Global Cement News

Spain: Cementos Molins cut 310 jobs in Spain in 2012. The Spanish cement producer launched a downsizing plan for 165 people and shut down plants in Leon and Malaga. At present Molins needs to refinance a gross debt of 
Euro167m in 2013. On 15 March 2013 Molins launched a project to cut 56 jobs at its plant in Sant Vicenc dels Horts, a 29.3% reduction in staff numbers at the plant.

India: Production at the South India Cement plant in Malkhed, Sedam Taluk, has recently restarted after a mothball and upgrade period that had lasted several years. N M Hemnur, regional manager of South India Cements, said that the factory's production capacity had been increased to 30,000t/yr but that it would dramatically increase to 1Mt/yr in the future.

India/Germany: ACC has ordered two vertical roller mills from Loesche, in a consortium with KHD, for its Jamul cement plant.

The Holcim subsidiary has ordered a Loesche Mill Type LM 56.3+3 CS equipped with a classifier type LDC to grind clinker. The vertical roller mill will be operated with the power of a 5600kW motor and will have a capacity of 195t/hr. In addition a Loesche vertical roller mill Type LM 43.4 D will be part of the project and is designed to have a capacity of 90t/hr. The gearbox has a capacity of 1300kW.

Loesche's scope of supply for the Jamul project of Holcim will include additional equipment which is delivered in a joint venture by Loesche GmbH, Duesseldorf, as well as by Loesche India Pvt. Ltd.

Nigeria: Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has announced plans to create a new tariff on imported bulk cement. The move follows the alleged cement 'glut' surrounding a dispute between importer Ibeto Cement and leading producer Dangote Cement in late 2012. The current duty on imported bulk cement is 10% but no levy is imposed on the commodity.

At a meeting on Nigerian business competitiveness organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Aganga said that there was no basis for importing cement clinker since Nigeria has a cement production capacity of 28.6Mt/yr. He also stated that at no time did he issue any import permit for bulk cement in 2012.

Indonesia: PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa reportedly reduced its exports by 84.5% in 2012 in order to meet rising domestic demand for cement in Indonesia, according to a company spokesman.

The state-run company cut its exports to 0.1Mt in 2012 from 0.6Mt in 2011, and witnessed a rise of 12.3% in its domestic sales, which reached 17.9Mt in 2012. In 2011 the company sold 15.4Mt of cement at home.

In 2012 the company's cement brand, Tiga Roda, accounted for a major part of its market share with sales of the branded cement rising by 32%. In 2011 the company's brand covered 31.5% of Indocement's entire market share.

The positive performance in the company's cement sales in 2012 was due to Indocement's strategic expansion plans that involved building new cement plants in the country. In addition, the cement producer has signed an initial agreement on equipment provision services, construction and implementation with the Chinese Sinoma Group.