Mexico: Cooperativa La Cruz Azul has inaugurated the new Kiln 5 at its Oaxaca cement plant in Lagunas. Local press has reported that the new kiln will increase the plant's clinker capacity by 3700t/day. Additionally, the producer has inaugurated a new weighbridge at the plant. The equipment is capable of weighing trucks of up to 100t in mass. Cooperativa La Cruz Azul's investments in the latest upgrades to the Lagunas cement plant totalled US$301m.

Cooperativa La Cruz Azul said "With these projects, multiple benefits are generated for the community, and the cooperative reaffirms its commitment to the progress and development of the region."

South Africa: PPC South Africa Holdings says that it has concluded a deal to sell 10% of its shares to employees via the PPC Employee Share Ownership Trust. News24 Online News has reported that all South African employees of the company will be eligible to buy shares, provided that they are not already currently participating in its long-term incentive programme. The total value of shares transferred under the deal will be US$20.4m

CEO Roland van Wijnen said "PPC has been built upon the shoulders of its employees, and this transaction provides a meaningful way of rewarding those in South Africa who do not participate in PPC’s long-term incentive plan to share in the creation of shareholder value. We are pleased that the terms of the transaction are such that it stands to benefit employees for many years to come.”

Israel: Nesher-Israel Cement Enterprises has received an order from the Ministry of Environmental Protection to reduce emissions from its Ramle cement plant. BALLEG News has reported that the plant violated pollution rules over non-focal emissions and particle emissions values. Nesher-Israel Cement Enterprises also reportedly failed to submit data about defects, malfunctions and abnormal emissions, following 'several incidents.'

The producer previously paid a US$1.64m pollution fine in August 2022.

India: Prism Johnson has ordered US$2.42m-worth of coal for use as cement fuel from Vikas Ecotech. Press Trust of India News has reported that the supplier will complete the order by 31 October 2023.

US: Heidelberg Materials North America reported the death of a man at its Port Everglades cement terminal in Florida on 5 August 2023. Local press has reported that the body of the man was found inside equipment, where he is believed to have fallen. He was an external contractor who had been carrying out repair work. Authorities are currently investigating the tragedy.

Heidelberg Materials North America said "We are working closely with the appropriate authorities to ensure a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident."

Morocco: Members of the Professional Association of Cement Producers (APC) delivered a total of 6.98Mt of cement during the first seven months of 2023. This corresponds to a year-on-year rise of 2.1%, compared with seven-month 2022 levels. Agence Marocaine de Presse News has reported that ready-mix concrete plants consumed 4.29Mt (61%), and precast concrete plants 1.37Mt (20%), of cement deliveries. Producers despatched 367,000t (5.3%) of cement to infrastructure construction sites, and 271,000t (3.9%) to other building sites.

Mexico/Switzerland: Cemex and industrial solar heat specialist Synhelion have achieved constant clinker production on an industrially viable scale using only solar heat. The partners say that this confirms the technology's potential for industrial-scale implementation.

Cemex chief executive officer Fernando A González said “I am convinced we are getting closer to the technologies that will enable net-zero CO₂ cement and concrete production. The solid progress I see here proves that solar cement is not just a dream: it is achievable through continued collaboration, and backed up by rigorous research and testing.”

Italy: Buzzi's revenues rose by 14% year-on-year in the first half of 2023, to Euro2.15bn from Euro1.88bn in the first half of 2022. This was despite an 8.3% decline in its sales and volumes of cement and clinker, to 5.12Mt from 5.83Mt. The group recorded a rise in its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 58% to Euro575m from Euro365m. It noted an 'unfavourable economic situation,' with a slowdown in many of its markets.

Buzzi said "In the second quarter of 2023, the performance of the manufacturing segment was still weak, and contributed to limiting the growth prospects of international trade. In early 2023, consumer price inflation slowed down, thanks to the decrease in the energy component, although it remained at historically high levels. The decline in inflation was more evident in industrial goods, which incorporated the trend of energy prices." It added "Prospects continue to be negatively affected by persistent inflation and the consequent restrictive orientation of monetary policies in the major advanced economies, as well as by the uncertainty associated with the continuation of geopolitical tensions on a global scale, first of all the ongoing conlict in Ukraine."

Rwanda: West China Cement subsidiary Anjia Cement has inaugurated its Muhanga grinding plant at the Muhanga Industrial Park in Gitarama. Xinhua News Agency has reported that West China Cement invested US$50m in the plant's construction. It subsequently aims to raise its total investments in Rwanda to US$100m.

Rwanda Development Board chief executive officer Clare Akamanzi said "Over the past five years, we have registered investments from China worth close to US$1bn, which will collectively generate up to 25,000 jobs for Rwandans."

Australia: Alternative cement and concrete producers have welcomed a new Australian civil engineering standard that allows builders to use reduced-CO₂ geopolymer concrete in infrastructure projects. Wagners, which produces Earth Friendly Concrete (EFC), said that the revision has removed on if its key barriers to wider market acceptance. EFC replaces 100% of cement with supplementary cementitious materials, including ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and pulverised fly ash, by virtue of its binder technology. Wagners previously supplied EFC for the London Power Tunnels project in the UK, based on local technical approval-based building codes. The producer now expects a new standard like the Australian one to follow in the EU.