India: Shree Cement is ready to start building a 3Mt/yr grinding plant at Purulia in Bengal. The project has an investment of around US$80m, according to the Times of India newspaper. The cement producer has already purchased the land for the unit and intends to start work on building it from August 2021. It will be the company’s first production plant in the state.

Ghana: Ghacem plans to spend US$100m on building a new cement plant at Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. The new 1.5Mt/yr unit at Kumasi is intended to serve central and northern regions of the country, according to the Daily Graphic newspaper. The plant will use calcined clay as an additive. Construction is expected to take 18 months with commissioning planned for the first quarter of 2023.

The subsidiary of Germany-based HeidelbergCement is also planning upgrades to its grinding plants at Tema and Takoradi. The work at the Tema will include the addition of a new grinding and packing plant and an upgrade of existing equipment. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. Work at Takoradi will then follow afterwards.

South Africa: PPC is operating at 75 - 80% of its active production capacity despite rising demand for cement. Njombo Lekula, the managing director of Southern Africa - PPC, told the Cape Times newspaper the company’s latest strategy and adaptation to the coronavirus pandemic had improved its operational flexibility. He said that it can ‘switch on’ plants to respond to demand, that its ‘Three Mega Plant’ strategy allows it to cope for periods when supply outstrips demand and that the company has mothballed plants at present. He added that PPC is not using 35% of its own capacity at the moment. Lekula also estimated that the local sector as a whole it not using 40% of its production capacity.

Denmark/Germany: FLSmidth has agreed to buy ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions’ mining business (TK Mining) for Euro325m. FLSmidth says it hopes that the acquisition will allow it to create a global mining technology provider with operations from pit to plant. The purchase is also expected to benefit FLSmidth’s aftermarket business. The transaction is expected to complete in the second half of 2022 and it will be subject to approval by competition authorities.

TK Mining is a supplier of solutions for mining systems, material handling, mineral processing and services. It is present in 24 countries with engineering and global service centres, and has close to 3400 employees. In 2020 it reported sales of around Euro780m with around one-third deriving from services.

“TK Mining and FLSmidth are a perfect match, and I am proud to announce this agreement to join forces. This is a truly transformational deal allowing us to accelerate our growth ambitions in mining by creating a stronger talent pool and one of the world’s largest and strongest suppliers to the mining industry. Our complementary customer base and improved geographic coverage will offer a strong value proposition to our customers. There is a significant opportunity in transforming TK Mining towards FLSmidth’s business mix and model in which higher margin service business makes up about 60% of revenue. I look forward to welcoming TK Mining’s management team and talented staff to our organisation,” said Thomas Schulz, group chief executive officer of FLSmidth.

Japan: Mitsubishi Materials and Ube Industries plan to merge their respective cement businesses and related businesses on 1 April 2022. The new successor company will be temporarily known as C Integration Arrangement before officially becoming known as Mitsubishi UBE Cement Corporation. However, the new name will be subject to input by shareholders.

The two cement producers first announced discussions in early 2020 about a potential merger of their cement businesses and related concerns. They decided to explore merging their cement operations following slowing demand and increased costs due to higher energy prices. They have worked together since 1998 in a joint venture called Ube-Mitsubishi Cement, which integrated their cement sales and logistics operations.

US: The death of a maintenance worker has been reported at Buzzi Unicem USA’s Hercules Cement at Stockertown in Pennsylvania. The cause of the fatality has not been released pending an investigation by state authorities and the Mine Safety and Health Administration, according to the Express Times newspaper. The incident occurred on 26 July 2021.

Germany: HeidelbergCement’s first-half consolidated net sales increased by 8% year-on-year in 2021 to Euro8.94bn from Euro8.25bn in the first half of 2020. Cement sales grew by 10% to 61.8Mt from 56.3Mt. Sales volumes increased in all regions, with the sharpest increase of 19%, to 15.3Mt from 12.9Mt, occurring in Western and Southern Europe. The group recorded a profit for the period of Euro825m, compared to a Euro3.1bn loss in the first half of 2020. It reduced its net debt by 17% to Euro7.5bn from Euro9bn.

Chair Dominik von Achten said “HeidelbergCement has closed the first half of 2021 with an excellent result. We have achieved record values in relevant key figures. Our ‘Beyond 2020’ strategy is taking effect: we are making good progress in all areas. Against this background, we have announced an extensive share buyback programme for the first time in the company's history. With this, we want our shareholders to participate appropriately in the economic success of our company.”

China: Asia Cement China recorded a 23% year-on-year rise in net sales in the first half of 2021 to US$820m from US$668m in the first half of 2020. Its profit for the period also rose, by 21% to US$171m from US$141m.

The company increased its cement sales to US$796m, up by 26% from US$630m. It said that total Chinese cement sales hit a record high during the half of 1.15Bnt, up by 14%. Average cement prices were lower than in the corresponding period of 2020. The company said that it expects prices to rise after bad weather ends in late August and the supply of steel and aggregates resumes fully.

Greece: Titan Group’s consolidated net sales in the first half of 2021 were Euro821m, up by 4% year-on-year from Euro786m, with an 11% rise in cement and clinker sales. The group’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also recorded a 4% increase, to Euro143m from Euro137m. Net profit more than doubled to Euro58m from Euro22m.

Chair Dimitri Papalexopoulos said “Looking ahead we see continuing top line growth, with gains in both volumes and prices. In the short term, the spike in freight rates and energy costs is not allowing us to enjoy the kind of impact in margins which top line growth would imply.”

India: Dalmia Bharat plans to more than triple its installed cement production capacity by 2030, to 110–130Mt/yr from 30.8Mt/yr in 2021. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that with the completion of all on-going projects, the producer’s capacity will rise to 48.5Mt/yr.