capacity in Turkey, lowered domestic consumption in Turkey and a pivot of Turkish manufacturers towards export markets.

Turkey: 120,000 members of the Construction Contractors Confederation (IMKON) downed tools on 9 September 2021 in protest against high cement prices. Emerging Market Watch News has reported that the strike will last until 21 September 2021 or until ‘satisfactory developments.’

The Ministry of Trade has tightened procedural restrictions on exporting clinker. Trade Minister Mehmet Mus is in talks with construction and cement industry representatives.

US: The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a 0.8% year-on-year increase in total US cement shipments in the first half of 2021 to 50.4Mt from 50.0Mt in the first half of 2021. Domestic deliveries constituted 85% of the total at 42.6Mt, against 7.75Mt of imports (15%). Clinker imports were 1.23Mt, with a total value of US$81.6m. Turkey was the lead exporter of clinker to the US in 2020 at 470,000t (38%), followed by Saudi Arabia with 466,000t (38%) and Canada with 276,000t (22%).

Turkey: Builders have declared a one-day ‘strike’ on 2 September 2021 to protest against high cement prices. The Turkish Builders Confederation (IMKON) told the government that, though the prices of all commodities rose following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the cement price rise is disproportionate, according to the Dünya newspaper. Producers responded that they have recorded sharp increases in input prices. Electricity costs rose by 64% year-on-year in July 2021, while coal costs more than doubled over the same period.

Turkey: Batıçim has appointed Akif Geçer as its general manager and as a member of its executive board. Arif Alp Dündar has also been appointed as chief financial officer and as a member of the executive board.

Geçer was the general manager of construction company Türkerler Holding from 2011 to 2015. Prior to this he held management positions at Çimko Cemento and Şanlıurfa Çimento and production roles at OYAK and Denizli Cement dating back to the early 1990s. He is a graduate in chemical engineering from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara.

Italy: Cementir’s revenue rose by 16.5% year-on-year to Euro665m in the first half of 2021 from Euro570m in the same period in 2020. Its cement and ready-mixed concrete sales volumes grew by 18.7% to 5.46Mt and 31.4% to 2.52Mm³ respectively. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 36.6% to Euro134m from Euro 97.8m. The cement producer noted strong cement sales volumes performance in Turkey, Belgium and Denmark and good concrete sales volumes also in Turkey.

“Despite the first half 2020 [when] results were affected by the lockdown due to Covid-19, during 2021 all the markets in which we operate are showing signs of vivacity and in particular Turkey is recovering significantly," said chairman and chief executive officer Francesco Caltagirone Jr.

Georgia: HeidelbergCement Georgia plans to invest in additional grinding capacity at both of its cement plants. The subsidiary of Germany-based HeidelbergCement says that it will complete expansion work at both plants by the 2022 production season. It is also contemplating the possibility of clinker capacity expansions.

In early July 2021, Georgia experienced a cement shortage due to the release of pent-up demand from infrastructure projects and reduced imports from Turkey and Azerbaijan.