Global Cement News

Ireland: Ernst Bärtschi has retired from the board of CRH. He was appointed to the board of directors in 2011. A Swiss national he was previously the chief executive officer of Sika and had worked for Schindler Group.

Denmark: FLSmidth has appointed Jan Kjaersgaard as a new Group Executive Vice President, Product Companies Division, and a member of Group Executive Management. Kjaersgaard, aged 51 years and a Danish citizen, will take up the position as head of Product Companies Division on 1 March 2018.

Kjaersgaard holds a Master of Business Administration from Aalborg University and comes from Bladt Industries where he currently serves as chief executive officer (CEO). His previous postings include various senior positions at Siemens Wind Power.

US: Ametek Brookfield has appointed Joseph Plante as Division Vice President and Business Unit Manager. He will have responsibility for managing the day-to-day operations while continuing to promote growth, customer satisfaction and innovation at Ametek Brookfield.

Plante holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from UMass Amherst, a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and a Master of Business Administration from Babson College. Most recently, he was president of Diba Industries, a subsidiary of Halma.

Ametek Brookfield manufactures tools for viscosity measurement and control of liquids and semi-solids.

Germany: Wieland Hopfe has left Fritsch Milling and Sizing after 25 years with the company. He originally joined Fritsch in 1992 and helped the firm establish its distribution network in the former East Germany. Most recently he was working as an application specialist for Fritsch. The company is a manufacturer of application-oriented laboratory instruments for sample preparation and particle sizing.

Italy: HeidelbergCement’s subsidiary Italcementi has completed its acquisition of Cementir Italia following approval by the Italian competition authority. The competition body gave clearance to the acquisition in November 2017 subject to certain conditions, including the divestment of some plants. Italcementi will reveal which units it intends to sell by mid-2018. The acquisition cost Euro315m.

“For Italcementi, the acquisition is a unique opportunity to grow and consolidate its position in the Italian market. We see strong recovery potential in Southern Europe and especially in Italy over the coming years. With this acquisition we are very well positioned to create value through synergies, efficient processes, and the offer of high-quality and innovative products,” said Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement.

Italcementi and Cementir Holding entered into an agreement to buy Cementir Italia, and its subsidies Cementir Sacci and Betontir, in mid-September 2017. Cementir Italia’s business includes five integrated cement plants and two cement grinding units with a total cement capacity of 5.5Mt/yr, as well as a network of terminals and concrete plants, all operating in Italy. Minimum annual run-rate cost synergies of Euro25m are expected to be achieved by 2020.