Global Cement News

Colombia: Cemex Colombia has appointed Juana María Serna as Commercial Vice President. She previously worked as the Vice President for Strategic Planning for Cemex Colombia & Peru and the VP for Builders and Urbanization Solutions for Cemex Colombia from late 2020. Earlier in her career she worked for Cemex Group in Mexico, becoming Global Customer Experience Director in 2018. She started working for Cemex in Colombia in 2007. Serna holds an undergraduate degree in Architecture and a Master of Business Administration from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá.

India: Wonder Cement has appointed Sanjiv Waid as State Head. He previously worked as a Sales Marketing Manager for Ambuja Cements and has held roles with Nuvoco Vistas and ACC. He holds a bachelor’s in Industrial Chemistry from Delhi University.

India: Gebr. Pfeiffer India has appointed Sridhar Shanmugha Sundaram as Senior Vice President, Head of Sales & Marketing.

Sundaram previously worked for FLSmidth for over 30 years. He started in the early 1990s as an Engineer – Plant Engineering and later became Manager - Cement Project Sales in India in the mid-2000s. Amongst other roles he was the Head of Project Sales in India in the mid-2010s and his last position with FLSmidth was as Vice President, Head of Global Product Line - Grinding and Gears from early 2023. Sundaram holds an undergraduate degree in Engineering from the College of Engineering Guindy in Chennai and an Executive Masters of Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School in Denmark.

Gabon: President Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon invited Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of Dangote Industries, to invest in Gabon's cement sector during a visit to the country. Discussions centred on potential cement plant investments to bolster Gabon's infrastructure development. President Nguema noted that the collabora­tion with Dangote Industries would bring significant ben­efits, including job creation, technology transfer and en­hanced industrial capacity. This potential investment aims to strengthen economic ties between Nigeria and Gabon and enhance Gabon's industrial capacity, with further discussions planned in the coming months to finalise the investment strategy.

Dangote said "We are excited about the opportunity to invest in Gabon. Our goal is to contribute to the country’s economic diversification and industrialisation efforts. By leveraging our expertise in cement production, we aim to support Gabon’s infrastructure sector."

Southern Africa: PPC has entered a strategic cooperation agreement with Sinoma Overseas Development to improve efficiency, modernise technology, cut production costs, shift to alternative fuels and expand capacity in PPC’s operations in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.