Global Cement News

Germany: Loesche has announced that Andreas Huster has joined Loesche Automatisierungstechnik GmbH (LAG) in Luenen as its sales director. He joined Loesche in July 2012.

Huster is 37 years old, married and was formerly responsible for distribution, sales and marketing of automation technology at Miebach group in Dortmund. At Loesche Huster will take over the responsibility for all clients and develop new market potential for LAG. Huster will also support projects for Loesche GmbH in Duesseldorf and their subsidiaries worldwide.

France: Carlos Espina has been appointed as director of research and development for the Lafarge Group, with effect from 1 October 2012. Espina was previously the chief executive officer at ArcelorMittal Méditerranée, a position he had held since July 2009.

He began his career in the UK as a researcher at AEA Technology. In 1995 he joined the research and development (R&D) Centre of Aceralia Corporación Siderúrgica as manager of the product applications engineering department, before becoming vice president of intellectual property, knowledge management and artificial intelligence upon the merger with Arcelor in 2002. Within the Arcelor Mittal Group, he successively held the positions of vice-president in charge of R&D, Europe, and vice-president in charge of R&D, automotive.

Carlos Espina will be based at Lafarge's Research Centre near Lyons, with more than 250 researchers of 12 different nationalities. He holds a degree from Oviedo College of Mines in Spain.

Today's report that cement producers from Taiwan are preparing for new Chinese NOx regulations is yet another reaction to several 'seismic' shifts of government-led change rocking the industry in China. These have included the closure of old, inefficient capacity and significant implementation of waste-heat recovery (WHR) systems. Last week's launch of the Guangdong Emissions Trading Scheme (GETS) is one more.

As reported by Reuters Point Carbon, GETS involves four cement plants from the start and it is the largest of seven such provincial schemes. It is as big and bold as the manufacturing hub that it covers. It includes over 800 manufacturing sites and will regulate the emissions from 42% of all power consumed in Guangdong and 63% of all its industrial emissions. It will be the fifth biggest ETS in the world after those in the EU, Australia, California and South Korea.

While GETS is large, the rate that it will be implemented will be more restrained. There will be three years of testing (2012-2015), an 'improvement period' (2016- 2020) and a proper market from 2020. The scheme's progress will be watched closely - its success or failure could determine the shape of emissions trading schemes (ETS) across China and the rest of Asia.

While the aims of ETS are laudable, they have met with 'mixed' reviews in other parts of the world. In Australia in 2011, there were dire warnings of the potential for job-losses and carbon-leakage, with China itself identified as a probable destination for both.

In Europe there is now a strong claim that the EU-ETS has been ineffective, with carbon prices slumping to under Euro10/credit (~US$13/credit), less than a quarter of projected levels for 2012. In the midst of the downturn Ireland's CRH 'earned' millions of Euros in unused credits. Security has also been a problem for the EU-ETS.

Even GETS, less than a month old, has drawn criticism. Unnamed commentators have suggested that the higher-than-expected prices, US$9.50/credit, (only slightly lower than in Europe), already look like the result of collusion in the market.

With all of these concerns, the immediate demand from the cement producers, China Resources Cement, Sinoma, Taipai and Yangchun Hailuo, looks a little strange. However, local media reports that there are advantages to be gained by buying early. All of the four producers have to buy credits for cement plant projects they are currently working on. They are gambling on the fact that carbon prices can only rise - something that is not expected by analysts.

In addition the producers can gain valuable experience of the scheme before it has to be used 'in anger,' which may give them an operational advantage over others. They also know that, unlike in other parts of the world, the government will not backtrack on its decision. Recent NOx regulations, closure of older capacity and implementation of WHR have all been imposed (or are being imposed) from above. They know that it is better to jump into the deep end than to be pushed.

Kenya: The East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has appointed two managers to head up its production and human resources departments. Charles Charo has will become the new head of production operations and John Ole Kimanjoi will become the head of human resources and administration.

Charo holds 25 years of experience in cement manufacturing and has previously worked for Bamburi Cement and Athi River Mining. Kimanjoi holds 25 years experience in human resources, specialising in labour relations. He has worked for KPTC, Telkom Kenya, Mumias Sugar and NSSF. Other appointments include a new Production Manager Joseph Kombo, who was promoted from process manager and James Mutisya, who becomes the new Maintenance and Projects Manager.

EAPCC managing director Kephar Tande said that the changes have been made to enable the company to execute a new strategy and align functions to grow the business.

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..