Global Cement News

Egypt: Suez Cement says it is the first grey cement company in Egypt and Africa to obtain an environmental product declaration (EPD) certificate in accordance with international ISO standard. Four certificates have been issued for cement products manufactured at the company’s Helwan, Kattameya and Suez integrated plants. These are: CEMII BP 42.5N; CEMIIIA 42.5N; CEMII AL 42.5N; and Masonry 12.5X.

“With this certification, our customers will be able to make an informed choice of one of the lowest carbon footprint materials and reduce the environmental impact of emissions in their investments,” said Mohamed Hegazy, the managing director of Suez Cement.

Pakistan: Germany-based Menzel Elektromotoren has revealed work on a replacement motor it has built for an unnamed cement plant in Pakistan. As part of the project it has designed a motor to fit a limited installation space that could drive the unit’s raw mill, another cement mill or a fan.

The engineering company’s solution was a compact slip ring motor in frame size 710 with the cooling system tailored to fit around a steel girder in the cement plant. To accommodate the existing couplings in two different sizes, Menzel designed the replacement motor with two shaft ends with different diameters. The motor output is configured to ensure efficient continuous operation in each of the three applications. The machine has a rated output of 4600kW and a rated voltage of 6300V. It complies with protection class IP55. At the customer's request, it was designed in cooling type IC 666, with permanent external ventilation of the inner and outer cooling circuit. Before delivery, Menzel also ran a load test in its in-house test field with the end-user attending via video streaming.

South Korea: Ssangyong Cement has ordered equipment from Germany-based KHD Humboldt Wedag as part of an upgrade to clinker production line five of the Donghae plant. The scope of supply for the contract includes: a Pyroclon R type calciner with Pyrotop mixing chamber; a Pyrorotor type alternative fuel combustion reactor; a Pyrobox type coal firing system for process start-up and operation balancing; replacement of stage four cyclones with new high-efficiency cyclones for calciner connection and an overall pressure drop reduction; a new kiln inlet chamber with orifice, kiln hood and tertiary air ducts; and a new Pyrofloor PFC 738AW type cooler with a Pyrocrusher PRC 420-4ES.

This project will be the fourth Pyrorotor installation at the Donghae plant. KHD’s scope includes the engineering and supply of mechanical equipment for the clinker production as well as electrical equipment for the overall modernisation of the production process. The project scope is the same as the modernisation contract of line four of Donghae plant, which was signed in February 2021 and currently is in commissioning. The commissioning of the modernised line five is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Gabon: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) and the United Cities and Local Government of Africa (UCLG Africa) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at Africa Climate Week 2022 that is intended to collaboration towards decarbonising cement and concrete industries in Africa. The MOU was signed by UCLG Africa’s Secretary General Jean-Pierre Elong-Mbassi and the GCCA’s Director of Concrete and Sustainable Construction Andrew Minson. The agreement was made during Africa Climate Week 2022 in Gabon and sets out how both parties will work together to strengthen stakeholder advocacy towards net zero and encourage local governments to take policy action towards decarbonisation targets.

Through this agreement the two organisations will work together towards building sustainable and resilient cities, with a focus on an initial first five pilot cities to scope out opportunities and challenges. The two parties will jointly organise events that strengthen advocacy for the involvement of local governments in decarbonisation. Both parties will also aim to help make low carbon cement manufacturing more attractive to investors in Africa, as well as stimulate demand for low-carbon concrete products and to cultivate a positive environment for circular and Net Zero manufacturing across Africa.

To reach these objectives, both parties will work to ensure African cities have more capacity to embrace innovative cement products and that these cities can be mobilised effectively to join the Net Zero by 2050 efforts. GCCA and UCLG Africa will also look to build stakeholder support for multi-level governance in urban planning and housing across Africa.

Ireland: Strong sales revenue and earnings growth from CRH’s America Materials and Building Products divisions have driven its performance in the first half of 2022. The group’s total revenue rose by 14% year-on-year to US$15bn in the first half of 2022 from US$13.2bn in the same period in 2021. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 21% to US$2.21bn from US$1.82bn. Its sales revenue of cement, lime and cement products grew by 5% to US$2.47bn.

The group’s America Materials division reported an increase in sales revenue and EBITDA of 17% to US$5.55bn and 12% to US$820m respectively. Cement sales in the region grew by 15% although lower activity was noted in Canada. The group’s Europe Materials division reported an increase in sales revenue and EBITDA of 5% to US$5.43bn and 4% to US$609m respectively. However the company said that before sales and earnings in the region grew by 14% on a like-for-like basis. The group’s Building Products division - which supplies architectural products, infrastructure products and construction accessories – performed particularly well compared to the other sectors.

Albert Manifold, the chief executive officer of CRH, said “CRH has delivered another strong performance with further growth in sales, EBITDA and margin despite a challenging and volatile cost environment. This performance reflects the continued execution of our integrated and sustainable solutions strategy.”