Global Cement News

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has reported a 250% rise in production volumes to 19,640t in the first half of 2025, compared to 7833t in the first half of 2024. The result also exceeded the company’s total 2024 output of 16,269t. The company supplied its products to more than 130 construction sites across France during the period. It said that the result was primarily driven by a ‘strengthened partnership’ network and the successful diversification of targeted markets.

Zimbabwe: The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) has called on the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to suspend operations on a US$1bn cement project in Magunje, Mashonaland West, citing ‘a spiralling crisis’ of human rights abuses, forced displacements and environmental harm, according to Pindula News. The project is led by Labenmon Investments, in partnership with China-based West International Holding. It is expected to produce 0.9Mt/yr of cement and 1.8Mt/yr of clinker. The project will reportedly create 5000 jobs and spur local development, but CNRG has raised concerns on behalf of local communities.

There have been reports that communities have been forcefully removed from their ancestral lands and graves of relatives ‘desecrated’ in the wake of mining developments. The group also raised concerns about alleged ‘fraudulent consultations,’ with legally required village meetings bypassed and affected communities excluded from decision-making processes. The newspaper also reported that eight villagers from Kapere were arrested for standing up to the mining project and continue to be summoned to the court despite the complainants failing to appear. CNRG staff members also reportedly faced threats from the Zimbabwe National Army while conducting an inspection in Kemapondo village.

There are also reports of the local Magunje Dam being polluted by the cement plant and of fires sparked during land clearing exercises, which have razed farmlands. There are also concerns of labour violations, with employees allegedly working in dangerous conditions, below the minimum wage and without formal contracts. The Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union has escalated the matter to the Labour Court.

Mali: Three Indian nationals working at the Diamond Cement plant in Kayes were kidnapped after armed assailants carried out a coordinated attack on the facility on 1 July 2025. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the incident was part of a broader wave of violence targeting multiple military and government sites across western and central Mali.

India’s embassy in the capital city of Bamako is reportedly coordinating with local authorities, law enforcement and plant management, and is in contact with the families of the victims. The MEA condemned the attack as a ‘deplorable act of violence’ and called on Malian authorities to ensure the hostages’ safe and swift release. It also urged Indian citizens in Mali to remain vigilant and exercise extreme caution.

Myanmar: The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement will distribute more than US$250,000-worth of cement, funded by the National Disaster Management Committee, to repair homes damaged by the 28 March 2025 earthquake, according to Eleven Myanmar news. The earthquake affected 54 townships in eight regions and states.

At a meeting of the Myanmar Cement Manufacturers Association, its chair said that it would coordinate with local plants to produce and distribute cement, and hold market fairs in Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay to ensure supply to the general public. The Union Minister added that assistance would be given to damaged plants, specifically in obtaining spare parts and raw materials.

It’s been a busy period at FLSmidth in Denmark with the announced sale of its Air Pollution Control business this week. This has followed the divestment of its cement business and its headquarters in Valby in late June 2025.

The Denmark-based company has moved towards mining over the last decade. In the mid-2010s, revenue from its cement business was higher than its mining division. This started to change in 2017 when it acquired part of Sandvik Mining Systems. The purchase of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions’ mining business followed in 2021. The focus on mining then became more overt with the announcement of so-called “pure play strategies” for its mining and cement divisions in 2023. The public decision to sell the cement business came in early 2024. That year the cement division contributed about one fifth of group order intake, revenue and earnings. For more on the background to the decision to divest read Global Cement Weekly’s commentary in January 2024.

US-based private equity company Pacific Avenue Capital Partners was revealed as the buyer for the cement division on 20 June 2025. The value of the deal was presented as a total initial consideration of €75m and a further conditional deferred cash consideration of up to €75m. This latter payment appears to be based on undisclosed criteria. The cement division reported revenue of €596m and adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €54m in 2024. The divestment is expected to close in the second half of 2025 subject to the regulatory approval and so on.

However, other sales connected to FLSmidth’s cement business have also been occurring. A deal to sell its Non-Core Activities segment to KOCH Solutions was announced in June 2023. This includes a mixture of intellectual property for port and terminal equipment, stockyard systems and pipe conveyors. It also covers order backlog, employees and facilities. No purchase price has been revealed. Completion was originally planned for the end of 2024 but it has been put back to the end of 2025. In July 2023 the sale of its Advanced Filtration Technologies (AFT) filter media business to Micronics was declared. No price for the divestment was disclosed but a net gain of around €13m was reported in the company’s annual report.

Jump forward to 2024 and the divestment of MAAG gears and drives was swiftly announced and then completed in the first quarter to Sweden-based investment company Solix Group. As before no price was publicised but a net gain of around €3.75m was reported. Now, in 2025, the group signed a deal to sell its headquarters at Valby in Denmark for around €98m. The company has been based in the town since 1899 and the building in question at Vigerslev Allé was inaugurated in 1956. The company is planning to move to a new headquarters in Copenhagen later in 2025. This week the sale of its Air Pollution Control business to UK-based investors Rubicon Partners has been announced. It said that since 2020 the company has gradually been divesting businesses related to air pollution control. This latest sale is the last part of that process.

So that appears to be it for FLSmidth’s involvement in the cement sector beyond the quarry gates. The divestments have occurred in a piecemeal fashion rather than one single outright transaction. The Non-Core Activities and Advanced Filtration Technologies (AFT) segments are being sold to manufacturers. By contrast MAAG gears and drives, the Air Pollution Control business and the remainder of the cement business are being sold to investment companies. We’ll have to wait a few years to work out the implications of all of this.