Displaying items by tag: Votorantim Cimentos
Portland Cement Association announces winners of 2023 Safety Innovation and Chairman's Safety Performance Awards
28 September 2023US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has announced the winners of its 2023 Safety Innovation and Chairman's Safety Performance Awards.
The Safety Innovation Award Program recognises companies that have developed innovative practices, projects and programs that improve safety at cement plants in the US. Entries are judged in five areas: innovation, ease of use and ease of construction, effectiveness and risk prevention. The recipients were:
- Distribution: Continental Cement, Continental Port Allen Terminal, Chesterfield, Missouri
- Quarry: CalPortland Company, CalPortland Oro Grande Plant, Oro Grande, California
- Pyroprocessing: GCC of America, GCC Tijeras Plant, Tijeras, New Mexio
- General Facility: Mitsubishi Cement Corporation, Mitsubishi Cushenbury Plant, Lucerne Valley, California
The Chairman’s Safety Performance Awards are given to member cement plants that did not have a reportable injury or illness during the year. Fifteen plants achieved this in 2023, which represented more than 10% of all active cement facilities in the US and its territories. The recipients were:
- Argos USA, Atlanta, Georgia
- Argos USA, Newberry, Florida
- Argos Puerto Rico Corp, Dorado, Puerto Rico
- Ash Grove Cement Company (CRH), Durkee, Oregon
- Ash Grove Cement Company (CRH), Midlothian, Texas
- Buzzi Unicem USA, Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Buzzi Unicem USA, Maryneal, Texas
- CalPortland Company, Rillito, Arizona
- GCC of America, Odessa, Texas
- Heidelberg Materials, Bellingham, Washington
- Martin Marietta Materials, New Braunfels, Texas
- Martin Marietta Materials, Midlothian, Texas
- Martin Marietta Materials, Tehachapi, California
- National Cement Company of California, Kern, California
- St Marys Cement (Votorantim), Detroit, Michigan
New appointments at Cimpor Global Holdings
27 September 2023Türkiye: Cimpor Global Holdings has appointed Erol Tosun as Operational Technologies Unit Manager. He worked as Operational Technologies Chief for OYAK Çimento since 2019 and was the Information Technology Chief for OYAK Modern Beton from 2005 to 2019.
Other appointments at Cimpor Global Holdings include the move by Burak Demir to Industrial Digitalisation Unit Manager. He previously worked for OYAK Çimento since 2017 in a number of process roles. Prior to this he worked for Cementir in Türkiye.
Pınar Özmen Söylemez has been appointed as Data Analytics & Planning Unit Manager. She has worked for OYAK Çimento since 2017 first as a Performance Controller and then Industrial Program and Analysis Chief. Before this she worked for Votorantim Cimentos for two years.
Alan Svaiter elected president of Oficemen
13 September 2023Spain: The Spanish cement association (Oficemen) has elected Alan Svaiter as its president. He will take charge of various cross-sectoral initiatives aimed at helping the local cement industry to meet present and future challenges. These include recovering its higher activity levels and advancing its net zero strategy. He succeeds Cemex’s director general of strategic planning, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, José Manuel Cascajero, in the role.
Svaiter has held the position of chief executive officer (CEO) of Votorantim Cimentos España since January 2018. Prior to that, he worked in Brazil as Votorantim Cimentos’ supply chain director from 2014 and the CEO of its ready-mix concrete subsidiary Engemix from 2010. Earlier, he held management roles at logistics groups VarigLog and Vale.
Six dormant cement plants reportedly received Euro88m in European Union emissions allowances
05 September 2023Europe: Six cement plants were reportedly issued around Euro88m in free European Union emissions allowances (EUA) from 2019 to 2022 despite the clinker kilns at the units being idle or running at low levels. Research by the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) has revealed that plants operated by Buzzi, Cementos Portland Valderrivas (CPV), Cemex, Holcim and Votorantim Cimentos all benefited from the scheme despite only emitting 36,370t of CO2. The companies would then have been able to use the subsidy to cover emissions costs at other plants or sell the permits. OPIS identified five plants in Spain and one in Germany.
Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos recorded consolidated sales of US$2.59bn during the first half of 2023, up by 51% year-on-year from US$2.37bn in the first half of 2022. The group reported that cement demand was ‘strong’ in the US and ‘stable’ in Spain, however the Brazilian and Canadian markets were ‘challenging.’ Its costs also rose, by 4.2% to US$2.1bn from US$2.02bn. Despite this, Votorantim Cimentos’ net profit grew by a factor of 11, to US$112m from US$10.1m.
Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has secured a US$150m loan from the International Finance Corporation for an upgrade to its Salto de Pirapora cement plant in São Paulo. The producer aims to increase the alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate at the 4.8Mt/yr plant, and reduce its CO2 emissions. It says that the loan is tied to sustainability performance indicators (SPIs), based on the reduction in the plant’s Scope 1 CO2 emissions.
Şule Gözüpek appointed as Central Anatolia Regional Manager at Votorantim Cimentos Türkiye
19 July 2023Türkiye: Votorantim Cimentos Türkiye has appointed Şule Gözüpek as its Central Anatolia Regional Manager. Gözüpek has worked by Votorantim Cimentos for over 15 years. She holds masters and bachelors degrees from Gazi University in Ankara and Erciyes University in Kayseri respectively.
Update on cement diversification, June 2023
07 June 2023Taiwan Cement said this week that it is aiming for cement to account for less than half of its sales by 2025. At the annual shareholders’ meeting chair Nelson Chang defended the cement sector as a core business but said that the company was expanding more into the green energy sector through its energy storage and vehicle charging lines. Chang directly linked the strategy to growing carbon taxes around the world, such as the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, where the carbon price has been occasionally close to pushing past Euro100/t since early 2022. Taiwan Cement formed a joint venture with Türkiye-based Oyak Group in 2018 that runs Cimpor in Portugal.
Company |
Cement share of business |
Other main sectors |
CNBM |
45% |
Aggregates, concrete, gypsum, wind turbines, batteries, engineering |
Anhui Conch |
78% |
Aggregates, concrete, sand, trading |
Holcim |
51% |
Aggregates, concrete, lightweight building materials |
Heidelberg Materials |
44% |
Aggregates, concrete, asphalt |
UltraTech Cement |
95% |
Concrete |
Taiwan Cement |
68% |
Power supply, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, sea and land transportation |
Taiheiyo Cement |
70% |
Aggregates, concrete |
Table 1: Cement business share by revenue of selected cement producers. Source: Corporate annual reports.
Taiwan Cement’s plan to decrease its reliance on cement is becoming a familiar one. Holcim notably revealed in 2021 that it was growing its light building materials division. Its cement division represented 60% of sales in 2020 with concrete and aggregates making up most of the rest to 92% and the remaining 8% on other products including light building materials. This started to change with the acquisition of roofing and building envelope producer Firestone Building Products in 2021. Other similar acquisitions have followed. Holcim’s current target is to grow the Solutions & Products division to around 30% by 2025, with cement reduced to somewhere between a third and half of sales. Earlier this year Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement said it was doing a similar thing as part of its medium-term strategy to 2035. In its case cement represented 70% of its sales in 2022 but it is now aiming to reduce this to 65% by 2025 and 50% by 2035.
A common pattern for the business composition of European cement companies is a mixture of heavy building materials made up of cement, concrete and aggregate. However, not every cement company follows the same route. Some cement companies are simply parts of larger conglomerates. UltraTech Cement, for example, is mostly just a cement company. However, it is also part of Aditya Birla Group, which runs a wide range of industries including chemicals, textiles, financial services, telecoms, mining and more. Depending on how one looks at it, UltraTech Cement’s cement business ratio is large or Aditya Birla Group’s ratio is small. Siam Cement Group (SCG) in Thailand is another example of a cement producer operated by a conglomerate with other major businesses.
A different approach that some cement producers take is to mix cement production with complimentary businesses outside of heavy building materials. A good example of this is Votorantim Cement in Brazil, which manufactures cement and steel. Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) is another Brazil-based cement producer that is also well known for steel production. Adani Group in India, meanwhile, was well known for logistics, power generation and airports before it purchased Ambuja Cements and ACC from Holcim in 2022.
The driver for cement companies looking to reduce cement as a proportion of their businesses has varied between the three examples presented above. Holcim’s approach has been in response to growing European carbon costs but it also fits with a general desire to broaden its business as the company has sought to reshape itself following the merger between Lafarge and Holcim. Taiheiyo Cement’s plans also have a sustainability angle but the Japanese market has been in slow decline since the 1990s and this has been made worse by the spike in energy prices since 2022. Investing in new businesses makes sense for either of these reasons. Lastly, Taiwan Cement says it is taking action in response to carbon prices around the world. However, its proximity to many other large-scale producers in the Far East may also be a factor. Whether more companies follow suit and also start to reduce the ratio of their cement businesses remains to be seen. Yet, mounting carbon taxes and global production overcapacity look set to make more of the larger cement producers consider their options in certain places.
Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos recorded consolidated sales of US$1.18bn during the first quarter of 2023, corresponding to year-on-year growth of 18%. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose, by 85% to US$158m. Cement sales volumes fell in Brazil and Bolivia, but rose in Spain. The producer noted 'pressure' from high raw materials, freight and fuel costs in Brazil.
CEO Osvaldo Ayres Filho said "Price management implemented globally to face cost inflation contributed to the positive results in the quarter, despite the still volatile and uncertain scenario in the global economy. The company remains firm and aligned with its strategic plan, financially solid and prepared for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead."
Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has appointed Osvaldo Ayres Filho as its global chief executive officer (CEO). He succeeds Marcelo Castelli in the post, who is becoming a member of the board of directors.
Ayres Filho holds over 25 years of professional experience working for companies such as Avon, Fibria and Ciba Chemicals. He joined Votorantim Cimentos in 2012 and has held the positions of financial director for the Europe, Asia and Africa region, operations director for the Southeast region in Brazil, financial director for the Brazilian business and global chief financial officer and Investor Relations Officer, with additional responsibility for the areas of strategy, information technology, mergers and acquisitions and global procurement. He became the company’s chief operations officer in 2021 with responsibility for cement, logistics and adjacent businesses. Ayres Filho holds a degree in business administration from Mackenzie Presbyterian University and a postgraduate degree in administration from the Getulio Vargas Foundation.