Global Cement News

Canada: Hervé Mallet, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of McInnis Cement, is leaving the company. He has been in post since November 2016. He will be replaced, with immediate effect, by Jean Moreau, chief financial officer, who will assume the role of president and CEO on an interim basis

Moreau joined McInnis Cement in the spring of 2017. He holds experience in company, finance and operations management, and has held leadership positions within private and public entities in the finance and operations management sectors. McInnis Cement said that, “Moreau is familiar with McInnis and will ensure business continuity.”

Germany: Möllers Group has promoted Area Sales Manager Tobias Steffens to responsibility of the Asia Pacific Region. As a channel partner, he will intensify cooperation with the local sales partners and oversee the implementation of new products in the target markets.

Steffens, aged 39 years, studied mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Wiesbaden. He worked in a position of responsibility at Swisslog and Kardex for the regions of Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Australia and was more recently a Design & Engineering Manager for intralogistic systems and special applications.

Germany: Holcim Germany’s Beckum cement plant has gained a silver sustainability certificate from the Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC). The company said that certificate is the highest that a cement plant can obtain. It certifies that the plant promotes transparency about the production process and supply chain as well as considering its impact upon the environment.

The company said that the unit is the first LafargeHolcim cement plant in the world to have CSC certification. It also plans to certify cement grinding plants and ready mix plants in Germany in the near future.

Pakisan: Fauji Cement has approved plans to set up a 12.5MW captive solar plant. The company operates a 3.4Mt/yr cement plant near to Attock in Punjab Province.

Zambia: ZCCM-Investment Holding, an investment company owned by the Zambian government, says that it will be the junior partner in a cement plant that it is planning to build in a joint venture with China Machinery Construction Group Limited (SinoConst). ZCCM will hold 35% of the joint venture, Central African Cement, and SinoConst will hold the remaining 65%. The US$680m project was announced in early 2018.

ZCCM also announced that its subsidiary, the Ndola Lime Company, was continuing to be in ‘distress.’ It said that its board was considering its options. The lime producer has reportedly suffered from liquidity problems and low production due to old equipment.