Global Cement News

India: Police have raided a factory near Cuttack, Odisha that has allegedly been selling repackaged cement. The unit purchased the franchise of a well-known cement brand and then used cement from damaged bags of the consignment to prepare unapproved mixtures, according to Odisha TV. The cement was then repackaged and supplied along with the original cement packets.

Up to 7500 fake cement bags, 300 bags of different cement brands and machinery was seized during the raid. The owner of the factory, Lalit Kumar Jain, was also arrested. He has disputed the allegations.

Bahrain: The United Cement Company (UCC) has resumed importing cement from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. UCC chief executive Faisal Shehab said that since the Saudi government lifted cement tariffs in February 2018 it had imported up to 60,000t of cement, according to the Gulf Daily news newspaper. Shehab estimated that his company supplies 70% of the construction market in Bahrain.

Imports from Saudi Arabia were disrupted when the Saudi government allowed cement to be exported to other countries in March 2017. However, new tariffs were introduced at the same time. Following the opening of exports the price rose and Bahrain was forced to source cement from other countries including the UAE. Previously, Bahrain had exclusive access to imports of cement from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement’s sales fell by 9.6% year-on-year to US$73m in the first quarter of 2018 from US$80.8m in the same period in 2017. Its net profit fell by 2.9% to US$27.2m from US$28m. It blamed the falling sales and profit on decreased demand.

Spain: The Port of Alicante is undergoing a Euro3m upgrade to build a new dock that can support larger vessels. Once completed the upgrade will allow ships with a length of up to 240m to dock, according to the Diario Informacion newspaper. Previously the port could only support ships of up to 165m. The site processes large volumes of cement and clinker and dust mitigation measures are also being installed.

Philippines: Austria’s Starlinger has installed its 300th conversion line for Ad*Star bags at Sakomoto International Packaging’s plant in Caloocan City near Manila. The ad*starKON line was delivered as part of two sack conversion lines for the client. Sakomoto International Packaging supplies the local cement industry with Ad*Star sacks made of polypropylene fabric.