Global Cement News

UK: Cemex UK will move its headquarters from Thorpe, Surrey to its offices in Rugby, Warwickshire from 1 July 2018. The new premises were the former global head offices for the Rugby Group until 2000. To date the Rugby offices have provided a regional centre for the company. From July 2018 the senior leadership team and all back-office functions such as taxation, communications and human resources will be based at Rugby, working alongside business areas such as the national customer service centre, Marketing and logistics.

“Rugby lies geographically at the centre of our UK business and with changing patterns of working such as increased working from home and from operational sites, it makes good business sense to consolidate our offices. Rugby and the Rugby brand are at the ‘heart’ of our business and the creation of the new headquarters will ensure greater efficiency and communication,” said Michel Andre, Country President, Cemex UK.

Spain: Cementos Molins has allocated Euro200m towards dismantling old production lines at its Sant Vicenç dels Horts plant near Barcelona. Kilns, towers, silos and obsolete buildings will be removed as part of the project, according to the La Vanguardia newspaper. The plant operates a single 1.4Mt/yr production line that was commissioned in 2010.

Algeria: Groupe des Ciments d’Algérie’s (GICA) aims to export 1 - 1.5Mt of cement in 2018. The Ministry of Industry and Mines said that the group has signed a deal to export 30,000t via its SODISMAC subsidiary, according to the Algeria Press Service. GICA is also in discussion with foreign partners to export other products such as limestone and gypsum. The cement company handles its exports via the ports of Arzew and Djendjen.

In 2017, the group recorded record cement production of nearly 14Mt compared with 12.6Mt in 2016. It exported 45,000t of cement in May 2018 under a contract with a total volume of 200,000t.

US: The first ship from McInnis Cement’s plant in Canada has docked at the company’s terminal in the Bronx, New York. The NACC Alicudi docked at the terminal in mid-June 2018. The event follows the start of commercial production at McInnis Cements’ plant in Port-Daniel–Gascons, Quebec in June 2017.

Italy: MDG Handling Solutions has been awarded the UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 certification for ‘Design, engineering, production control entrusted to third parties and after-sales support of solutions for handling and storage of solid materials.’ MDG says that the new certification allows it to be a ‘top class partner’ for all cement end users.

MDG Handling Solutions is a material handling project consultancy that provides engineering and procurement (EP) services, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services and supply of equipment. It was started by Davide Gambarotta in late 2017.