Global Cement News

Ghana: The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) plans to start a large-scale market inspection on the sale of cement. It follows efforts by the GSA to stamp out poor standard goods in the market, according to Citi Business News. The initiative is also intended to protect consumers. It follows stories in the local media about building collapses due to poor quality cement.

India: ICRA is expecting cement demand is pick up in the fourth quarter of the 2017 – 2018 financial year following weak real estate activity, sand shortage and Goods and Service tax (GST) implementation issues in the first half of the year. In its October 2017 update the credit ratings agency said that demand was expected to benefit from the housing sector and road and irrigation projects in the infrastructure sector, according to the Press Trust of India. It added that the profitability of the industry depends on the industry’s ability to control prices given that higher input costs for fuel and freight are expected.

The credit ratings agency said that cement demand remained subdued across the country due to various local issues. In the North, especially in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the offtake had been impacted by a sand shortage and lack of labour. In the West the implementation of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Bill resulted in construction activity slowing down. In the South, Tamil Nadu and Kerala were hit as demand was affected by the sand shortage, drought impacting rural offtake and weak housing activity. A recent ban on sand mining in Bihar is also likely to reduce sales volume growth in the eastern region in coming months.

UK: RHI Magnesita has started trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). It has been admitted to trading in the premium segment of the main market on the LSE. The start of trading on the exchange marks the completion of the merger process between RHI and Magnesita.

“After the successful combination, RHI Magnesita is now fully dedicated to the strategic repositioning as the global leader in the refractory industry. With our 14,000 employees, we can drive positive change in our industry and aim to offer our customers an even greater value proposition in the future,” said Herbert Cordt, chairman of the board of directors of RHI Magnesita,

Following the merger the new company leads the refractory industry. It holds 35 raw material and production plants and more than 70 sales offices around the world and its product portfolio comprises more than 120,000 individual refractory products. It also operates two main research and development centres in Leoben, Austria and Contagem, Brazil.

As part of the merger process the company has also unveiled a new brand and logo to represent its global presence, its innovation and its company mind-set. The new logo and the visual system based on it consist of a horizontal eight, the symbol of infinity, and the shapes of refractory bricks.

US: OGCI Climate Investments has made in an investment in Solidia Technologies to support the adoption of Solidia’s patented cement and concrete technology using CO₂.

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) is a chief executive officer (CEO) led initiative of 10 oil and gas companies that collaborate on action to lead the industry response to climate change. OGCI Climate Investments, its investment arm, supports the development, deployment and scale up of new technologies that are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“We believe that Solidia Technologies’ product and process can provide a step change in lowering the greenhouse gas and water footprint of the cement and concrete industry,” said OGCI Climate Investments CEO Pratima Rangarajan.

Solidia Cement is a non-hydraulic cement composed primarily of low-lime-containing calcium silicate phases, such as wollastonite and pseudowollastonite (CaO·SiO₂) and rankinite (3CaO·2SiO₂). The setting and hardening characteristics of Solidia Cement are derived from a reaction between CO₂ and the calcium silicates. The company uses a patented process called reactive hydrothermal liquid phase densification (rHLPD) to do this. Solidia Cement is intended to be a sustainable replacement for Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). It uses the same manufacturing process, equipment and raw materials used by the cement industry while consuming less energy and generating less greenhouse gases.

Germany: Beumer Group is promoting its new mobile bag tester. The testing device is intended to help users to determine the venting capacity of any type of valve bag, such as those used in the cement industry, including all paper and plastic layers, and glued areas. The determined parameters can be used to optimise the manufacture of bags or check conformity with specifications.

The bag tester is intended to give users with information on the filling behaviour of each bag that is useful for the manufacture of bags and filling technology, as well as for transport and logistics. The 14kg apparatus is housed in a stable hardtop case on wheels making it mobile.

A pressure-compensated flow control valve on the device constantly increases the volume flow rate until a steady pressure of 50mbar is reached. With this pressure, the user can read the current volume flow rate, which indicates the air permeability, from the flow-rate meter. A filling spout with inflatable sleeve seals the bag valve during the airflow measurements. The scope of supply includes an additional inflatable sleeve for valve widths of up to 200mm.