Displaying items by tag: US
Portland Cement Association pins hopes on airport expansion
01 August 2017US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) expects that increased demand for air travel will help drive increased cement consumption over the next 25 years. Increased population, economic growth and airport expansion are anticipated to drive the trend according to a new study by the association. Personal, business and cargo levels are all expected to rise.
“With more people traveling by air, you will need more capacity at airports – that means more cement is needed for concrete used in runways, terminals and other airport facilities,” said PCA Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Ed Sullivan.
The PCA expects cement consumption in the airports market to approach 2.4Mt/yr by 2040, with a possible high of 2.6Mt/yr, compared with 1.5Mt/yr at present. Of the estimate 65% will likely be attributed to runway replacement, 23% is projected to runway expansion projects and 11% is expected to be used for new terminal expansion.
US: Eagle Materials’ revenue has risen by 23% year-on-year to US$366.1m in the first quarter of its 2018 fiscal year, which runs 1 April – 30 June 2017. Its first quarter earnings before interest and income taxes increased by 22%, reflecting improved sales volumes and net sales prices across nearly all businesses and the financial results of the recently acquired cement plant in Fairborn, Ohio with related assets.
Cement revenues for the first quarter, including joint venture and intersegment revenues, came to US$183m, a rise of 26% year-on-year. The average net sales price rose by 6%. Total cement sales volumes increased by 21% to 1.5Mt. Like-for-like average net cement sales prices and sales volumes increased by 4% and 7%, respectively.
Operating earnings from Eagle Materials’ cement activities for the first quarter were a record US$43.2m, 37% higher than the same quarter of the 2017 fiscal year. The earnings improvement was driven primarily by improved average net cement sales prices and cement sales volumes and earnings from its Fairborn Business. During the quarter, its Nevada cement plant experienced reduced production in connection with the installation of certain pollution control equipment to enable the plant to burn solid-waste fuels. The ability to use solid-waste fuel will lower energy costs in the future. The reduced production negatively affected the absorption of operating costs at the cement plant during the quarter. The project is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2017.
Greece: The US market has continued to drive Titan Group’s sales in the first half of 2017. Its overall turnover rose by 6.9% year-on-year to Euro774m in the first half of 2017 from Euro724m in the same period in 2016. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 18.9% to Euro142m from Euro120m. Over half of its turnover came from the US where the group noted rises in residential and infrastructure construction following economic growth and increased employment.
In the group’s other territories the situation was mixed, with the Greek construction market remaining depressed. Here cement consumption declined in the first half of 2017 following the end of several larger scale infrastructure projects during the early months of the year. Markets in Southeastern Europe delivered higher turnover but profits were hit by raising energy costs. Egypt continued to be negatively affected by the devaluation of the Egyptian Pound, although the group did manage to recapture sales volumes by increasing its fuel grinding capacity. Local competition arising from the start up of two new plants near to where its Adoçim subsidiary operates decreased sales volumes in Turkey and the construction market continued to decline in Brazil.
US: Roanoke Cement, a subsidiary of Titan America, has achieved its 11th consecutive annual certification in the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star certification for its Troutville plant in Virginia. To qualify for the certification the cement producer was required to perform in the top 25% of cement plants nationwide for total energy efficiency (thermal and electrical) and meet strict environmental performance levels set by the EPA.
“Roanoke Cement Company’s plant sits in the Roanoke Valley, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The stakes are higher for us, surrounded by all that beauty, to perform at the pinnacle of the cement industry in energy efficiency,” said Chris Bayne, Roanoke Cement’s Energy Manager.
US: The Southern Trinity Groundwater Conservation District water district in Texas’ McLennan County is seeking an injunction against Lehigh Cement, alleging that the business is improperly pumping millions of litres of water from the Trinity Aquifer without necessary permits at its plant in Waco. It claims that the plant owes thousands of dollars for its water use over the past decade and possibly more in civil penalties for pumping water from a well without a permit.
The lawsuit asks Judge Vicki Menard to issue an injunction to block Lehigh from drawing water from a well on its property at 100 S. Wickson Road until the company obtains a permit.
Water district general manager Scooter Radcliffe said he hopes the matter can be resolved without the need for an injunction. "We are going to try to work with them the best way we can and try to get them to contact us so we can get this thing resolved as quickly as possible," Radcliffe said.
US: Cemex USA says it invested over US$50m in 2016 on projects and improvements in cement plant operations and other facilities to help reduce environmental impact and conserve nearby wildlife. Four cement plants - Brooksville, Miami, Clinchfield and Victorville - achieved the Energy Star Certification from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for 2017. In 2016 all active Cemex cement plants in the US achieved the Wildlife Habitat Council's Conservation Certification, and several sites in California are currently working to attain that goal.
In May 2017 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department awarded Cemex the 2017 Lone Star Land Steward Award for the Trans Pecos Ecoregion for its on-going commitment to sustainability and land stewardship at the El Carmen Nature Reserve. The company also received the Wildlife Habitat Council's Gold Tier Program of the Year for work at El Carmen in 2016. Other environmental initiatives by the company also include wildlife conservation efforts at various quarries in California.
US: Caterpillar has announced a number of personnel changes to its Material Handling & Underground (MH&U) and Surface Mining & Technology (SM&T) divisions. Karl Weiss, vice president of the Earthmoving Division, will become vice president of MH&U following the retirement of Doug Hoerr. Jean Savage, Chief Technology Officer and vice president of the Innovation & Technology Development Division, will become vice president of SM&T following the transfer of Tom Bluth to a new internal position. All of these changes will take effect on 1 August 2017.
Weiss joined Caterpillar in 1992 and has had various assignments within product development at Caterpillar’s Decatur, Joliet and Aurora, Illinois, facilities, primarily focused on large machine structural design. Later he worked in Beijing, China as the wheel loader product manager for the Asia Pacific Region. He then was named the worldwide product manager for medium wheel loaders in Aurora before being named Earthmoving vice president in 2013. Weiss graduated from Purdue University with a degree in agricultural engineering and an MBA from Northern Illinois University.
Savage was formerly senior vice president and Chief Operating Officer of the Locomotive and Railcar Services business unit for Caterpillar subsidiary Progress Rail Services (PRS). Savage joined PRS in 2002 as vice president for Quality and Continuous Improvement. She also served as vice president of PRS’ Freight Car Repair, Parts and Quality Divisions before her most recent position. Prior to joining PRS, she worked in a variety of manufacturing and engineering positions in her 14 years at Parker Hannifin Corporation. That was preceded by nine years in the Army Reserves as a military intelligence officer. Savage has an electrical and computer engineering degree from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Dayton.
HarbisonWalker International elects Carol Jackson as chairman and chief executive officer
05 July 2017US: The board of directors of HarbisonWalker International (HWI) has elected Carol Jackson as its chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) following the retirement of Stephen Delo. He will assume the new position on 1 July 2017. Jackson currently works as senior vice president and general manager at HWI.
Delo was the chairman and CEO at HWI for three and a half years. During his tenure the company combined three US refractories companies together and rebranded them as HWI. Previously, he held several roles at Honeywell International, including positions in chemicals, operating systems, and integrated supply chain.
US: Martin Marietta Materials has appointed James AJ Nickolas as its new chief financial officer (CFO) with effect from mid-August 2017. He will also become a Senior Vice President and will report to C Howard Nye, chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO). He replaces Anne H Lloyd who is set to retire in September 2017.
Nickolas, aged 46 years, joins Martin Marietta from Caterpillar where he currently serves as the head of Corporate Development. Previously, as Group Chief Financial Officer of Caterpillar’s Resources Industries segment, he was responsible for financial planning and reporting, internal controls, compliance and M&A activity. Before joining Caterpillar in 2008, Nickolas was Executive Director at JP Morgan Securities where he worked on originating and executing debt and equity capital raising and mergers and acquisitions. He began his professional career as a Certified Public Accountant at Coopers & Lybrand where he was a senior tax associate. He holds a BS degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and both an MBA in Finance and a JD degree from the University of Chicago.
Lloyd, aged 56 years, joined Martin Marietta in 1998 as Vice President and Controller. She was named Chief Accounting Officer in 1999 and was promoted to CFO in 2005. She was named Executive Vice President in 2009. As CFO, she has led the financial areas of Martin Marietta, including financial reporting, accounting, internal audit, investor relations, tax and treasury.
US: Two CalPortland cement plants have earned the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star certification for 2017. The Rillito plant in Arizona has achieved certification for the sixth time and the Oro Grande plant in California has earned its first certification since recently being acquired by CalPortland in 2015.
“CalPortland is proud to accept EPA’s Energy Star certification in recognition of our energy efficiency efforts,” said Allen Hamblen, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of CalPortland. “CalPortland takes great pride in our partnership with Energy Star which is proven through the dedication of our employees who are proud to participate in programs that improve our energy efficiency, reduce emissions and contribute to protecting our environment.”