Global Cement News

Austria: Stefan Kern has been appointed as the head of A TEC Group. He succeeded Wolfgang Hammer on 1 April 2018. Kern started at A TEC in August 2013 and was responsible for sales activities in Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and South Africa. In 2016 he joined the management board. Kern originally studied chemical engineering in Vienna.

Turkey: Göltaş Çimento and AS Çimento are being investigated by the Turkish Competition Authority for alleged price fixing of cement. The government body says that its preliminary investigation in early May 2018 has discovered ‘serious’ findings. Further investiation will follow to examine whether the law has been broken and whether fines are applicable. Both cement producers operate plants in the southwest of the country.

Bangladesh: The local cement industry has a cement production utilisation rate of 54%. Cement consumption was 27.1Mt in 2017, according to the Daily Star newspaper. However, the country had a production capacity of 50.2Mt/yr in 2017 from around 45 companies of various sizes. Production capacity is expected to grow to 80Mt/yr by 2019.

Masud Khan, the chief executive officer of Crown Cement Group, forecasts that cement consumption will grow by 8 – 10% by 2022. He blamed the local oversupply on an overpopulated market. Other issues the local industry faces include a recent rise in the price of raw materials, port congestion which causes delay in unloading raw materials, a lack of smaller ships, local currency depreciation, low retail price and low load limits on local roads.

Uganda: The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives has backed down from allowing bulk imports of cement into the country following price stabilisation. The market faced soaring prices in April 2018, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper. The ministry said that prices have returned to the level they were before the crisis. In April 2018 the government asked cement producers to resolve a local cement shortage. Local companies Hima Cement and Tororo Cement blamed the problem on reduced electricity supplies to their plants.

Peru: Invercem plans buy equipment for a 0.25Mt/yr cement grinding plant in August 2018. The president of the company, Victor de la Torre, will travel to Spain to finalise the deal, according to the Gestión newspaper. Previously the project was scheduled to start in late 2017. Invercem imports cement from HeidelbergCement at Salaverry near Trujillo. It then bags and sells it locally under the Qhuna brand.