Displaying items by tag: US
Update on HeidelbergCement acquisition of Italcementi
13 April 2016HeidelbergCement released more detail on its plans to buy Italcementi last week. The main points were that Italcementi’s operations in Belgium will be sold, the Italcementi brand will be retained, its research and development (R&D) centre will assume responsibilities for the entire group and up to 260 job losses are expected in Bergamo. The integration plan is expected to be complete by 2020.
Following an update in HeidelbergCement’s preliminary financial results for 2015 in February 2016, this was more focused on the practicalities of taking over a company. Sales of assets in Belgium were expected from the moment the deal was announced in July 2015. Between them the two companies operate three of the country’s four cement plants, holding 73% of the market by cement production capacity. Selling up Italcementi’s Belgian subsidiary Compagnie des Ciments Belges will maintain the existing market balance. Once this is done, from a cement sector perspective, interaction from the European Commission on the deal should merely be a formality.
Interestingly, no plans to sell assets in the US were announced. This is more ambitious on HeidelbergCement’s part because the acquisition has far bigger implications in that country. Merging Italcementi’s Essroc subsidiary and HeidelbergCement’s Lehigh Hanson subsidiary will see HeidelbergCement become the new second largest cement producer in the US with around 16.4Mt/yr. LafargeHolcim had a relatively easy ride from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) having to sell two integrated cement plants, two slag grinding plants and a series of terminals. As HeidelbergCement will become the second largest cement producer it seems unlikely that the FTC will be too demanding. However, post-acquisition the cement producer will own cement plants within 75 miles of each other in Pennsylvania and in Maryland and West Virginia. The FTC may take exception to this but perhaps HeidelbergCement is trying their luck to see if it can get away with it.
The decision to retain Italcementi’s i.Lab R&D centre in Bergamo, Italy raises questions about what will happen to the Heidelberg Technology Centre (HTC) in Leimen, Germany. The focus here is on making Bergamo the ‘product’ R&D division for the entire group. i.Lab was opened in early 2012 to fanfare, based in a building designed by architect Richard Meier and it cost Euro40m to build. How this fits with HeidelbergCement’s existing Global R&D team at the HTC remains to be seen.
Job losses of up to 260 personnel at Bergamo are regrettable but hardly unexpected. It may not be much comfort for any staff members facing redundancy but this figure is well below the figures bandied about in the media in late 2015 of first around 1000 and then nearer 500. Another 170 personnel will also be offered relocation packages taking the impact of the reorganisation up to about 400 of Italcementi’s 2500 workforce in Italy.
Looking at the wider situation with the acquisition this week, HeidelbergCement announced a record contract for Norcem, its Norwegian subsidiary, to supply 280,000t of cement over three years for an infrastructure project. Then, Carlo Pesenti, the chief executive officer of Italcementi, was reported making comments about the business’ expansion plans in Thailand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Projects in Myanmar and Cambodia look likely once the acquisition is complete. Finally, the ratings agency Moody’s was drumming up attention for a market report by pointing out the implications for the multinational cement producers in India if a proposed rise in infrastructure spending gets approved. In summary HeidelbergCement and Italcementi are unlikely to benefit due to their southern Indian spread of assets and local production overcapacity.
HeidelbergCement may not be getting it all its own way but the acquisition of Italcementi remains on track so far. All eyes will be on how the US FTC responds to the deal.
US: Martin Engineering has launched its new Pin Latch Secondary Belt Cleaner, a tungsten carbide-tipped secondary cleaner that slides in and out for service without requiring any tools. The design features a square, tabbed mainframe with segmented blades connected by a pin mechanism, allowing access and blade replacement by semi-skilled personnel.
The pin latch design provides adjustable tension for varying conditions, such as belt speed, material being conveyed and belt cleaner position relative to the head pulley. It can handle belt speeds up to 5.1m/s and the versatile unit accommodates belt rollback. The carbide tip is acid- and abrasion-resistant, and the assembly is suited for use on belts with mechanical splices, smoothly adapting to and riding over the splices without damaging the splice, belt or blade. The new belt cleaner is considered as a preferred upgrade for Martin SQC2 and SC16 Secondary Cleaners.
“The maintenance-friendly design of the new Pin Latch Belt Cleaner is engineered for a wide range of global applications,” said Martin Engineering South Africa Sales Manager Pieter Opperman. “It can drastically reduce downtime for service or replacement, since no alignment or setting of the blade is required. Inventory is reduced to a one-part blade and buffer, without bolts, nuts or other fasteners.”
Martin Engineering builds products for bulk materials handling. The company has it headquarters in Neponset, Illinois. It has offices in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, India and the UK.
Georgia Power starts activity to close 29 ash ponds
31 March 2016US: Georgia Power has started preparation activity to permanently close all of the company's 29 ash ponds located at 11 coal-fired generation facilities across Georgia. Twelve ponds are scheduled for closure by mid-2018, 16 are expected to close by 2026 and one pond is expected to close by 2030. At present, around 50% of the coal combustion by-products Georgia Power produces are used to make Portland cement, concrete, cinder blocks and gypsum wallboard.
"Our primary focus throughout the closure process is maintaining a reliable generation fleet, while conducting the closure process in the most efficient way possible," said Mark Berry, vice president of environmental affairs for Georgia Power. The company will upgrade each plant to accommodate the dry handling of Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) required by new federal regulations. The closure of all 29 ash ponds is expected to cost over US$1bn over the next 10 years. In addition, the company has invested approximately US$5bn in new environmental compliance technologies for its coal-fired generation fleet.
US: Cement consumption in the US will rise by 3.4% in 2016, according to a report from the Portland Cement Association (PCA). The forecast has been revised down from the PCA’s previous forecast of 5%. The PCA expects cement consumption in 2017 to grow by 4.3%.
“The new forecast reflects the implementation of the new multi-year highway bill, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act,” said Edward Sullivan, PCA chief economist and group vice-president. “However, our forecast still reflects a deterioration in global growth conditions, an even weaker projection for oil prices, and a tightening of US monetary policy.”
US: The GCC (Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua) Dacotah cement plant in Rapid City has started a US$90m upgrade. The project will include new kiln equipment, provision for co-processing alternative fuels and improvements to the plant’s shipping operations, according to the Rapid City Journal. The upgrade will increase the plant’s cement production capacity to 1.3Mt/yr.
The plant was founded by the South Dakota state in the 1920s and sold into private ownership in 2001. It employs 130 full-time employees. The upgrade is expected to create 13 new full-time jobs.
Martin Engineering launches Arcoplate worldwide
18 March 2016US: Martin Engineering has launched its bimetallic wear plate product Arcoplate around the world. Originally the wear plate was sold only in Brazil by the bulk handling products firm.
Martin Arcoplate uses a chromium carbide-rich metal alloy face plate with a steel back plate to resist gouging, erosion, temperature extremes and material build-up. It is marketed for excessive wear and material accumulation issues with bulk material handling. It is available in three grades. Alloy 1600 is designed for high abrasion and high impact applications. Alloy 1040 is engineered for moderate impact and cyclic temperatures up to 500°C. Alloy 8668 is suitable for extreme temperature applications, with cycles up to 700°C. Each derives its abrasion resistance from the M7C3 carbides (1500 - 1800Hv), with an average of 60% carbide dispersed through a softer, tougher matrix.
Arcoplate is manufactured by Alloy Steel International in Malaga, Australia.
US: Titan America has cancelled the construction of a cement plant in Castle Hayne, North Carolina. It said it made the decision on economic reasons. Supply and demand balances in the specific regional markets did not support the cost of building a plant.
“Our decision to suspend construction on the cement plant in Castle Hayne is driven by basic project economics,” said Bill Zarkalis, Titan America’s CEO. “The pace of demand growth in the specific markets does not seem adequate to justify the addition of substantial new production capacity - more so because the costs to construct a new cement plant in the United States have risen substantially in the past few years. Finally, the overall risk profile of the project has worsened as new coastal capacity in North Carolina could be vulnerable to cement imports, considering the strong US Dollar, the global cement supply situation and low ocean freight costs.” He added that Titan is committed to long-term growth in the US and that the group is investing over US$250m between 2014 and 2016.
Titan America serves its North Carolina market from its Roanoke cement plant in Virginia, with an integrated logistics network of cement distribution terminals, warehouses and more than twenty ready-mix concrete plants. No jobs in any of Titan America’s existing operations are expected to be affected by the decision to cancel the Castle Hayne cement plant.
US lifts sanctions on Atbara Cement
11 March 2016Sudan/US: The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has removed Atbara Cement from a blacklist of Sudanese firms and individuals subjected to economic sanctions. OFAC posted a notice to its website on 9 March 2016 deleting the cement producer from its Sudan Designation Nationals list.
Atbara Cement was added to OFAC's Sudan list in 1999 when it was owned by the Sudanese government. In late 2002 the factory was privatized and sold to the African Development and Investment company based in Dubai and owned by three Arab businessmen: Sheikh Suleiman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rajhi, Sheikh Saleh Kamel and Sheikh Ibrahim Mandarin. In 2003 Al-Rajhi become the sole owner of the company, according to the Sudan Tribune.
Colombia: Cementos Argos has reported that its net consolidated income rose by 83% year-on-year to US$556m in 2015 from US$305m in 2014. Its revenue rose by 40% to US$7.91bn from US$5.67bn. The rise in profit was attributed to an increase in market profitability and operational effectiveness.
“The record-setting results obtained in 2015 are the results of a well-planned coherent work during the last decade aimed at transforming a local company into a multinational player devoted to the cement and concrete business,” said Jorge Mario Velásquez, CEO of Cementos Argos.
Overall cement production volumes for the Colombia-based multinational building materials producer rose by 14% to 14.3Mt in 2015. Cement production volumes rose by 13% to 6.2Mt in Colombia. Cement production volumes rose by 20% to 3.4Mt in the US and by 21% to nearly 4Mt in the company’s Caribbean and Central American division.
Cementos Argos also noted that it completed its US$125m expansion of its Rioclaro Plant in 2015. The upgrade has increased the plants production capacity by 0.9Mt/yr.
Lehigh Southwest Cement Company orders cement mill upgrade from FLSmidth for Tehachapi plant
29 February 2016US: The Lehigh Southwest Cement Company has ordered a cement mill upgrade from FLSmdith for its Tehachapi cement plant in California. The upgrade is planned to increase cement-grinding capacity at the plant by 23% by installing and using the hydraulic roller press for pre-grinding.
The scope of contract for the engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) project including engineering, a new clinker bin, heavy duty roller press HRP-C 1.25 with its auxiliaries, weigh feeder, set of belt conveyors, nuisance filters, bucket elevators and new electrical room for this circuit. The project will also use the new FLSmidth Tribomax wear surface. H&M Construction will provide the civil/structural engineering and construction portion of the work, working for FLSmidth. This will be the first roller press supplied in North America for FLSmidth in the last two decades.
"Our customers focus on productivity. They want high utilisation rates and minimum downtime. Wear parts are one of the key components when it comes to reducing overall maintenance cost and wear solutions like Tribomax reduce the total cost of ownership of the equipment considerably," said FLSmidth Executive Vice President for the Cement Division, Per Mejnert Kristensen.
Deliveries for the project will begin in the third quarter of 2016 and the roller press is expected to be in operation by April 2017.