Germany: Frank Siefert has been appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director of Claudius Peters Group. He also takes the role of managing director of Claudius Peters Projects. Siefert was previously with the Liebherr Group, a manufacturer of construction machinery, and brings with him a wealth of experience in the capital equipment sector. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering and has also held various senior positions in sales, technology and production during his career.

Kurt Herrmann has also been appointed as Managing Director - Global Sales, Claudius Peters Group and Managing Director Sales, Claudius Peters Projects. He joined the Claudius Peters group in 1991 and has held the position of Managing Director of Claudius Peters (China).

Germany: ThyssenKrupp has decided to retain Martina Merz as its chief executive officer (CEO) for a three year term from 1 April 2020. She was originally delegated to the position for a year. As part of the transition she will resign from the supervisory board.

The group has also decided to appoint Klaus Keysberg as its chief financial officer (CFO) following the resignation of Johannes Dietsch. Keysberg, who holds a PhD in business administration, will remain responsible for the materials businesses in addition to his new role as CFO. Plant Technology will in future be the responsibility of Martina Merz.

With these personnel changes the executive board of ThyssenKrupp now consists of only three members. In addition to Martina Merz as CEO and Klaus Keysberg as CFO, Oliver Burkhard will continue in his role as Chief Human Resources Officer and Labor Director.

Brazil: Germany-based Aumund subsidiary Aumund Brazil has appointed Paulo Lima its chief executive officer (CEO). Lima brings many years’ mechanical engineering experience, specialising in conveying technology in cement and other industries. He previously worked for Aumund Brazil in leading sales positions between 1996 and 2000 and from 2004 to 2008.

Uzbekistan: The total volume of cement produced in January and February 2020 in Uzbekistan was 1.02Mt, down by 20% year-on-year from 1.22Mt in the first two months of 2019. February 2020 production rose by 16% month-on-month and fell by 13% year-on-year, to 551,000t from 474,000t in January 2020 and 659,000t in February 2019.

Uzbekistan Newsline has reported that the level of utilisation of Uzbekistan’s 11.1Mt/yr cement production capacity in January and February 2020 was 55%.

China: Asia Cement (China) Holdings’ whole-year net profit for 2019 was US$444m, up by 30% year-on-year from US$341m in 2018. Revenues grew by 11%, to US$1.78bn from US$1.60bn in 2018.

The group said that it expects cement demand to shrink in early 2020, recovering in early/mid-2020 to remain ‘at peak season level’ into late 2020, according to Reuters.

Spain: Andalusian cement demand typified the slight slow down of the Spanish construction sector in the first two months of 2020, with a fall of 4.6% year-on-year to 435,000t from 441,000t in 2019.

Work continues as normal however Arquitectura y Sostenibilidad Online newspaper has reported that Andalusian Cement Manufacturers Association (AFCA) president Isidoro Miranda forecasts a sharp drop in consumption in March 2020. He said, "We support the communiqué of the Spanish Confederation of Associations of Manufacturers of Construction Products (CEPCO), regarding not stopping the works.” He called construction a ‘pillar of the Spanish economy,’ adding, “It is of utmost importance that all current works, including infrastructure works, maintain their activity.”

China: Anhui Conch Cement recorded a net profit of US$4.77bn in 2019, 13% higher than its 2018 net profit of US$4.23bn in 2019. Revenues rose by 22% year-on-year to US$22.2bn from US$18.2bn in 2018.

India: Several cement producers have responded to the coronavirus pandemic with plant closures. Reuters has reported that India Cements has temporarily closed all of its plants. JK Lakshmi Cement has suspended cement production at its 4.2Mt/yr integrated plant in Jaykaypuram, Rajasthan and at three grinding plants. JK Lakshmi subsidiary Udaipur Cement Works has shut its 1.6Mt/yr integrated Udaipur plant, also in Rajasthan.

Dalmia Bharat refractory production subsidiary Dalmia-OCL’s CEO Sameer Dagpaal told the Business Standard newspaper that he expected the virus’ impact on the company to be ‘relatively limited,’ with a slowdown in demand from the cement sector lasting at most ‘a couple of months.’ He noted that there had been ‘some minor supply-side disruptions relating to a shortage of raw materials from China.’

On 24 March 2020 the all-India total number of coronavirus cases crossed 500, with nine dead, according to Al Jazeera. 200 cases are in the western states of Maharashtra and Kerala.

Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan’s cement sector produced 3.30Mt of cement in 2019, down by 1.4% year-on-year from 3.35Mt in 2018. Ready-mix concrete volumes rose by 29% to 1.8Mt in 2019, from 1.4Mt in 2018.

The total value of building materials produced in 2019 rose by 5.0% to US$454m from US$432m in 2018.

Denmark: FLSmidth has reported ‘increasing disruptions to customers’ and its own operations’ and higher costs due to ‘more complex logistics and a weaker fixed cost absorption’ following the coronavirus outbreak. It says that around half of employees are working remotely.

FLSmidth continues its business improvement initiatives launched in 2019 and has implemented a capital expenditure (CAPEX) reduction, salary adjustment postponement and hiring freezes.