Global Cement News

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has appointed Miljan Gutovic as the Head of Region Middle East Africa and a member of its executive committee of LafargeHolcim. He succeeds Saâd Sebbar, who has left the company.

Gutovic, aged 39 years, is an Australian national with over 13 years of experience in the building materials sector. He joined LafargeHolcim in 2018 as head of marketing and Innovation after working for Sika. At Sika he worked as an Area Manager for the Middle East as well as General Manager for Australia. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Engineering from the University of Technology in Sydney.

India: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) has appointed Ujjwal Batria as its chief operating officer. Batria will be in charge of leading the company's sales, marketing, logistics, manufacturing, logistics, manufacturing and technical services departments, according to the Economic Times newspaper. He holds 33 years of industry experience with roles such as the chief executive officer (CEO) for Nuvoco Vistas (formerly Lafarge India) and positions at the cement divisions of Tata Steel and Century Textiles & Industries.

UAE: Raysut Cement has appointed Afzaal Qadri as the Plant Manager of its subsidiary Pioneer Cement Industries. Afzaal will report to Raysut’s chief executive officer (CEO) Joey Ghose. Qadri, aged 49 years, holds over 30 years of experience of the Cement Industry. He started his career in the cement industry in 1987 and has worked in various engineering and operational roles in the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan. Most recently he worked by HeidelbergCement in the US.

US: Ametek Brookfield has appointed Vicki Case as Global Marketing Director. She has spent the past 12 years working at Sealed Air in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. Most recently she worked as the VP Marketing, Global e-Commerce & Fulfillment Solutions for the company. Case is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering.

Botswana: The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry plans to restrict imports of cement following the introduction of new legislation. It will require 70% of cement to be sourced from local producers with only 30% allowed to be imported, according to the Weekend Post newspaper. The Control of Goods, Prices and Other Charges Act was announced in April 2018. An import permit scheme is scheduled to start in September 2018. The new regulations are intended to regulate trade with South Africa better.