Displaying items by tag: Vulcan

US: The US Customs and Border Protection plans to start awarding contracts by mid-April 2017 for a proposed border wall with Mexico. The agency says it will request bids on or around 6 March 2017 and that companies would have to submit ‘concept papers’ to design and build prototypes by 10 March 2017, according to the Associated Press. Finalists must then submit offers with their proposed costs by 24 March 2017. No details on where construction will start or how much it will be cost have been released.

Estimates for the cost of a 2000-mile border wall vary significantly. The Government Accountability Office estimates it would cost on average US$6.5m/mile for a pedestrian fence and US$1.8m/mile for vehicle barriers. However, an internal Homeland Security Department report prepared for department secretary John Kelly places the bill at about US$21m according to an anonymous source quoted by the Associated Press. It proposes that existing barriers built during the George W Bush administration be extended first in stages.

The cost of the wall will depend on the height, materials and other specifications of the project. Granite Construction, Vulcan Materials and Martin Marietta Materials are all likely to be potential bidders and Mexico’s Cemex is also likely to benefit from any increase in demand for construction materials in the region.

US: Vulcan Materials has elected David P Steiner to its board of directors. Steiner will serve on Vulcan's Safety, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee and the Governance Committee. Steiner most recently served as chief executive officer of Waste Management from 2004 to 2016, a North American waste management services company that covers collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery services as well as landfill disposal. He currently serves on the board of directors of FedEx Corporation.

Vulcan also announced that Elaine L Chao has stepped down from the Board after being confirmed by the US Senate to serve as US Secretary of Transportation. Secretary Chao joined Vulcan's Board in February 2015.

US: Vulcan Materials has appointed Stan Bass, Michael Mills, Jerry Perkins and Brock Lodge to its management team.

Stan Bass, aged 54 years, formerly Senior Vice President, West, with responsibility for Vulcan’s Western and Mountain West Divisions, has been named to the new position of Chief Growth Officer for the company. Michael Mills, aged 55 years, formerly Senior Vice President & General Counsel, has been named to the new role of Chief Administrative Officer. Jerry Perkins, aged 46 years, formerly Assistant General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, has been named General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, succeeding Michael Mills. Brock Lodge, aged 43 years, formerly Vice President & General Manager of Vulcan’s Western Division that includes all operations in California, has been promoted to President of that Division.

Bass, as Chief Growth Officer, will be responsible for leading the company’s business development, commercial excellence and strategic growth initiatives. Mills as Chief Administrative Officer will be responsible for the executive oversight of the non-financial, administrative functions of the company.

US: Vulcan Materials' 2014 fourth quarter earnings surged on continued growth in aggregates shipments and stronger average selling prices. The company has also been expanding through a string of deals. Vulcan reported that it spent US$322m for bolt-on acquisitions during 2014.

"Strong momentum in the latest quarter bodes well for 2015, a year in which we expect a continued recovery in demand for our products and, importantly, an improving pricing and margin environment," said Chief executive Tom Hill. "Although aggregates demand remains well below normal levels, this steady and gradual improvement is a further indication of construction activity recovery," said Hill.

Vulcan reported a profit of US$38m in the fourth quarter of 2014, up from US$9.1m in the same period of 2013. Revenue during the period increased by 11% to US$755m. Vulcan said that the latest results benefited by around US$7m as the result of lower diesel fuel costs, mostly in its aggregates business.

US: Vulcan Materials has announced that its board has named J Thomas Hill as the company's new CEO, succeeding Donald James in the role. James, who is 65 years old, will become the company's executive chairman. He has served as Vulcan's CEO since 1996 and as its chairman since 1997. Hill, who is 55, previously had acted as Vulcan's chief operating officer. Before that, he held several management positions in sales and operations since joining the company in 1979.

Vulcan also promoted its financial chief John McPherson to the position of chief financial and strategy officer, a role in which he will oversee strategy and human resources functions in addition to his existing duties.

US: Vulcan Materials has reported that it made a first-quarter profit, helped by a recent asset sale and improved revenues. Vulcan reported a profit of US$54m. This compares to a loss of US$54.8m in the first quarter of 2013.

Vulcan's revenue for the quarter climbed by 6.7% year-on-year to US$574.4m. Net sales were up by 9% to US$44m and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at US$39m, compared to US$26m in the first quarter of 2013.

The latest reporting period included a gain of US$1.04/share related to the sale of the company's Florida-area cement and concrete assets in March 2014 to Colombia's Cementos Argos. Excluding that benefit and other items, the company had a first-quarter loss of US$0.28/share compared to a loss of US$0.47/share in the same period of 2013.

Don James, Chairman and CEO of Vulcan Materials said, "We continue to experience strengthening demand in each of our end markets and across most of our footprint. Our operations and sales teams continue to deliver strong incremental margins."

Colombia: Jose Alberto Velez, president of Cementos Argos group, says that 2014 will be a year of integrating the assets acquired in 2013 in Honduras and the United States for the Colombian firm. Further acquisitions would only be considered as of 2015. He stressed that the US$720m purchase of Vulcan Materials needs time to be digested, as well cement assets in Honduras costing above US$250m.

Velez has forecast a growing cement demand in 2014 that Cementos Argos will strive to meet in the US, Central America and the Caribbean, while in Colombia new infrastructure concessions will also increase cement and concrete sales.

During 2013, Cementos Argos had sales of 11.4Mt of cement, up by 5% on 2012. Income grew by 13.4% to US$376m and profits reached US$13.9m. Cementos Argos is also earmarking investments of US$200m in 2014 for various projects, including the start up of a US$35m cement distribution centre in Cartagena, in addition to the expansion and modernisation of several plants in Rio Claro, El Cairo and Nare costing US$100m.

Two stories from the US have drawn our attention this week, even with a US$1.3bn cartel fine in Brazil, more new business in Africa, the possible closure of CBR's white cement plant in Belgium and strange metrological goings-on in India also in the headlines.

Firstly, it was announced that Colombia's major cement producer Cementos Argos has agreed to acquire Vulcan Materials' building material assets in Florida. Argos, active in the US since June 2011 when it acquired its Harleyville and Roberta plants from Lafarge, will more than double its capacity in the country from 2.7Mt/yr to 6.2Mt/yr and go from a small player to a significant force in the western US.

Argos may have moved at just the right time. Despite suffering disproportionately in what is often termed the 'Great Recession' in the US, Florida's cement market is fundamentally solid, with significant residential construction and a good commercial construction baseline. If the PCA's expectations that the US will consume 80Mt/yr of cement in 2014 and a release of that much talked-about 'pent-up demand' are realised, Argos could be in a position to make good sales.

Indeed, Argos' move takes on even more significance in the light of the second US story from this week, which sees Texas Industries (TXI) taken over by Martin Marietta. The acquisition, which comes on the back of a failed bid by Martin Marietta for Vulcan Materials in 2012, also makes perfect sense for the company. Indeed, Martin Marietta's chief executive, C Howard Nye, said, "We like the Texas market a lot."

And well they should. Developments around the Eagle Ford shale gas reserves in the centre of Texas have led to a building boom in terms of both new constructions and oil well cement. Despite this, TXI announced a loss of US$17.6m in the quarter to 30 September 2013, although it saw higher sales. It blamed interest repayments. There are obviously clear gains for Martin Marietta in buying TXI, but it had better have a plan to sort out TXI's finances.

For all the talk of major restructuring in China , and mergers and acquisitions in India, it is the US cement industry that is showing the most movement so far in 2014. Could this be the year when things finally look up?

US: Colombia's Cementos Argos announced an agreement with US-based Vulcan Materials for the acquisition of cement, concrete, blocks and port assets in Florida, USA worth a total of US$720m. The acquisition will consolidate its participation in the growing market in the south east of the US.

The assets that are part of this transaction increase the Cementos Argos' installed cement capacity by 3.5Mt/yr, thanks to the integrated cement plant Newberry, Florida (1.6Mt/yr) and grinding mills in Tampa and Port Manatee (1.9Mt/yr combined). The deal also features 69 ready mix concrete plants with 372 mixers and an annual production capacity of 3.3 million m³ and 13 concrete block production plants.

"This new transaction fits perfectly with the company's growth strategy, not only for the size and quality of the assets but also because of its privileged location, the growth potential and its complementary operation with our current assets," said Jorge Mario Velasquez, CEO of Cementos Argos. "We are doubling our cement production capacity in the United States, in a market like Florida, where the growth forecast for the coming years is expected to double the already encouraging growth estimates. Florida is one of the fourth largest state economies, with the highest cement consumption and population of the US."

Through this acquisition, Cementos Argos becomes the second-biggest producer of cement in Florida and in the south-east of the US. With this, the company will achieve a total installed capacity, in all of the locations in which it has a presence, of 20Mt/yr.

US: Vulcan Materials has announced a series of leadership changes effective from 1 January 2014.

Tom Hill, previously Senior Vice President of the company's South Region, has been promoted to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Vulcan Materials. John McPherson, previously Senior Vice President of Vulcan's East Region, has been promoted to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Danny Shepherd, previously Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Vulcan Materials, has been promoted to the position of Vice Chairman of the company. Dan Sansone, previously Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has been named as Executive Vice President of Strategy. He plans to retire from the Vulcan Materials at the end of 2014.

"These are key steps in our succession planning process, which is an important and ongoing focus of our Board of Directors," said Don James, Vulcan's Chairman. "We are blessed with great talent and experience at Vulcan and these appointments position us well for future growth opportunities that will further enhance shareholder value. Tom, John, Danny and Dan have played immensely important roles for Vulcan and will continue to do so in their new positions. We are excited about our future and about their roles in helping shape it."