Displaying items by tag: US

US: Mexico-based Cemex has confirmed that its 75% subsidiary Kosmos Cement, which it holds jointly with a subsidiary of Italy-based Buzzi Unicem, has completed the sale of its 1.7Mt/yr integrated Louisville plant to Eagle Materials for US$665m. Cemex says that it will receive US$499m in proceeds from the sale.

US: Oldcastle APG, a subsidiary of CRH, has acquired dry mix manufacturer US MIX. The purchase adds to APG's dry mix manufacturing footprint and expands its network of facilities to the Denver, Colorado market. In addition, the acquisition provides APG with materials science expertise and adds another brand, US SPEC, to its existing dry mix product portfolio of Sakrete and Amerimix. No value for the acquisition has been disclosed.

US MIX primarily operates out of a manufacturing facility in Denver, with a secondary specialty bagging location in Fontana, California. Founded in 1968, US MIX has been privately owned by the Peterson family for over 50 years. Its products include bagged concretes, mortars and specialty cement mixes, in addition to liquid repair products.

US MIX currently operates as a Sakrete and Amerimix licensee and offers a variety of specialty products under the well-known US SPEC brand. US SPEC products are professionally engineered concrete and masonry repair products used in a variety of applications, formulated and tested in laboratory conditions under ASTM testing methods and specifications.

US: Charah Solutions has secured a contract with energy supplier Entergy for provision of environmental services to three coal-fired power plants in Louisiana and Arkansas. The gives Charah Solutions the right to dispose of or market 0.9Mt/yr of coal combustion residuals (CCR), including to cement producers in the region for use as a cement additive.

Colombia: In 2019 Grupo Argos subsidiary Cementos Argos’ sales rose by 11% year-on-year to US$2.8bn from US$2.5bn in 2018 and its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 14% year-on-year to US$0.5bn from US$0.4bn in 2018. Cement dispatches rose by 0.6% to 16Mt. In the US, its main market, the company sold 6.3Mt of cement, up by 9.5% from 5.8Mt in 2018.

Argos CEO Juan Estaban Calle praised the company’s successes in 2019, such as the completion of its Thermally Activated Clays (TAC) project at its 1.4Mt/yr integrated Cementos Rioclaro plant in Colombia. “This allows for production and distribution of green cement with a greatly reduced clinker factor, 38% lower CO₂ emissions and 30% of the energy consumption of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) production,” he said.

Mexico: Group Cementos Chihuahua (GCC) reported a better-than-expected fourth quarter in 2019, due largely to record sales volumes in the US, its main market. A delay to the start of the construction season, an order book containing contracts for oil well cement and alternative energy projects and strong residential and infrastructure segments, boosted its cement sales volumes by 12.3%. Along with an increase of 2.9% in prices overall (4.8% rise in the US), this gave rise to sales figures 13.2% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2018.

"Our excellent operational execution and robust distribution network, supported by improved climate, once again contributed to record volumes in cement in the US, surpassing our estimates," said Enrique Escalante, GCC’s Managing Director.

In its domestic Mexican market, sales increased by 5.6% due to a mixture of higher prices and appreciation of the national currency. Industrial warehouse construction segments, mining projects and middle housing in border towns were factors for the rise.

Mexico: Cemex’s operating earnings have fallen in Mexico and the US. Its net sales fell by 3% year-on-year to US$13.1bn in 2019 from US$13.5m in 2018. Its cement sales volumes dropped by 7% to 62.8Mt from 67.2Mt. Its operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased by 11% to US$2.38bn from US$2.69bn.

“In a very challenging year with weaker macroeconomic and market conditions prevailing in several of our operations, we were able to limit the downside to our EBITDA and free-cash-flow generation through the decisive and proactive initiatives under our ‘A Stronger Cemex’ program,” said Fernando A Gonzalez, chief executive officer of Cemex. He added that the group was ‘cautiously optimistic’ about its outlook for 2020, with market improvements expected in Mexico and the US.

By region, sales and earnings fell in Mexico due to decline in public and private investment. In the US sales grew, but earnings fell, in a market beset by bad weather, weak residential performance and competition in Florida. Sales and earnings grew in Europe on a like-for-like basis driven by infrastructure demand. Elsewhere sales and earnings fell, although a stronger market was noted in Colombia.

US: Eagle Materials has appointed Mike Nicolais as the chairman and Michael Haack as the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of its Heavy Materials spin-off business. The building materials company intends to split into separate Heavy Materials and Light Materials businesses in the summer of 2020. The Heavy Materials company will focus on cement production with complementary concrete, aggregates and sand operations. It will also continue to evaluate strategic alternatives with respect to its frac sand business.

US: Continental Cement Company has appointed Mike Gordon as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing. He previously worked as Vice President, Sales and Marketing at the building materials producer since 2015. Prior to this Gordon worked in a variety of roles for Lafarge North America since 1991.

US: Cemex says that a class action lawsuit filed with the Southern District Court of New York in 2018 has been dismissed. The legal action was made by a group of investors who allege that they were misled in relation to an alleged corruption case in Colombia. The building materials company said that the decision of the court was final and that the plaintiffs would not be entitled to a new trial,

The legal proceedings followed reports in 2018 that the US Department of Justice had requested information from Cemex about a case of alleged corruption in the construction of the Maceo cement plant in Colombia. In 2016 Cemex fired several senior staff members in relation to the Maceo project and its subsidiary’s chief executive resigned. This followed an internal audit and investigation into payments worth around US$20m made to a non-governmental third party in connection with the acquisition of the land, mining rights and benefits of the tax free zone for the project.

US: Turkey’s Çimsa has launched a new white cement product for the US market at the World of Concrete trade fair in Las Vegas. The subsidiary of Sabancı Holding has showcased its Çimsa Aluminates and Çimsa Super White product ranges.

“As one of the largest grey cement producers of Turkey, Çimsa is among the top three in the global league of white cement. We have increased our visibility in the global cement industry through our investments abroad,” said, Çimsa’s chief executive officer (CEO) Ülkü Özcan. He added that the cement producer founded its Cimsa Americas Cement Manufacturing and Sales Corp in the US in 2017. It then started operations at a grinding mill in Houston, Texas in 2019.