Global Cement News

US: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua’s (GCC) Rapid City plant in South Dakota is working with Black Hills Energy to use wind power for around 50% of its electricity requirements. GCC has joined Black Hills Energy’s Renewable Ready Program, which will supply energy for 15 years.

Black Hills Energy will build a wind-power generating facility in 2020 to supply the plant located near Cheyenne in Wyoming. The Corriedale Wind Energy Project is anticipated to produce energy by the first quarter of 2021 that will be shared with subscribers in South Dakota and Wyoming. The program was designed for large commercial and industrial customers and governmental agencies in the company’s electric service territories in South Dakota and Wyoming.

“By choosing low-cost renewable energy resources to power our business, we’re able to advance our business goals and sustainability objectives while also supporting the expansion of affordable, renewable energy development in the region,” said Ron Henley, US division president of GCC.

Trinidad & Tobago: Trinidad Cement has been granted permission by the government to resume operations at its Claxton Bay integrated plant. It closed production in early April 2020 due to coronavirus-related government advice. General manager Guillermo Rojo said that the subsidiary of Cemex has implemented multiple protocols, including temperature testing at all access points and the activation of a local Rapid Response team.

Kenya: Bamburi Cement’s profit before tax grew by 17% year-on-year to US$6.9m in 2019 from US$5.8m in 2018. It attributed the result to cost cutting and an optimisation initiative under its ‘Building for Growth’ plan. It said that this was achieved in spite of a decline in the Kenyan cement market and lower selling prices.

“Despite market challenges, including the absence of sales to Rwanda through Hima Cement, the shelving of major infrastructural projects such as Phase 2B of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project in Kenya, contraction of the Kenyan market and price erosion fuelled by aggressive competitive pressure, both Bamburi Cement and Hima Cement grew share while sustaining respective market leadership,” said Bamburi Cement’s Group Managing Director Seddiq Hassani. He added that Bamburi Cement and Hima Cement remained resilient despite ‘challenging’ economic conditions.

The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim reported an increase in finance costs due to debt related to a capacity expansion project commissioned by Hima Cement in 2018. An impairment of assets in Rwanda was caused by its Hima Cement subsidiary in Uganda being unable to ‘access’ the market in Rwanda. The closure of the border between Uganda and Rwanda in February 2019 also further negatively impacted growth.

In Kenya, overall sales were negatively affected by the shift of volumes previously exported to Uganda from Bamburi Cement, following the commissioning of Hima Cement capacity expansion project in 2018, further reducing despatches from Bamburi Cement. In Uganda, although overall sales were negatively impacted by the inability to access the Rwanda market, Hima Cement domestic volumes grew.

Gabon: Data from the Directorate General of Economy and Tax Policy shows that national cement production rise by 10.6% year-on-year to 0.54Mt in 2019. The improving trend has been attributed to better use of existing manufacturing equipment and the resumption of activity at the CimGabon plant in Ntoum, according to the L’Union newspaper. Clinker imports also grew, by 14.6% to 0.44Mt. Overall cement sales increased by 8.5% to 0.53Mt.

Morocco: Ciments du Maroc has completed its acquisition of Atlantic Ciment and Cimsud from the Anouar Invest Group following an agreement originally signed in July 2019. The subsidiary of HeidelbergCement now owns 100% of the capital of the companies. Atlantic Ciment is building an integrated cement production plant in the province of Settat and Cimsud operates a grinding unit in Laâyoune with a capacity of 0.5Mt/yr. The cement producer said that the acquisition was part of its strategy to develop its cement, aggregates, and ready-mix concrete activities in Morocco.