Global Cement News

Zambia: Lafarge Zambia plc has commissioned a US$5m 600,000t/yr aggregate plant with the Zambian Government that is expected to create 70 new direct jobs.

Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Emmanuel Chenda, said that national roads infrastructure programmes such as the Link Zambia 8,000 and Pave Zambia 2000 require readily available cement and aggregate and the plant will ensure there is adequate supply for the project to be implemented effectively.

"The huge demand for cement and aggregates that the construction industry provides cannot be overstated. The market is ready and all you need is tap into it by way of increasing commercial circulation of the products at competitive market rates," said Chenda. He disclosed that Government has formulated mid-term policies and strategies to address constraints in the manufacturing sector such as high cost of production, limited access to long-term finance and weak linkages. The policies will be implemented over the next five years in line with the revised Sixth National Development Plan.

Lafarge Zambia chief executive officer Emmanuel Rigaux said that the aggregate plant can also be adjusted in terms of capacity, which will enable the company to supply more of the product as required.

Canada: Lafarge Canada wants to use fracking waste water from two Hants County holding ponds in its Brookfield cement plant, Colchester County.

The Brookfield plant currently uses 35ML/yr of fresh water from Shortts Lake to control the exhaust temperatures of its rotary cement kiln. The fracking waste water would be injected into the kiln in place of some of the water drawn from Shortts Lake, and would be evaporated and emitted out the stack.

"We're looking to do a trial. We want to do a test to see if this water will work with our manufacturing process," said Lafarge spokesman Regan Watts.

However, the proposal has some Colchester County residents on edge. "I think people are a bit concerned," said Bob Taylor, mayor of the Municipality of the County of Colchester. "They are worried about possible harmful effects from it so they want to know it's safe before it goes ahead."

Environment Minister Randy Delorey said that the waste water is being treated a second time by Atlantic Industrial Services using reverse osmosis prior to any use in the plant. He said that the province will consider different options for the waste water once it receives the final test results, expected in early 2014. "It's safe enough to drink," Watts said. "The contaminants have been removed and the recycled waste water exceeds government guidelines to be released in the environment."

Germany: ENTECCOgroup announced on 2 December 2013 that it has acquired Turbofilter GmbH in order to further strengthen its activities in the steel and flue gas cleaning industry.

Turbofilter GmbH, founded by Fritz von Opel in Essen in 1958, has more than 50 years of experience in offering process-oriented solutions for industrial dust removal and flue and exhaust gas cleaning worldwide. It manufactures standard filters and complicated turnkey plants in the field of environmental technology.

"The union with the ENTECCOgroup and the restructuring of Turbofilter GmbH concerning long-term job and location security, as well as the positioning in the market, are the right steps at the right time. Together with the ENTECCOgroup we will speed up our expansion even faster," said Rainer Bertling and Jürgen Waller, shareholder and manager of Turbofilter GmbH.

ENTECCOgroup has made the environmental technology industry a priority. The industry expanded from US$560m in 2003 to US$744m in 2010 and currently employs more than 3.5 million workers in Europe. These numbers are expected to double by 2020.

India: Holcim Group, which is under the process of restructuring its holdings in India, has appointed Bernard Terver as additional director on the board of ACC and Ambuja Cements with effect from 4 December 2013.

Terver graduated from Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, in 1976 and has worked in the cement industry for more than 35 years. He has been in the service of Holcim since 1994, holding senior positions including that of CEO of Holcim Colombia and Holcim US.

The board also re-appointed Kuldip Kaura as the CEO and MD for one year with effect from 1 January 2014.

Denmark: An ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) arbitration has been concluded in a case between MT Højgaard A/S and FLSmidth A/S dating back to 2004.

Much to the surprise of FLSmidth and contrary to expectations, the ICC arbitration award renders FLSmidth liable to pay significantly higher compensation than expected. The compensation is due for some of the costs resulting from delays at the Buxton cement plant in the UK in 2004.

According to the arbitration award, FLSmidth is to pay partial compensation plus interest, plus part of the costs of the proceedings to MT Højgaard.

The impact on FLSmidth's financial statements amounts to a net loss of Euro21.5m on EBITA and Euro16.1m on profit after tax, which will be booked in the fourth quarter of 2013. Consequently, the EBITA margin for 2013 is expected to be 3.5-4.5% rather than the previously forecast 4-5%.