Global Cement News

Mexico: Lorenzo Zambrano, CEO of Cemex died on 12 May 2014 in Madrid aged 70. There were no immediate details about the cause of death in a statement released by Cemex and there had been no reports of illness. The company added that it will continue to operate normally.

Founded by Zambrano's grandfather more than a century ago, the company started producing cement in the northern city of Monterrey, which later became one of Mexico's industrial hubs. Zambrano was born on 27 March 1944. He joined the company after graduate school in 1968, when he earned his master degree in business administration at Stanford University. By 1985 the board of directors give him full power as CEO. Then, through a series of acquisitions, Zamrano extended Cemex's reach to five continents with operations in 50 countries.

However a US$16bn acquisition of Australian building materials company Rinker in 2007 subjected Cemex to the subprime housing crisis. At the time, Zambrano put a brave face on it. "We've shown that a company that is born in a developing country can compete in the whole world and we want to keep doing it," he said. Cemex spent the following years coping with large debt obligations, struggling to make deals with lenders and trimming costs by outsourcing and restructuring jobs.

Article updated: 14 May 2014

Fiji: Fiji Industries Limited, a subsidiary of Fijian Holdings Limited Group, is being renamed as Pacific Cement Limited following approval from the board.

Acting general manager, Sonni Dutt, said that the company has been in existence for the past 60 years, however, a lot of people do not associate the company with cement manufacturing.

"Fiji Industries has been there for so long. However, if you ask the grassroots people what Fiji Industries does, they won't know that we produce cement," he said. "We had to decide this because our brand is called Pacific Cement. Therefore we feel the new name will better reflect what we do." Fiji Industries Limited already has Pacific Cement brand on its cement bags.

The move comes as the company plans expansion into the Pacific exports markets. Dutt said, "We are now eyeing the Pacific market. We were the only cement factory in the Pacific and so we decided to go with that name."

The official launch date for the new name has not been yet confirmed, however, the company is in a transition phase to the new name. It is rebranding and planning the rebrand launch.

Dutt confirmed that there will be a major launch to mark the name change in the city of Suva, Fiji followed by another one in the west and another one in the north of the country.

Kenya: Karsan Ramji & Sons Ltd, a Kitengela-based quarry operator, has announced that it will begin construction of a 700t/day cement grinding plant by the end of 2014.

Karsan Ramji & Sons has revealed plans to build a US$4.91m mini cement plant in Athi River, adding competition pressures in an industry whose prices have remained flat for about a decade. It will be compete with established players such as Bamburi, East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) and ARM Cement, which together control 77% of Kenya's cement market.

"We are waiting for all of the approvals before we can kick off," said Kishon Varsani, managing director of Karsan Ramji & Sons. The cement plant will import clinker and source pozzolana and gypsum from its quarries in Kajiado and Kilifi.

India: A worker was killed on 10 May 2014 while cleaning the belt of a crusher in Jaypee's cement plant in Chhijwar, Madhya Pradesh.

The incident took place when the worker, Gulab Patel, who was cleaning the crusher belt got trapped in the machine. The victim was rushed to Rewa's Sanjay Gandhi Hospital but he died on the way.

Patel's family have alleged that he was killed inside the plant and that the management failed to inform them about the incident. The family said that they came to know about the incident only through other workers. The plant management has agreed to pay compensation of US$16,753, provide a job to a family member and also provide free training to the son of the deceased.

India: Shree Cement is planning a 3Mt/yr limestone mining project at Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh. The project is part of an integrated cement plant project. Mining work is expected to commence in December 2014.