Global Cement News

French Guiana: 27 of 30 workers at Ciments Guyainais’ Rémire-Montjoly grinding plant in Cayenne went on strike on 12 June 2023. The strikers advised management that they launched strike action because the current direction of the company is ‘disastrous.’ They have requested that senior representatives of parent company Grupo Argos attend a meeting with them.

Portail des Outre-mer News has reported that Ciments Guyainais holds a 100% market share in French Guiana. It supplied 107,000t of cement to customers in 2022, up by 8.6% year-on-year from 98,500t in 2021.

US: Holcim US has joined the New York Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) program as part of its plans to enter Purchase Power Agreements (PPA) so that it can use more renewable energy sources. The scheme is intended to help support its investment in on-site renewable energy generation.

Atl Martinez, the Vice President of Procurement at Holcim North America, said “Holcim US is focused on driving significant progress to meet our Green Growth Strategy goals, so we consistently evaluate our environmental impact and opportunities to incorporate more sustainable solutions into our operations.” He added, “Through the New York VDER program, we support not only our ongoing investment in on-site generation but also community solar projects that help drive greener outcomes for all.”

The company will host three separate solar arrays on Holcim's non-mineable aggregate sites. These sites, operating in conjunction with various other offsite arrays within the Holcim VDER agreement, are expected to generate more than 80GWh/yr of energy. Energy generated from these sites will effectively power seven aggregate and cement sites through renewable energy credits.

Other work by Holcim US towards net zero includes its participation in the Northeast Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub program. The company has also expanded its renewable portfolio to include a 40MW battery storage system and 78MW of solar arrays in Ohio, Maryland and Arkansas. In late 2022, it entered into its first virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

US: Beumer Group has acquired the Hendrik Group for an undisclosed sum. It plans to expand its portfolio of bulk material transport with a focus on alternative fuels and raw materials for both the cement and mining sectors. The technology it is buying will also give it capabilities in the bulk handling of hazardous materials.

Markus Schmidt, the chief executive officer of Beumer Corporation, said “The Hendrik Group specialises in the efficient and environmentally friendly transport of bulk materials. This aligns very well with our goals of bringing sustainable products to the market and improving our customers’ carbon footprint.”

The Hendrik Group is a US-based manufacturer of air-supported belt conveyors. It was founded in 1983 by Henk Hartsuiker and is based in Woodbury, Connecticut.

UK: Cemcor has installed a new US$7.54m bag filter at its Cookstown cement plant in County Tyrone. The system will detect signs of bag damage and isolate the affected row of bags for either online maintenance or, if the damage is minor, resealing with process dust.

The Irish News has reported that managing director David Millar said “We are forward thinking at Cemcor and understood it was time to put our money on the line and invest in the plant's efficiencies and sustainable outputs, to protect the environment around us and future-proof the plant itself."

Bolivia: State-owned gas and oil company YPFB has commenced gas supply to Potosí via its Sucre-Potosí gas pipeline, which underwent a 32% capacity expansion to 4.15Mm³/day. Página Siete News has reported that the expansion cost US$5.8m. YPFB said that it can now increase gas allocations in accordance with customers' contracts.

Empresa Publica Productiva Cementos de Bolivia (ECEBOL) is scheduled to commission its upcoming 1.3Mt/yr Potosí cement plant in June 2023. YPFB holds a contract to supply 337,000m³/yr of natural gas to the plant. YPFB says that the expanded Sucre-Potosí pipeline will help to boost cement production in Bolivia, both to supply domestic demand and to establish an export market.