Global Cement News

India: Nuvoco Vistas has commissioned a 1.2Mt/yr cement mill at its Haryana Bhiwani cement plant in Haryana. This expansion will help Nuvoco Vistas to raise its production volumes in Northern India and to diversify its product offering.

Managing director Jayakumar Krishnaswamy said “We are set to seize the opportunities. We continue to emphasise quality and innovation, and secure a larger market share in the North while retaining our leadership position in the East. On the ready-mix concrete end of the value chain, we have also commissioned five new plants in the current fiscal, bringing our total to 56 plants pan-India.”

Denmark: FLSmidth has discussed its decision to sell FLSmidth Cement. The company said that the cement and mining industries it serves have diverged, along with the appropriate operating models which best serve them. The continuing combination of FLSmidth Cement and FLSmidth’s mining business now presents ‘more operational friction than benefit.’ The supplier took ‘careful consideration’ of the best interests of all parties affected by the separation.

FLSmidth built its first cement plant in 1887, and pioneered the use of optimisation software in 1969. The FLSmidth Cement digital leadership team will now focus on delivering cement-specific smart and connected services for its customers.

FLSmidth Cement president Christopher Ashworth said “We have proven our ability to embrace change, and the prospect of new ownership will be no different. Working together as a team, we will ensure continued success by staying focused on our customers. Furthermore, our core mission remains: driving the green transition with both new technologies and helping existing plants optimise their operations.” Ashworth added “FLSmidth made its name as a full flowsheet provider of cement plants. It is a history that we value and will continue to build on. But today’s cement market is a vastly different world with vastly different challenges than what has gone before. It therefore requires a different operating paradigm that moves away from a projects-based approach to focus on specific products and services. The pure play strategy thus frees us to adapt to the specific market challenges facing our industry and prioritise the supply of core offerings. The prospect of operating under new ownership only reinforces our current transition.”

Kyrgyzstan: The state-owned Bishkek heat and power plant has secured a US$437,000 contract to supply its waste ash and slag to two cement plants in Kemin, Chüy Region. The cement producers party to the contract will be responsible for extraction and transport, commencing in August 2024.

The Bishkek heat and power plant has previously invested US$280,000 in clearing its waste dump. The government says that it has also received interest from a China-based autoclave aerated concrete blocks producer in its waste.

Switzerland: Holcim has appointed Miljan Gutovic as its new CEO, effective 1 May 2024. Gutovic will replace Jan Jenisch, who will continue in his role as chair, for which he is set to stand for re-election at the group’s upcoming 2024 Annual General Meeting. Jenisch is also tasked with leading the planned US listing of Holcim's North American business.

Miljan Gutovic has served on Holcim’s Group Executive Committee since 2018, including as its regional head of Middle East and Africa, regional head of Europe and head of operational excellence. Holcim said that Gutovic’s area leadership helped to strengthen its market positions and deliver industry-leading margins. He also succeeded in advancing decarbonisation as a driver of profitable growth. Prior to joining Holcim as head of marketing and innovation in March 2018, Gutovic spent 12 years with construction chemicals producer Sika, where he became area manager Sika Middle East in January 2016. Gutovic has a civil engineering background and holds a PhD in Engineering from the University of Technology Sydney, Australia.

Jan Jenisch said "I am very pleased that the board has appointed Miljan as the new CEO of Holcim. He is a highly qualified successor who has played an instrumental role in Holcim’s successful transformation to become the leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions. Miljan has strengthened our business with record profitability in Europe, closing strategic transactions and building winning teams. I am honoured to stand for re-election as the chair of the board and to lead the planned US listing of Holcim’s North America business. I will continue to dedicate all my efforts to the future of Holcim and all our stakeholders.”

Miljan Gutovic said "I thank the board of directors for trusting me to lead Holcim into its next chapter of success. As a civil engineer who is passionate about the construction industry, Holcim is the best company to be part of. With decarbonisation and advanced technologies transforming how we build, there has never been a more exciting time for our sector. I look forward to working with the Holcim teams around the world to advance our leadership.”

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has launched EvoBuild, a new brand for its range of low-carbon and circular products. It intends to apply globally consistent criteria and tiering for its sustainable products and aims to set new standards for decarbonised products. All countries in which the company is present will gradually integrate their sustainable products into the EvoBuild portfolio.

Dominik von Achten, chair of the managing board of Heidelberg Materials, said “After rolling out our new corporate brand Heidelberg Materials in more than 20 countries, harmonising our strong sustainable product portfolio on a global level is the next logical and important step.” He continued, “We recently introduced our EvoZero brand for the world’s first carbon captured net-zero cement. Now, we are adding EvoBuild to the Evo brand family with a new framework for all products that are characterised by their special contribution to carbon reduction and circularity. This also reflects the strong focus of our business activities on sustainable solutions for our customers.” Nicola Kimm, the chief sustainability officer at Heidelberg Materials added that creating the brand was, “an important step towards achieving one of our key targets on the way to net zero as we aim to generate 50% of our revenue with sustainable products by 2030.”

Products in the EvoBuild range will be available in all business lines and are either low-carbon (cement and concrete), circular (concrete) or feature a combination of both attributes. Low-carbon products must provide a CO₂ reduction of at least 30% compared to the reference value. Circular products must contain at least 30% recycled aggregates, or they must reduce material requirements by at least 30%.