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Italy's antitrust body opens probe into alleged cement price fixing 27 November 2015
Italy: Italy's antitrust authority has opened an investigation into four cement companies for alleged price fixing and, with the tax police, has searched the offices of the companies, according to Reuters. The companies under investigation are Buzzi Unicem, Cementir Italia, Industria Cementi Giovanni Rossi and Holcim Italia.
"The case concerns the possibility of an agreement to coordinate cement sales price increases," said the authority in a statement.
Holcim Italia, part of LafargeHolcim, confirmed the inspections. It said that the company had always acted according to the law and has 'policies and procedures in place that are designed to ensure compliance with principles and rules of fair competition prohibiting anti-competitive behaviour and the abuse of a dominant market position.' Buzzi said that it is confident that it will be able to demonstrate during the investigation that it had always acted in compliance with competition law.
JK Lakshmi Cement commissions 1.7Mt/yr plant in Durg 26 November 2015
India: JK Lakshmi Cement has commissioned a 1.7Mt/yr cement plant in Durg, Chhattisgarh at a cost of US$263m.
HeidelbergCement’s Slantsev cement plant upgrades production 26 November 2015
Russia: The Slantsev cement plant, part of HeidelbergCement and operating in Cesla, Leningrad, plans to upgrade its production and continue development of the quarry. The investments in the project will amount to Euro14.5m.
LafargeHolcim’s cement sales up by 15.3% in Romania 26 November 2015
Romania: LafargeHolcim's cement sales in Romania rose by 15.3% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2015, supported by building activity in the Bucharest area, although market prices fell by 0.8%.
"Demand in Eastern Europe remained strong in the non-oil exporting markets. Most countries reported increased volumes with strong increases across all three segments in Romania thanks to strong building activity in the Bucharest area," said a statement from LafargeHolcim.
LafargeHolcim has decided to sell the assets of one of the parent companies in Romania, Germany and Hungary. In Romania, the assets up for sale are those of Lafarge.
Agreement reached over clean-up of historic Holcim cement plant 26 November 2015
US: An agreement has been reached to clean up the site of the former Holcim cement plant in Spokane Valley, Washington, where Holcim operated a cement factory until 1967. The site was then used for cement distribution for a number of years before shutting down. In 2006, storage silos were torn down, leaving behind cement kiln dust with contaminates including arsenic, lead and cadmium, as well as benzene and gasoline associated with train activity and fuel storage on the site. Neighbouring lots owned by the city of Spokane Valley and Neighborhood Inc were also contaminated.
Because the contamination was deemed a threat to human health, the Department of Ecology got involved in working out a clean-up plan. Jeremy Schmidt, Ecology's site manager, said that a consent decree has been signed by all parties and clean-up is scheduled for the summer and autumn 2016. "Work may be delayed for one year if we can't get contractors out there at the right time," said Schmidt. The work has to done when the groundwater level is low so as not to increase contamination. The kiln dust has now turned to cement and must be scraped off, piled in one place and capped with cement to stop contaminants from leaking into soil and groundwater.
Holcim still owns the site and both Schmidt and Spokane Valley Attorney Cary Driskell said that the company has been responsive and responsible. "They have been very easy to work with," said Driskell. He added that there was a range of options for the cleanup, with costs ranging from US$1.6 – 10m. "It will not cost Spokane Valley anything."