Global Cement News

Canada/Netherlands: Eureka Shipping has taken possession of a new cement carrier called Tamarack from Holland Shipyards Group.

The 12,500dwt self-discharging cement carrier is designed specifically for the Great Lakes region in Canada that has been built to replace to older vessels. It is equipped with diesel-electric propulsion, featuring four generator sets, two 360-degree rudder propellers, and a bow thruster for added manoeuvrability. It also includes four dedicated cement cargo holds with a total capacity of 10,700m³, supported by high-efficiency loading and discharging systems. The Tamarack’s design includes engines capable of running on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). It is also prepared for shore power connectivity, enabling zero-emission operations in ports as the infrastructure evolves.

Germany: Vecoplan is investing over €5m to upgrade its manufacturing plant in Bad Marienberg. It has enlarged its Plant I by a total of 1900m² and purchased new production equipment. The engineering company is now adding assembly capacity and expanding its warehouse. Construction work on a new warehouse complex started in spring 2025 and is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2026.

“We are continuing to witness a high level of demand,” said Vecoplan’s CEO Werner Berens. “We’ve had to create additional space, especially in preassembly, to meet the growing need for our heavy machinery.”

Vecoplan manufactures machinery and plants for shredding, conveying and processing. It is headquartered in Germany and has subsidiaries in Austria, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the US and the UK.

Mexico: Cemex has reported a 5.3% year-on-year decrease in its sales to US$4.13bn for the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024. Its operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also fell by 10.5% to US$823m.

The company attributed the declines to challenging demand conditions in Mexico and the US and a difficult comparison base in 2024. In Mexico, this related to strong infrastructure spending in 2024 prior to national elections. Cemex noted that higher local currency prices in key markets and strong volume performance in its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region partially mitigated the results. The EMEA region recorded its highest-ever first-half operating EBITDA.

The company’s reports stated “Our operations in Europe continue progressing on decarbonisation with net CO₂ emissions in the quarter reaching a new record low of 418kg/t cement equivalent. Demand conditions continue to improve in the Middle East and Africa with volumes expanding at double-digit rates, fuelled by housing, non-residential projects and large infrastructure works.”

Cemex’s sales in Mexico fell by 23% to US$1.06bn in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the US$1.38bn in 2024. Domestic grey cement, ready-mixed concrete and aggregates sales volumes contracted by 16%, 15% and 19% respectively. In the US, Cemex blamed the drop on high rain levels in various places and continued poor performance of the residential market. Due to this sales fell by 6% to US$1.3bn.

Réunion (France): Teralta Ciments Réunion, the leading cement manufacturer in Réunion and a subsidiary of France’s Audemard Group, has inaugurated the first cement blending plant in the French overseas territory Réunion, with technical support from Swiss-based consulting firm QUADRA Trading. Located in Le Port, the industrial unit has an annual production capacity of over 0.2Mt/yr.

The project is intended to supply the market in Réunion with cements that have a CO₂ reduction of more than 65% while promoting the use of local materials. The first product manufactured by the plant is CEM II/B-V 32.5N CE NF cement, which has a 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to standard blends. Other cements to be produced at the site will use pozzolan and components from the circular economy including recycled concrete.

Argentina: An investment group presided over by Argentina-based businessman Marcelo Mindlin has moved one step closer to becoming the new owner of the cement company Loma Negra. The local group is negotiating the acquisition of Loma Negra shares that are currently in the hands of InterCement, the cement company of the Brazil-based holding company Camargo Corrêa. If the deal goes through, Mindlin will control 52% of Loma Negra’s shares, while the remaining shares are listed on the Buenos Aires and New York stock exchanges.

InterCement said in late July 2025 that it had reached an agreement in principle to negotiate the sale of the shares of Loma Negra, within the framework of a restructuring of its liabilities. The deadline for the completion of negotiations is 15 August 2025. Subsidiary Loma Negra is the leading cement producer in Argentina, with a market share of close to 45%. The company will celebrate its centenary in 2026.