Global Cement News

China: West China Cement has appointed Cao Jianshun as its chief executive officer (CEO) and as an executive director. He succeeds Ma Weiping, who has resigned for personal reasons. Cao’s appointment is for one year with the option for re-election.

Cao, aged 50 years, has worked in the cement sector since the early 1990s. He joined Yaobai Special Cement Group in 1994 and eventually became the general manager in the Ankang region of Yaobai Group from 2013 to 2015. He was the general manager of Chzhungtsai Mohir Cement from 2016 to 2018 and vice president of International Cement Investment Management Company until early 2023. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics management from Central Party School of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee and a master’s degree in business administration from Northwest University in China.

India: Grasim Industries is preparing to appoint Ananya Birla, and Aryaman Vikram Birla as directors. The pair are the children of company chair KM Birla, who is also the chair of the parent company, Aditya Birla. Both companies are parent organisations to UltraTech Cement.

Ananya Birla is a musician and a businesswoman. She released her first single ‘Livin the Life’ in 2016 after signing with Universal Music India. She also set up her first company Svatantra Microfin, a microfinance institution, in 2012.

Aryaman Vikram Birla is a former professional cricketer who played for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. His work with Aditya Birla has included helping to steer the group’s TMRW venture in the fashion and lifestyle sectors. He has also invested in the hospitality business and worked with the group’s venture capital fund, Aditya Birla Ventures.

The board of Grasim Industries has also appointed Yezdi Piroj Dandiwala as an independent director. Dandiwala is a corporate lawyer. He is a partner at Mulla & Mulla and Craigie Blunt & Caroe, Advocates & Solicitors. He holds experience in corporate and commercial transactions.

All of these appointments are subject to approval by the board.

Australia: Boral recorded sales of US$1.17bn during the first half of its 2023 financial year, up by 12% year-on-year from US$1.05bn during the first half of its 2022 financial year. Cement sales were US$128m, 11% of group sales. The producer’s net profit fell by 91% year-on-year to US$62.5m from US$715m.

During the half, Boral’s subsidiary Geelong Cement commissioned a new 0.8Mt/yr grinding unit at its 0.6Mt/yr Waurn Ponds grinding plant in Victoria. The group also upgraded the chlorine bypass system at its Berrima cement plant in New South Wales to support increased alternative fuel (AF) co-processing. Throughout 2022, Boral substituted 15% AF into its fuel mix.

India: Ramco Cements recorded revenues of US$674m during the first nine months of its 2023 financial year, up by 33% year-on-year from US$509m in the corresponding period of the 2022 financial year. Costs rose, including a 45% rise in the company’s raw material costs to US$110m from US$76m. This precipitated a 75% decline in the producer’s net profit, to US$23m from US$93.1m.

UK: Cambridge Electric Cement (CEC) has launched the two-year trial of its Cement 2 Zero project, aimed at scaling up production of its net zero-CO₂, demolition waste-based alternative cement. It aims to produce 20t of the material for use in a low-impact construction project. CEC’s method, developed at the University of Cambridge, is based on the conversion of demolition waste into a slag-forming material within a steel furnace.

Developer Julian Allwood said “By combining steel and cement recycling in a single process powered by renewable electricity, we could supplement the global supply of the basic construction materials to support the infrastructure of a zero emissions world and to enable economic development where it is most needed.”