Global Cement News

India: Ambuja Cements will invest US$286m in two cement carriers and eight clinker carriers. The company expects to finalise a shipbuilding contract within 15 days, with Cochin Shipyard and Swan Defence and Heavy Industries under consideration.

Each 38,500t Handymax cement carrier will cost US$45.8m, while each 9200t clinker carrier will cost US$22.9m. The clinker carriers will have a 30m beam, 4m draft and 150m length, increasing cargo capacity from the traditional 3000t to 9200t per trip.

Nigeria: ABC Transport has expanded its trucking capacity with a new fleet of heavy-duty bulk cement carriers. This follows the company's introduction of compressed natural gas trucks to improve cement haulage for Lafarge Africa. The new vehicles will transport cement from Lafarge's plant to construction sites nationwide, increasing ABC Transport’s bulk cement delivery capacity to 150,000t/yr.

The company has also acquired a site near Lafarge’s Cross River cement plant to streamline truck maintenance and turnaround efficiency.

India: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) will procure 10MW of solar power from Kilavikulam Rajalakshmi’s captive plant in Tamil Nadu. The producer will also acquire a 35% equity share in the solar power developer.

Kilavikulam Rajalakshmi is a special purpose vehicle for the 10MW solar project. Dalmia Cement said the acquisition will increase its renewable power supply as part of its commitment to RE100 by 2030 and becoming carbon negative by 2040.

Germany: Mills supplier Christian Pfeiffer has highlighted the contributions of women working in its operations on International Women’s Day 2025. The company called its woman managers, machine operators and researchers a ‘key pillar’ of its continuing success. Christian Pfeiffer says that it is committed to fostering the personal growth and career development of women. It added these women help to inspire others to join the ‘dynamic, forward-looking’ cement sector.

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has reported stable group revenues of €21.2bn in 2024, with its result from current operations (RCO) rising by 6% year-on-year to €3.2bn. Geographically, revenues remained steady at €9.5bn in Europe, increased by 2% year-on-year in North America to €5.3bn, declined by 4% in the Asia-Pacific region to €3.5bn, and remained stable at €2.3bn in the Africa-Mediterranean-Western Asia region.

The company states that it is ‘optimistic’ about the current year, and expects demand to stabilise in 2025, forecasting a RCO of €3.25bn - 3.55bn. It will release its full annual report at the end of March 2025.