Global Cement News

US: Rockwell Automation has elected Patricia Watson to its board of directors with effect from 1 July 2017. Watson is senior executive vice president and chief information officer at Total System Services (TSYS), a leading global payments provider, responsible for setting the company’s enterprise technology strategy to enable future global growth.

Watson joined TSYS with 17 years of financial services industry experience and has served in a variety of technology-related roles. These positions include vice president and global chief information officer for the Brinks Company and senior technology executive for Bank of America’s treasury, payments and credit functions. She currently serves as a board director for Texas Capital Bancshares.

Watson holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from St Mary’s College at Notre Dame, and an MBA from the University of Dayton. She also served in the United States Air Force for 10 years as executive staff officer, flight commander and director of operations. She served as a member of the Texas Governor’s Committee for People with Disabilities, and as a member of Lime Connect, a premier resource for placing people with disabilities.

Belgium: Gonçalo Salazar Leite has been appointed as the president of Cembureau, the European cement association, for a two-year term at the association’s general assembly held on 9 June 2017 in Paris. The vice-chairman of Secil has served as the association’s vice-president since 2015. He succeeds Daniel Gauthier, the former chief executive officer (CEO) Western Europe-Africa and member of the managing board of HeidelbergCement, in the role. In addition, Raoul de Parisot, advisor to Vicat’s chairman and CEO, has been elected as the vice-president of Cembureau for a two-year term.

Leite said that he intends to focus on supporting the industry on the path towards its low-carbon targets, framing the association’s European Union (EU) policy discussions in a wider international context and contributing to the ‘true image’ of the industry.

UK: Hanson Cement has expanded its technical team to offer customers support on cement and cementitious issues. The team, headed by national technical manager Simon Chudley, will offer advice information and technical support ranging from product data and case studies to laboratory trials and product testing.

Morocco: Cemengal says that a modular and portable grinding station Plug&Grind XL it is supplying for LafargeHolcim in Laâyoune is proceeding to schedule. No details regarding cost and production capacity have been disclosed but the model has a cement production capacity of up to 0.22Mt/yr and a total installed power of around 1500kW.

Honduras: France’s Fives has won a contract to supply a FCB Flash dryer for Cementos del Norte’s Bijao plant. The dryer will be installed on an existing ball mill that was supplied and installed by Fives FCB in 2001 for a production capacity of 90t/hr of pozzolanic cement. Since then the pozzolana content and moisture rate have increased. Once operational the grinding plant drying capacity will rise.