Global Cement News

Russia: Eurocement has announced that it will build a US$480m cement plant in the Stavropol region of Russia with a production capacity of 1.3Mt/yr. Construction will take place in the Spasskoe village of Blagodarnenskiy District.

The new plant will cover an area of 40 hectares and will produce 3500t/day of clinker. Its power consumption will be 35MW, its electrical consumption will be 105kWh/t of cement, its gas consumption will be 103Mm3/yr and restrictions of dust emissions will be 20mg/Nm3. The plant will have a staff of 400 people, with the potential to create 1000 additional jobs. The project will be implemented under a public-private partnership and has been submitted to the prime minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev. The plant is expected to be completed by 2015.

"The objective of Eurocement is to reduce the cost of cement production whilst maintaining compliance with the highest standards of product quality and conformity of production of the world's environmental requirements," said Eurocement president Mikhail Skorokhod.

Togo: HeidelbergCement has announced the construction of a new US$250m clinker plant with an annual capacity of 1.5Mt/yr in the town of Tabligbo, Togo. In addition, the company is building a new cement grinding facility with a capacity of 0.2Mt/yr in Dapaong.

"The construction of the new clinker plant and the cement grinding facility is part of our strategy to focus on expanding our clinker and cement capacities in growth markets. In addition to Asia and eastern Europe these include, in particular, the countries of sub-Saharan Africa," said Dr Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement.

"As west Africa possesses only relatively small limestone deposits, the clinker required in cement production often has to be imported at high cost. Our new clinker plant is of great strategic importance as it sources the limestone from its own deposits," added Scheifele.

The clinker will be processed to cement in HeidelbergCement's grinding mills in Togo as well as in the neighbouring countries of Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso. This will replace clinker that has previously been imported from overseas and thereby strengthen HeidelbergCement's competitiveness in Africa. HeidelbergCement said that the project will stimulate improvement in local infrastructure and housing and is expected to create around 1300 jobs locally, of which more than 200 will be at the plants.

The project is being conducted within the framework of a partnership between HeidelbergCement and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and its finance partners. Commissioning of the two new plants is scheduled for 2015. The capacity expansion in Togo is already included in HeidelbergCement's capital expenditure plan.

Spain: The management of cement producer Cementos Lemona, a subsidiary of Cementos Portland Valderrivas (CPV), has presented a job-cutting plan, which will affect 34 employees at its in plant in Viscaya in the Basque region of Spain. The move is part of CPV's viability plan to adjust production in the current depression in the Spanish construction industry. Employees at Cementos Lemona have met to discuss the plan.

After another year of research and data collection from a variety of cement industry experts, associations and other sources, the Global Cement Directory 2013 will soon be with us. The new edition will feature more cement plants than ever before and shows a number of trends in the global cement industry.

The 2013 edition of the directory has an extra 70+ plants across Asia. This is in part due to the continued rampant demand in these cement-hungry nations, but is also due to the fact that the directory is impossible to keep 100% up-to-date. As one would expect, India sees significant extra entries compared with the 2012 edition, despite valid concerns of overcapacity.

Looking north, there are also new plants and projects in Russia, a major global cement player, with 60 plants listed in 2012 and 69 in 2013. Over the Bering Strait, North America has seen a minor contraction year-on-year, with the section of the directory dedicated to the US showing two fewer plants, 97 rather than 99. There are also an extra seven mothballed facilities in the US, although the vastness of the country means that regions have not been affected equally. Consolidation of older capacity ahead of an uncertain regulatory future is partly to blame for the mothballings and closures, although the fundamentals of the economy in 2012 have been surprisingly resilient.

In South and Central America, an area of strong growth, there are new projects and expansions in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru among others, with gradual expansion a common theme among producers eager to expand as markets develop. Mexico has provided a challenging environment for some, with little change year-on-year in the directory. In the Middle East and north Africa we have carried out significant updates. Despite continuing political challenges, countries here continue to demand cement, something that we highlighted for Egypt last week.

In contrast Europe continues to be a drain on the multinational cement players' balance sheets. The continent has lost 15 plants year-on-year with several others mothballed. Many countries, notably Spain, Greece and Italy, have cement industries much larger than their current needs demand. Considerable further closures are likely to be reflected in the 2014 version of the directory if the Eurozone financial malaise is not resolved, although many plants remain 'open' at the moment.

Also, new for 2013, the directory will expand by over 100 pages with the inclusion of cement industry reviews from various countries around the world, collated from recent issues of Global Cement Magazine.

The inclusion of the reviews will add not just literal weight to the directory, but will also contribute a new angle to the publication's information, adding context to the raw data. Countries with expanded entries include Russia, Brazil, USA as well as leading European and Asian cement producers along with extensive coverage of the Middle East.

At the beginning of October 2012 a digital 'beta' version of the Global Cement Directory 2013 will be released and seen by nearly 20,000 cement, lime and ancillary sector readers allowing a period for corrections from those 'on-the-ground', before the full print version is released for sale in November. Secure your company's space today, right-hand page advertising positions are available for the directory within the plant listings as well as in some of the newly included country reports. Contact Sören Rothfahl on direct line +44 (0) 1372 840 957 mobile +44 (0) 785 0669169 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

US/Switzerland: Holcim US has announced that its president and CEO, Bernard Terver, will join the executive committee of the company's parent Holcim Ltd.

As part of the 'Holcim Leadership Journey,' an initiative which streamlines and strengthens operations, Terver will also assume responsibility for the new group region of North America, comprising Holcim US, Holcim Canada, Aggregate Industries (US) and Aggregate Industries UK. Filiberto Ruiz will serve as deputy chief executive officer of Holcim (US) and Aggregate Industries US. Prior to his promotion, Ruiz was senior vice president of sales and marketing for Holcim US.

"I'm confident that these management changes will reinforce our commitment to customer excellence and to the development of our employees as they become the next generation of leaders," said Bernard Terver, president and CEO of Holcim US. "Filiberto's experience makes him an excellent choice for this new role and I am looking forward to collaborating as the company advances."

"I am honoured to have been appointed to lead US operations," said Filiberto Ruiz, deputy chief executive officer of Holcim (US) and Aggregate Industries US. "Holcim US and Aggregate Industries US are solid organisations and I look forward to continuing to build on the work that has taken place under Bernard's leadership."

Terver has been president and CEO of Holcim US since October 2008 and Aggregate Industries US since 2010. In the same year he also became area manager. He joined Holcim in 1994 when his employer CEDEST was acquired by Holcim France. In 1999, he became chief executive officer of Holcim Colombia and in 2003 was appointed area manager for the Andes nations, Central America and the Caribbean.

Ruiz began his career with the Holcim Group in 1986 as electrical supervisor with Holcim Apasco in Mexico, later becoming plant manager. In 1999 he became regional vice president for manufacturing at Holcim US. He returned to Holcim Apasco as cement operations, vice president and moved back to Holcim US in 2006 as senior vice president for manufacturing. He has been in his current role, senior vice president for sales and marketing, since 2010.