Displaying items by tag: corporate

Germany: ThyssenKrupp has announced the leadership structure of its two future companies: ThyssenKrupp Industrials and ThyssenKrupp Materials. At each company the number of board directorates will be reduced to three and central functions will be combined.

From 17 corporate and service functions at present, there will be 14 at ThyssenKrupp Industrials and 10 at ThyssenKrupp Materials. The current matrix structure will be dissolved. In the future there will be no regional structure besides the business areas at headquarters level. The tasks in the regions will be performed by the operating units or central functions. The shared service units will also be allocated according to business requirements and focused more closely.

“With the separation we will create strategic clarity and enable the businesses to develop more dynamically. The new leadership structures are key to this. The new set-up is tailored to business requirements and reflects the different market requirements. Both ThyssenKrupps will become leaner, faster and better,” said Guido Kerkhoff, chief executive officer (CEO) of ThyssenKrupp.

ThyssenKrupp Industrials will comprise the elevator, automotive, and plant engineering businesses, including manufacturing equipment for the cement sector. ThyssenKrupp Materials will operate in the materials sector.

ThyssenKrupp will take a final vote on the separation plans in January 2020. The composition of the two management teams will be decided in spring 2019. Details of the financial structure, brand identity and strategy of the two new companies will be announced in May 2019. Both companies are to commence operations at the start of the company’s next financial year on 1 October 2019.

Greece: Titan Group’s share exchange offer between its subsidiaries has failed. It blamed this on a lack of ordinary shares being tendered despite the support of Titan’s core shareholders and its board of directors. The voluntary share offer was intended to help list its shares at exchanges in Brussels and Paris. The group said that its strategy remained focused on international growth. It added that broadening sources of funding and improving access to international capital and credit markets was an important priority.

Italy: Colacem plans to restructure its ownership of its Ragusa cement plant in Sicily as a separate subsidiary. The final closure of its former Modica plant, also in Sicily, will take place on 1 March 2019, according to the Mercati Finanziari newspaper. 14 employees will be transferred from the Modica site to Ragusa.

Oman: Raysut Cement has launched the use of SAP S4/HANA and SAP Success Factors as part of a change to its human resource (HR) digital business processes. SAP S4/HANA is a resource-planning package and SAP Success Factors is used to manage HR functions. The project has been supported by Fujitsui International. The implementation phase is intended to run until mid-2019.

Sweden: Yara is simplifying its operating model to three segments from the start of 2019. The change follows its decision to focus its strategy on the crop nutrition market.

Its Sales & Marketing segment will comprise all of Yara's existing Crop Nutrition business units. Former industry segment divisions Base Chemicals, Industry Reagents and Animal Nutrition (excluding South Africa) will also be transferred to it. Its New Business segment will include businesses to establish commercial innovation within decarbonisation and the circular economy, a business for autonomous logistics operations including the Yara Birkeland autonomous electric ship project and a portfolio of businesses to cover Environmental Solutions, Mining Applications, Animal Nutrition South Africa and Industrial Nitrates.

"Earlier this year, we set out our strategy as the crop nutrition company for the future, and we are now adapting and simplifying our operating model accordingly. Following a period of substantial investments, our main focus going forward will be on operational excellence, innovation and growing scalable crop nutrition solutions," said Svein Tore Holsether, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Yara International.

Yara's offerings to the cement industry include NO_x emissions control products.

Germany: Haver & Boecker has restructured its domestic sales division and all national activities into Haver & Boecker Deutschland. The new company started operation in July 2018 based at its headquarters in Oelde. Burkhard Reploh, formerly the head of the Building Materials and Minerals Division at Haver & Boecker, leads the subsidiary.

"The German customers are rather special. With their technical enthusiasm, these customers in particular inspire many of our innovations. Therefore we aim to further intensify our activities in Germany and as a result have founded a company which focuses exclusively on the requirements of our German customers,” said Florian Festge, managing partner of Haver & Boecker. He added that the restructuring is intended to strengthen the German market, which is the group’s largest single market, even considering its export share of 75%.

Haver & Boecker Deutschland represents the entire product and service range of Haver & Boecker and the technology brands of Haver & Boecker Niagara, IBAU Hamburg, Sommer, Feige Filling Behn, Behn + Bates and Newtec. This includes machines, systems and service products in the field of processing technology, silo technology, mixing, filling and packing technology as well as palletising and loading technology and automation in the cement, construction materials, chemicals, food and processing sectors.

Italy: HeidelbergCement’s subsidiary Italcementi has rebranded CementirSacci and Cementir Italia as Italsacci and Cemitaly respectively. The move follows the integration of the companies into the group at the start of 2018.

The cement producers operate four integrated plants and two grinding plants. Italsacci runs plants at Tavernola Bergamasca, Greve and Cagnano Amiterno. Cemitaly runs plants at Spoleto, Arquata Scrivia and Taranto.

Italcementi now operates 10 integrated plants, one plant for special projects, 10 cement grinding plants, 113 concrete plants and 13 aggregate quarries in Italy. Its headquarters is based in Bergamo.

Oman: Oman Cement has been included on a list of Sharia-compliant companies for the first quarter of 2018 compiled by the Muscat Securities Market. The 32 companies on the list conform to the requirements of Islamic Sharia according to the rules approved by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, according to the Oman Daily Observer newspaper. Companies on the list cover a cross-section of industry including building materials, banking, food production and more.

Ireland: CRH plans to reorganise its business structure into three core divisions in January 2019. Its European Heavyside and Asia operations, including cement production, will form into Europe Materials. Its Europe Lightside, Europe Distribution and Americas Products operations will form into Building Products. Its Americas Materials operations will remain as it is. The new divisions are expected to generate approximately 30%, 30% and 40% respectively of earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

CRH is also in the final stages of buying Ash Grove Cement in the US. The US$3.5bn deal will add eight cement plants across eight US states, combined with ready mix concrete, aggregates and associated logistics assets across the US Midwest to CRH’s portfolio. It will also increase the scope of its Americas Materials division. The deal had earlier been expected to close in May 2018.

France/Switzerland: LafargeHolcim plans to close its headquarters in Paris. The decision to move the company’s head office solely to Switzerland follows a cost cutting review at the building materials company. It will also close its corporate office in Zurich. Remaining jobs in Switzerland will be moved to the company’s Holderbank site and a new corporate office in Zug. In Paris, remaining positions will be moved to Clamart. The plan is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. Around 200 jobs will be affected.

“This painful but necessary simplification step is key to creating a leaner, faster and more competitive LafargeHolcim,” said chief executive officer Jan Jenisch. The move follows decisions to close offices in Singapore and Miami.

The decision to close its headquarters in Paris marks a further move away from the ‘merger of equals’ announced when France’s Lafarge merged with Switzerland’s Holcim in 2015. Since the merger LafargeHolcim has underperformed reporting a loss of Euro1.46bn in 2017. Former senior executives from Lafarge have become embroiled in a legal investigation looking at the company’s conduct in Syria. LafargeHolcim’s first chief executive officer Eric Olsen resigned from the company in mid-2017 following fallout from a review into the Syria affair.