Global Cement News

Belgium: Stefan Borgas, the chief executive officer (CEO) of RHI Magnesita, has started working as the new president of the World Refractories Association (WRA). He succeeds François Wanecq, the former CEO of Vesuvius.

The WRA was founded in 2014 by refractory industry associations and multinational companies. The WRA constitutes a forum to debate regulatory issues affecting global trade, circulate aggregated industry statistics, promote the interests of the worldwide refractory industry, and act as a counterpart to other world industry organizations such as the World Steel Association. The WRA is composed of continental associations including Europe (PRE), Latin America (ALAFAR) and North America (TRI) as well as national associations from China (ACRI), India (IRMA) and Japan (JRA). Multinational companies are also direct members.

India: Binani Cement has received six bids in its sale process. Offers were received from UltraTech Cement, JSW Cement, Ramco Cement, HeidelbergCement India, Dalmia Cements and a pair of Indian investors, according to the Daily News & Analysis newspaper. The bids ranged from around US$630m to US$940m. However, each bid came with various clauses that made the committee of creditors refer them to a consultancy for evaluation.

Colombia: Holcim Colombia plans to launch its new US$30m cement grinding plant in Buga in late 2018 or early 2019. Originally the plant was scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2018. The company also intends to focus on infrastructure projects such as the country’s fourth generation road development scheme, airport renovations and an urban train scheme in Bogota, according to La Republica newspaper.

Belgium: Cembureau, the European cement association, has published a position paper outlining its stance European Commission’s plastics strategy. The association wants policymakers to ensure any plastic waste that has a calorific value that can be recovered as a fuel source is not landfilled. At present there are differences in waste management policies across the member states of the European Union.

Other points that Cemburea wants to highlight include: a ban on landfill of recoverable and recyclable waste; recognition that cement plants can treat different waste streams such as plastics and simultaneously recycle them as material in the manufacturing process of cement and recover them as energy; the specific relevance that co-processing offers the unique opportunity of a simultaneous energy and material recovery; and the potential to minimise investment costs in dedicated facilities.

In January 2018, the European Commission published a dedicated Plastics Strategy as part of the Circular Economy package. The strategy indicates that there is currently a low rate of recycling or reuse of plastics with most of it going to landfill or used in incinerators.

India: Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, has inaugurated JSW Cement’s plant at Salboni. The US$125m grinding plant has a production capacity of 2.4Mt/yr, according to the Press Trust of India. It started commercial production at the site in July 2017 with plans to manufacture Portland Slag Cement. The cement producer is already preparing upgrades at the unit including a US$15.6m captive power plant with a capacity of 18MW and a US$47m production capacity increase of 1.2Mt/yr.