Displaying items by tag: US

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.

US: Summit Materials recorded a profit of US$59.1m in 2019, up by 74% from US$33.9m in 2018. Summit Materials’ CEO Tom Hill attributed the growth to ‘sustained public sector demand coupled with improved pricing.’ The Colorado-based construction materials company’s cement section contributed sales growth of 3.5% year-on-year to US$291m from US$281m in 2018, with a 2.8% in cement volumes and a 1.7% price increase.

US: On 4 February 2020, PCA Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Ed Sullivan predicted that US cement demand would rise by 1.7% in 2020 and may rise by as much as 2.7% if residential construction exceeds expectations. Sullivan stated that demand would maintain moderate growth through at least to 2022. “As long as the economy continues to grow and create jobs, the economy will remain on solid ground and continue to support cyclical portions of the cement market,” he said.

US: National Gypsum has launched Permabase WP Waterproof Cement Board, a 1.3cm-thick cement board with a waterproof core, reinforced edge and smoother surface and stronger tile bond than previous Permabase boards for mould and moisture resistance and ease of cutting and installation. National Gypsum product manager for Permabase Tony Fuller said that “National Gypsum is committed to creating innovative products with performance benefits” for construction.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has launched a campaign called ‘Shaped by Concrete,’ which aims to teach people about how concrete made with cement ‘shapes the world to make our communities, city and country better’ by telling stories based on the themes of ‘sustainability, resilience and durability.’ “We are excited to share bold, compelling stories of how we can make the world a better place, shaped by concrete,” said PCA president and CEO Mike Ireland.

US: National Cement has broken ground on its US$250m upgrade to the Ragland plant in Alabama. City, county and state officials attended the ceremony, according to WBRC. The subsidiary of France’s Vicat is building a second kiln at its 1.9Mt/yr plant in Alabama. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.

US: RHI Magnesita has acquired Missouri Refractories for an undisclosed sum. The refractory producer operates a plant at Pevely, Missouri. It produces over 400 high-quality monolithic mixes, which serve industries, including cement, lime, steel and glass.

“With its more than 45 years of experience in fulfilling the needs of demanding, highly loyal and satisfied customers, Missouri Refractories perfectly fits into RHI Magnesita’s strategy to strengthen our position in the North American refractory market,” said Stefan Borgas, chief executive officer (CEO) of RHI Magnesita.