Global Cement News

India: A contract worker has been killed in an accident at Ambuja Cement’s Maratha plant in Maharashtra. An apparent electrical problem in a wagon loading machine caused the incident that crushed the 32 year old worker, according to the IndustriAll union. The union says that mechanical problems had been reported previously in the plant’s packing unit. LafargeHolcim, the owner of Ambuja Cement, reported 86 fatalities at its sites in 2016.

Brazil: InterCement is considering listing its European and African operations on a stock market according to sources quoted by Reuters. The move has been discussed with investment banks and could take place in the second half of 2018. InterCement has refused to comment on the story. InterCement’s owner Camargo Corrêa was reported by local media to be looking for buyers for its cement business in 2017 to reduce its debts. Cement sales in Brazil dropped by 6.6% year-on-year to 53.8Mt in 2017.

Ghana: Ghacem has opened a 3000t cement terminal at Sefwi Dwenase in the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipality. The unit is the cement producer’s sixth terminal in the country, according to the Daily Guide newspaper. The subsidiary of Germany’s HeidelbergCement has also purchased new trucks to support the site.

US: Refractory manufacturer HarbisonWalker International has decided to close its plants at Oak Hill, Ohio and Sproul, Pennsylvania as it opens a new US$30m refractory plant at South Point, Ohio in early 2018. The closures will affect around 88 employees. Previously in 2016 the company negotiated an end to eleven months of industrial action at the Oak Hill site.

Algeria: Biskria Cement has started the kiln on its second new production line at its plant in Biskra. The 6000t/day line was supplied by China’s Sinoma. The Chinese plant builder announced the US$267m order in 2015. It included two production lines from raw materials to despatch. The cement producer operates three cement production lines at its plant with a production capacity of 4Mt/yr.