Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos’ consolidated net sales were US$6.41bn in 2020, up by 19% year-on-year from US$5.41bn in 2019. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose, by 35% to US$1.21bn from US$899m. The group attributed the growth to increased cement volumes sold in Brazil, Canada and the US. Total global cement sales increased by 8% to 32.4Mt. Net revenue grew in all regions, but the sharpest growth was reported in North America at 43% to US$945m.

Chief financial officer Osvaldo Ayres Filho said, “The past year has been extremely challenging due to the pandemic and its impacts across the planet. We have implemented a contingency plan to protect people's lives and preserve operations. This allowed us to respond with agility both in Brazil and in the other markets in which we have operations, ending the year with increased sales, cash generation growth and the lowest leverage in the past ten years.”

During the year, the group unified its joint-venture in Uruguay, with Cementos Molins, at a single site and merged its Canadian and US businesses under a new 83% owned subsidiary. It suspended its Pecém grinding plant expansion in Brazil due to the coronavirus pandemic and resumed it in September 2020. Completion of the project is scheduled for the first half of 2021. The producer also released its Sustainability Commitments for 2030 in November 2020.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement says that the price of cement from its plants in Nigeria is the same as from plants in other countries in Africa or cheaper. The cement producer made the announcement in response to local media reports that its prices were allegedly lower in Ghana or Zambia, according to the Vanguard newspaper. It added that it had control over its ex-factory prices but that it could not set the end market price.

Dangote Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development and Capital Projects Devakumar Edwin explained that Dangote Cement has a 60% share of the local cement market at present. Demand for cement has risen following the coronavirus pandemic and the company has had to suspend exports from its recently commissioned export terminals in order to meet local demand. He added that it has also reactivated its 4.5Mt/yr Gboko plant in Benue State, which was closed in 2018, to cope with the situation.

Brazil: Cement sales grew by 19% yearn-year to 15.3Mt in the first quarter of 2021 from 12.8Mt in the same period in 2020. The National Cement Industry Association (SNIC) attributed the growth to poor weather and the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. Residential and home-improvement construction work in 2021 were also seen as contributing factors. However, association president Paulo Camillo Penna called for caution due to a decline in sales per working day so far in 2021 despite the apparent growth in absolute figures. The association also called for the local coronavirus vaccination campaign to be accelerated.

Canada: St Marys Cement, part of Brazil-based Votoronatim Cimentos, has installed a US$19.9m wet scrubber at its Bowmanville cement plant in Ontario. The installation will reduce the plant’s sulphur dioxide (SO₂) emissions by 90%. The producer says it is the first wet scrubber installed at a cement plant in Canada.

Operations Manager Jim Storey said “This investment in technology to improve the plant’s environmental performance has proven to be effective in removing SO₂ produced in the cement manufacturing process. We are also pleased that the scrubber was assembled on-site and installed by local Ontario contractors and crews during our annual scheduled plant shutdown.”

India: Ambuja Cement has successfully sent two cement shipments to their destinations using biofuel-powered ships. Two of the company’s cement carriers delivered cement in India while running using biofuel derived from soya extract.

The biodiesel blend (B20) was in compliance with International Maritime Organisation sulphur content requirements and met International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) levels in terms of flash point requirements. No increase of NOx was observed with biodiesel blend as compared to low sulphur high-speed diesel (LSHSD), rather the emission level was found to be less. The reduction in CO₂ was found to be around 7% and the total life cycle reduction of CO₂ by life cycle analysis was measured to be around 21%, as the biodiesel from soya extract had a reduction of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions by 70%.

Following the successful initiative, the Directorate General of Shipping has approved biofuels trials for the rest of Ambuja Cement’s fleet, which are mainly deployed on the Indian coastal route.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has received the 2021 Energy Star Partner of the Year award from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy. It is the second year in a row the association has been recognised in this way. Each year, the Energy Star program recognises a group of businesses and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy achievements.

“The PCA and its members are proud to be recognised for continuously improving energy efficiency to reduce emissions,” said PCA President and chief executive officer Michael Ireland. “The cement and concrete industry is leading the way towards a more sustainable future as PCA and its members are developing an industry roadmap across the entire value chain to reach carbon neutrality by 2050."

In addition to PCA’s Partner of the Year recognition, two PCA member companies, CalPortland and Cemex USA, earned corporate Partner of the Year awards and 13 US cement plants earned Energy Star certification for superior energy performance in 2020.

Germany: Beumer has enlarged its stake in logistics software provider Codept. The company’s product offers warehouse management and fulfilment throughout Europe. The start-up company was founded with the support from the Berlin-based, autonomous company builder Beam, a spin-off of Beumer Group

Managing Director Felix Ostwald said "We are happy to seal a long-term partnership with Beumer. During the past two years we have cooperated successfully and are therefore glad to intensify this cooperation."

Kazakhstan: Sharcem, part of Singapore-based International Cement Group (ICG), plans to acquire US$16.3m-worth of cement assets in Kazakhstan. The Business Times newspaper has reported that the sellers are Kazakhcement and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan. Kazakhcement currently operates the 1.0Mt/yr Shar plant in Charsk, East Kazakhstan. ICG said that the opportunity presented an ‘attractive’ foothold in the growing Central Asian market. The acquisition is scheduled for completion by 31 May 2021 once the conditions of the sales and purchase agreement are finalised.

Philippines: Eagle Cement recorded full-year consolidated net sales of US$286m in 2020, down by 30% year-on-year from US$408m in 2019. The company said that it recorded a stronger performance in the second half of 2020, according to the Manila Times newspaper. Second-half sales fell by 14% year-on-year to US$165m. Its full-year net income fell by 44% to US$70.1m from US$124m.

Chief executive officer Paul Ang said "The halting of our operations due to pandemic-related restrictions took a hit on our results in the first half of 2020 but the remaining half proved that we are well-positioned to bounce back. We saw improvement in our volume and we are able to bring down our production cost in 2020.” He added "We will continue to work on aggressive marketing and better pricing strategies for this year and this will be complemented by focusing on cost control initiatives in our operations, which will enable us to deliver better returns in 2021."

Poland: Italy-based Bedeschi has won a contract with China-based Nanjing Kisen International Engineering, part of China National Building Materials, to carry out equipment supply for the modernisation of crushing and storage facilities at a Lafarge Polska cement plant in Poland. The supplier says that it will provide a crushing system featuring two RI 450/15000 double rollers and two Pal SP 130/18 portal reclaimers for raw materials storage.