Displaying items by tag: US

US: Robert McCaffrey, the editorial director of Global Cement, has presented ‘The global cement industry in 2050’ at the 61st IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Technical Conference 2019 taking place at St Louis in Missouri. The presentation used data from a variety of sources to explore how the cement and concrete industries could look in 2050 including shifts in societies, demographics, technologies, business and the environment.

For more information about the presentation and to download a copy visit: www.globalcement.com/reports/cement-2050

Global Cement is exhibiting at the IEEE-IAS/PCA at Booth 128

US: John King Chains USA has joined the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA). The association brings together over 370 industrial power transmission and motion control distribution channel and manufacturing companies.

Mexico: Cemex’s cement sales volumes fell by 6% year-on-year to 14.9Mt in the first quarter of 2019 from 15.9Mt in the same period in 2018. It has blamed this on falling volumes in its key markets in Mexico and the US. Its net sales dropped by 3% to US$3.24bn from US$3.34bn. Its operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased by 6% to US$562m from US$598m. Its concrete sales volumes fell slightly to 12.1Mm3 from 12.2Mm3.

“We are pleased with the 1% top-line growth we achieved during the first quarter, despite volume declines in our two most important markets: Mexico and the US. During the quarter, we enjoyed improved pricing performance in all our regions with favourable volume dynamics in Europe. In the US, ready-mix and aggregates volumes also grew despite adverse weather in part of our footprint,” said Fernando A Gonzalez, chief executive officer (CEO) of Cemex.

By region, the group also reported falling sales in its South, Central America and the Caribbean and Asia, Middle East and Africa regions. However, sales volumes of both cement and concrete increased by over 10% in Europe. Here, net sales rose by 3% to US$805m from US$781m. This was attributed to ‘strong’ domestic demand in most countries and a mild winter.

US: Eagle Materials is planning to appoint board vice-chairman Mike Nicolais as chairman. He will succeed Rick Stewart, who will continue working for the company as a director.

Nicolais currently serves as vice chairman at Highlander Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm. From 2001 - 2003, he served as a partner in the private investment firm of Olivhan Investments, followed by being named managing director at Stephens. Previously, he spent 14 years in the investment banking division of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities, and was managing director and co-head of the company’s Dallas office.

Mexico: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua’s (GCC) sales fell in the first quarter of 2019 due to lower cement and concrete volumes in the US. Sales volumes rose in Mexico and the group described a ‘favourable pricing environment’ in both markets. Its net sales dropped by 1.9% year-on-year to US$163m from US$167m. Cement sales volumes fell by 7.3% in the US but they rose by 3.8% in Mexico. Earnings before interest, taxation, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 16% to US$38.3m from US$45.6m.

“The US operations slowed, with severe inclement weather continuing into the first quarter. However, there is a strong backlog and we are picking up the pace as the weather conditions improve,” said Enrique Escalante, GCC’s chief executive officer (CEO). He added that Chihuahua in Mexico continued to perform well driven by mining shipments, industrial maquiladora plants and warehouse construction and middle-income housing starts.

US: Eagle Materials are started a strategic review of its portfolio of businesses including heavy materials, light materials, and oil and gas proppants. It says it commissioned the review, “…following consultation and input from the company's largest shareholders.” During the process it will consider options, including divesting businesses.

US: Lehigh Cement and Argos USA have agreed to pay a US$1.5m fine for alleged Clean Air Act violations at the Martinsburg cement plant in West Virginia. Argos has owned the plant since December 2016 and Lehigh Cement was the previous owner. The violations occurred from 2013 to 2016. Neither Lehigh Cement nor Argos USA admitted liability for the alleged violations as part of the settlement.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cited the companies for various Clean Air Act violations based on responses to EPA information requests and data collected and reported under the plant’s permit. These included exceeding particulate matter emissions, non-compliance with opacity testing, failing to comply with requirements for operating a kiln with dioxin/furan emission limits, failing to perform required stack testing on a kiln’s exhaust in a timely manner and other violations.

US: Illinois State University has been awarded a US$15,000 grant by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to research the use of recycled glass as a substitute for Ordinary Portland Cement and fly ash in controlled low-strength material (CLSM). CLSM, also called flowable fill, is a cement-based construction material commonly used for backfilling trenches or other excavations, as well as soil-stabilisation. It can be produced at any ready-mix concrete plant by mixing cement, fly ash, sand and water in the correct proportions.

Project lead Pranshoo Solanki said that preliminary results are promising, and show that required flow and strength can be met by replacing cement and fly ash with recycled glass powder.

The EPA grant is for phase one of the recycled glass project for research at the laboratory scale. Funding for phase two will then be sought to test the product in real-world trials.

US: US Concrete has appointed Ronnie Pruitt as its president and chief operating officer. Pruitt will continue to report to chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) William J Sandbrook and, in this expanded role, will take over many corporate functions that support the company's operational business units.

Pruitt, aged 48 years, has been with US Concrete since 2015 and has over 25 years of industry experience. Prior to joining US Concrete, he served as Vice President of Martin Marietta Materials and as Vice President of Cement Production and Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Texas Industries (TXI).

US: Cemex USA has been awarded the 2019 Energy Star Partner of the Year by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for its efforts in energy management. It was presented with the award by the EPA and the US Department of Energy at a ceremony in Washington, DC.

“At Cemex, sustainability is key to our vision of building a better future, embedded in our core business strategy and day-to-day operations,” said Cemex USA President Ignacio Madridejos. “We strive to conserve energy where possible with energy management initiatives, and many of our operations have received repeated recognition for their efforts. Cemex is also incorporating the use of more alternative fuels.”