Global Cement News

UK: Breedon Group has appointed Amit Bhatia as its non-executive deputy chairman with immediate effect. Bhatia joined Breedon’s board as a non-executive director in August 2016, following the group’s acquisition of Hope Construction Materials. He is a director of Abicad Holding, a shareholder in Breedon, and vice chairman of Queens Park Rangers FC.

Spain: LafargeHolcim Spain has appointed Alberto del Valle as its director of Human Resources and Communications. Del Valle, an industrial engineer trained at the Charles III University of Madrid, holds over 15 years of experience in the construction industry. In 2008 he became the Director of Compensation and Benefits for Holcim Spain, before later becoming the Compensation and Benefits Manager Europe Region for LafargeHolcim in 2014 and the Career and Talent Manager Europe and Trading at LafargeHolcim Europe in 2016. His latest position also sees him become a member of the management committee of LafargeHolcim Spain.

Thailand: Amir Reza Sinai has been appointed as the managing director of Beumer Group’s subsidiary in Thailand. The local company, which has 59 employees, acts as Beumer’s regional headquarters in South East and East Asia, where it covers the divisions Conveying & Loading Systems and Palletising & Packaging Systems. It also provides solutions for the cement industry.

Prior to working for Beumer, Amir Reza Sinai was the chief executive officer of the Indonesian subsidiary of a global plant engineering and construction company. He joined Beumer’s Thai subsidiary in early 2017, and for almost a year he headed the company’s office in Jakarta, Indonesia. He took up his current post on 1 January 2018.

Rwanda: Upgrade work at Cimerwa’s plant at Bugarama has led to local cement prices rising by up to nearly 50%. The plant has been shut for nearly a month for improvements to its mill, heat exchanger bypass, clinker cooler plate, bag filter and limestone weigh feeder, according to the New Times newspaper. However, the work has been delayed by bad weather and delays waiting for imported parts to arrive.

The total cost of the upgrade project is US$3.3m. An unnamed German contractor has been involved with the work. The plant has a nominal production capacity of 0.6Mt/yr but it currently produces 0.5Mt/yr. Normal supply from the plant is expected to resume by the end of May 2018.

Pakistan: GE Power has won a contract to design, manufacture and deliver a 132/6.3kV air-insulated switchgear (AIS) grid station to support a new production line being built at Power Cement’s plant in Nooriabad. The project is expected to be completed in early 2019. It will supply the cement plant with a reliable electricity supply from the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company.