India: UltraTech Cement has increased its production capacity by 1.4Mt/yr through debottlenecking and ‘efficiency improvements’ at multiple sites across India.
It added 0.6Mt/yr of grinding capacity at Nagpur in Maharashtra and 0.8Mt/yr across Panipat and Jhajjar in Haryana. The company’s total domestic grey cement capacity now stands at 184.8Mt/yr, while its global capacity has reached 190.2Mt/yr.
US: The Portland Cement Association has changed its name to the American Cement Association (ACA). ACA president and CEO Mike Ireland made the announcement at the IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference 2025, which took place in Birmingham, Alabama. The association will begin launching the new brand identity in June 2025.
“The most important reason for the name change is that in recent years, US cement manufacturers have expanded the types of materials they produce beyond Portland cement, working to develop more lower-emission cements in an effort to decarbonise the industry and increase domestic cement manufacturing capacity. The name ‘Portland Cement Association’ no longer accurately reflects the modern mindset of today’s manufacturers, or the materials they currently produce,” said Ireland.
Lower-emissions cement consumption has grown more than tenfold since 2021 and now accounts for more than 60% of total cement consumed in the US, according to the ACA. In 2024, all 50 state Departments of Transportation approved the use of Portland limestone cement (PLC). PLC reduces the carbon footprint of projects by up to 10%.
Ireland added “Additionally, the rebranding makes it clear that we are a national association that speaks for cement manufacturers across the country.”
The association’s new slogan will be ‘Sustainable Cement for Resilient Concrete’, which ‘summarises the industry’s commitment to staying the course with [the ACA’s] Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality’, according to ACA vice chair of the board Monica Manolas.
Uzbekistan: Cement companies produced 3.65Mt of cement in January - March 2025, up by 62% year-on-year from 2.26Mt in 2024. According to data from the National Statistical Committee, output had previously risen by 31% from 2.03Mt in the first quarter of 2023 to 2.26Mt in 2024.
Portugal: Cimpor will invest €155m in establishing a new research and development centre focused on sustainable construction, CO₂ reduction and digital transformation. The investment will also cover the modernisation of Kiln 7 at the producer’s Alhandra cement plant. The new centre will focus on technologies such as low-clinker cement development, carbon capture and alternative fuels, using recycled concrete and 3D printing. The building itself will incorporate calcined clay-based cement and recycled aggregates.
The new centre will create over 100 jobs and serve as a hub for collaboration with universities and startups, as well as serve as a location for conferences and workshops. The building will operate as a ‘living lab’, with real-time monitoring of its thermal and structural performance and energy consumption.
The chair of Cimpor Global Holdings, Suat Çalbiyik, said “In 2018, we operated only in Portugal and Cape Verde with around 1800 employees. Today, we are the world’s third-largest cement group… with 8000 employees in 14 countries and a production capacity of 112.5Mt/yr of cement.”
