Displaying items by tag: US
Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua offers to build Donald Trump’s wall
24 November 2016US: Enrique Escalante, the chief executive officer of Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC), has said that his company is ready to help president-elect Donald Trump build his proposed wall on the border with Mexico. Escalante told Reuters in an interview that GCC was an ‘important’ producer that had to respect its clients wishes on both sides of the border. Trump campaigned in the US presidential elections on the pledge that he would build a wall along the 2300km border between the US and Mexico.
Boral to buy Headwaters for US$2.6bn
21 November 2016US: Boral has agreed to buy Headwaters, a manufacturer of building products, for US$2.6bn subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. Headwaters’ Construction Materials division delivers around US$370m/yr of revenue and is one of the largest marketers of fly ash in the US. Boral has described the acquisition as ‘transformative’ as it will significantly boost its US division, Boral USA.
“The businesses of Headwaters are highly complementary with Boral’s existing US operations – in fly ash, roofing, stone and light building products. It’s this strong alignment that means we can deliver substantial value through synergies – ramping up to approximately US$100m/yr of synergies within four years of closing,” said Boral’s chief executive officer and managing director Mike Kane.
Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua completes purchase of Cemex assets in US
21 November 2016US: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) has completed its purchase of a selection of assets from Cemex for US$306m. The assets consist of a cement plant located in Odessa in Texas, two cement distribution terminals located in Amarillo and El Paso in Texas and concrete, aggregates, asphalt and building materials businesses in El Paso, Texas and Las Cruces, New Mexico. The acquisition comprises all facilities, equipment and inventories. The purchase was financed with internal funds and an unsecured loan of US$254m.
“This acquisition represents a significant advance in our strategy of sustainable cement growth in the US, in markets contiguous to those of GCC ́s geographic footprint. With these assets and colleagues joining the company, we will enhance the competitive advantage of our logistics system, expand our product portfolio and optimise our operations by sharing best practices,” said Enrique Escalante, chief executive officer of GCC.
Federal Trade Commission approves request by HeidelbergCement and Italcementi to sell Martinsburg cement plant
16 November 2016US: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved an application from HeidelbergCement and Italcementi to sell the Essroc cement plant in Martinsburg, West Virginia, eight cement terminals in the mid-Atlantic region and related assets to Argos USA, a subsidiary of Cementos Argos. The divestiture was required by the FTC’s August 2016 final order settling charges that the US$4.2bn merger of HeidelbergCement and Italcementi would be likely to harm competition in five regional markets for cement in the US. The Commission vote to approve the divestiture was 3-0.
FCT Combustion report service updates in the Americas
14 November 2016US: FCT Combustion has reported service updates to its clients in Ecuador, the US and Canada.
Hormicreto in Cuenca, Ecuador is preparing for commissioning of its G-Jet Hot Gas Generator for alternative liquid fuels firing, with a thermal capacity of 5.2MW. The system will provide hot air for the raw and cement swing mill application. FCT is responsible for the complete supply from the waste oil tank to the hot gas generator. Hormicreto is also commissioning a new riser duct natural gas firing system. FCT has also supplied two K-Jet Calciner Burners at the riser.
The Lehigh Cement Leeds plant in Alabama, US has awarded FCT with a new contract for a natural gas firing system for their riser duct. The system, rated at 30MW, will consist of a NPFA 86 Valve Train and K-JetCalciner Burner.
St Marys Cement, part of the Votorantim Group, has ordered, via Arctic Combustion, two K-Jet Calciner Burners for natural gas at the riser for its Ontario, Canada plant. The K-Jet Burner has a cutter block system that adjusts gas velocity on the fly during operation.
The CRH Mississauga plant in Canada has hired FCT to make an audit of several of its pieces of combustion equipment of the plant.
Cemex’s Victorville cement plant picks up Wildlife Habitat Council Conservation Certification
10 November 2016US: Cemex USA’s Victorville cement plant in California has been awarded Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) Conservation Certification for work towards sustainability, environmental-protection and land-stewardship. The WHC presented the Victorville plant with the certification on 3 November 2016 during a ceremony at the 2016 WHC Conservation Conference in Baltimore. The designation means that all Cemex USA’s cement plants are now WHC-certified. WHC focuses on healthy ecosystems and connected communities. Cemex now has 18 WHC-certified sites in North America, of which fifteen are in the US
Cemex’s WHC Conservation Certification programs are mainly focused on habitat restoration and sustainability. In 2013, two wind turbines were commissioned at the Victorville plant. The plant also earned its fifth Energy Star certification earlier in 2016 for reducing its energy use and environmental impact and the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District awarded Cemex USA’s Victorville plant operation the 2015/2016 Exemplar Award.
"This plant has persevered through good times and bad: two world wars, three different owners and countless upgrades to its facilities and equipment. Through all of the changes, two things have remained constant: a commitment to safety and a commitment to producing a high-quality product," said Hugo Bolio, Cemex USA’s Executive Vice President of Cement Operations and Technology. The Victorville Cement Plant was established in 1916 and was upgraded in 1997 and 2001. It has a production capacity of 3Mt/yr.
Like him or loathe him, Trump will boost the US cement industry
09 November 2016In June 2016, the polls said that the UK would remain in the European Union (EU), but now we have the prospect of Brexit. Democrat supporters in the US now know how the UK's 'Remainers' feel. The unthinkable has happened: the so-called 'Deplorables' have taken over the asylum. Donald Trump has won the US presidential election and he will be the 45th US president, after confounding all the polls, the media, the analysts and the commentators. He'll be able to appoint a swathe of right-leaning office-holders, including a crucial replacement for the late Antonin Scalia on the US Supreme Court. This will change the direction of US law-making for years, possibly decades, towards a less-liberal and more conservative outlook.
Trump will also be aided by having Republican majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and will actually be able to get things done. President Obama had to fight hard for eight years to achieve anything, and finally had to fall back on enacting laws by presidential dictat or 'Executive Orders.' 'The Donald' will not have to stoop so low, and once he takes office will effectively be 'sweeping with the wind.'
Trump looks set to change US policy in a number of areas, including being less conciliatory towards America's foes ("I'm going to bomb the s••t out of ISIS"), taxing imports and tearing up trade agreements and rolling back US environmental efforts (he has promised to abolish the US Environmental Protection Agency, to cancel the Paris climate change deal, to sanction more drilling for oil and to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline the fourth phase of which was recently rejected by President Obama). Who knows what else he has planned?
Well, one thing that we do know is that Trump's election is very probably great news for the US cement industry.
Early on in his victory speech, moments after receiving a telephone call from Hillary Clinton conceding defeat, Trump laid out the first step of his plan to 'Make America Great Again:' building US infrastructure. Trump said: "We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none. And we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it." He didn't actually mention cement (nor did he mention a 'big beautiful wall'), but all of these projects will require plenty of cement and concrete. Whether they voted for him or not (and Trump noted that there are those 'who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people'), workers in the cement industry will be celebrating the prospect of fuller order sheets, higher prices, better profitability and more overtime. From a current GDP growth rate of around 1%, some have suggested a surge past 3%/yr and beyond during a Trump presidency. The crucial question, often overlooked, is "How are we going to pay for all this investment?" With the US debt heading towards US$20Tn, perhaps Trump's history as a Democrat - and all the tax-raising territory that comes with that position - might come in handy after all.
Trump has indicated that he's already looking to a second term ("I look very much forward to being your president, and hopefully at the end of two years or three years or four years, or maybe even eight years...") based on what he might achieve in his first term. Well, let's see. Donald Trump's deeds now need to speak louder than Donald Trump's words.
Japan relies on cement exports
02 November 2016Two of Japan's largest cement producers have reported reduced domestic cement sales in the country this week. First, Taiheiyo Cement revised its forecast for its 2017 financial year, ending on 31 March 2017, bringing its estimated net sales down by 2.3%. Then, Ube Group reported that its cement sales had fallen by 7.2% year-on-year to US$1.05bn in the first half of its financial year. Both producers blamed poor weak demand locally, but Ube also cited a poor export market.
Graph 1: Domestic and export cement sales in Japan, 2006 - 2015. Source: Japanese Cement Association.
This last point is interesting because it differs from the latest data released by the Japanese Cement Association (JCA). As can be seen in Graph 1 JCA figures show that exports of cement have been rising since 2013. So far this trend looks likely to continue in 2016. Ube's different experience may arise from its market mix and its distribution of cement plants and transport infrastructure. Both of its cement plants are based in the south of the country. Commentators have attributed the boost in exports to the devaluation of the Yen in 2015 as well as strong brand perception overseas. Unfortunately, this overall rise in exports has been matched by a fall in domestic sales at the same time and this is causing a headache for the major producers. Production too has started to drop since 2014 (Graph 2).
Graph 2: Cement production in Japan, 2006 - 2015. Source: Japanese Cement Association.
Japan's cement market is dominated by four producers - Taiheiyo Group, Mitsubishi Materials, Ube Industries and Sumitomo Osaka Cement - which hold nearly three quarters of the nation's production capacity between them. According to Global Cement Directory 2016 data, Taiheiyo Cement and its subsidiaries is the market leader with over 30% market share with the other three holding 10 - 20% each.
Graph 3: Cement production capacity share in Japan (Mt). Source: Global Cement Directory 2016.
Taiheiyo's downgraded forecast follows poor first quarter results, in which its net sales for its cement business fell by 16% to US$1.19bn. This follows a slight rise in net sales for its cement business in its 2016 financial year due to a boost in sales from its overseas subsidiaries, particularly in the US, that surpass a fall in domestic sales. Sales volumes were 14.7Mt domestically and 4Mt in exports in 2016. Mitsubishi Materials has posted a similar picture with cement sales and profits rising in 2016 before suffering in the first quarter of 2017. Mitsubishi Materials blamed the poor market on a delay in construction work mainly due to labour shortages and sluggish growth in demand from the public sector. Ditto Sumitomo Osaka Cement.
As highlighted by such decision as Tokyo Cement's move to resume exporting clinker to Sri Lanka in early 2015, Japan's cement industry is working hard to compensate for falling demand at home. Increasing exports in Asia Pacific among other massive exporters such as China, Vietnam and South Korea is impressive, although the prominent foothold by Japanese companies in the recovering US market may offer some advantage here. On-going weak demand in China though cuts out one major market for Chinese exporters. However, being a major exporter in a region of major cement producers must be a concern. Although commentators such as Ad Ligthart dismiss the chances of China flooding the world with cheap cement, if they are wrong and Japan continues its reliance on exports it may find itself in deep water. The other risk is if the US authorities decide to get tougher on foreign exports it may knock out one more market for Japanese exports. Too much reliance on exports is always dangerous. In this context, it’s no surprise that Japanese cement producers are blaming the government for insufficient infrastructure spending.
Cementos Portland Valderrivas board approves sale of Giant Cement Holding to Elementia
31 October 2016US: The board of Cementos Portland Valderrivas (CPV) has approved the sale of a 55% stake in its US subsidiary Giant Cement Holding to Elementia. The deal includes a US$220m capital increase in Giant Cement with subscription rights granted to Elementia, according to SeeNews. Elementia will also extend a loan of around US$305m to Giant Cement. In addition CPV will transfer up to US$66m in loans to Giant Cement to keep its remaining stake in the American cement producer at 45%.
Holcim US Hagerstown cement plant celebrates US$96m upgrade
26 October 2016US: Holcim US has officially completed its US$96m upgrade project to its Hagerstown cement plant in Maryland. The two-year modernisation project has helped the plant to adhere to NESHAP environmental rules and has increased production capacity at the site by 0.2Mt/yr.
"A cornerstone of the regional community for 113 years, we recognise the importance of this facility to the Hagerstown community," said John Stull, chief executive officer of US cement operations for LafargeHolcim. "Our investment to modernise clinker production represents our continued commitment to our customers and local manufacturing. The facility will continue to be a strong and reliable partner to the community for many more years to come."
The upgrades to the plant should deliver a more than a 60% reduction to nitrogen oxides (NOx), approximately a 50% reduction to sulfur dioxide (SO2) and more than a 75% reduction to Particulate Matter (PM) emissions from the plant.