Zimbabwe: China-based Shuntai Investments has reportedly made ‘significant’ progress on its US$200m plant in Chegutu, Mashonaland West Province, and will begin operations in September 2026. The plant itself cost around US$120m, with the rest invested in ‘complementary infrastructure,’ according to The Herald Zimbabwe. This includes a 50MW solar power plant, a packaging facility and a fleet of electric vehicles.

The plant will produce 6000t/day of cement, both bulk and bagged, under the Shuntai brand. Around 400 people will be employed alongside Chinese technical personnel during the initial phase, with total employment expected to reach 1500+ jobs. Shuntai administrator Jack Zhang said that the plant would improve the availability and affordability of cement.

Germany: Inform is restructuring its Building Materials Logistics division with the establishment of Inform Evotess, a new independent company within the Inform Group which it says will bundle and further develop all building materials logistics activities. The new entity combines more than 35 years of industry experience with the agility of a specialised unit, according to the company. Evotess will continue to draw on Inform’s international network, technological expertise and experience while creating additional room to improve existing solutions and develop new products. The new company will be managed by Thomas Bergmans and Lars Lambrecht.

“With Evotess, we are giving a successful and highly specialised business area the right organisational framework for its next stages of development,” said Andreas Meyer, Co-CEO of Inform. “Building materials logistics have developed strongly over many years. With the new company, this expertise remains closely connected to Inform while gaining even more focus in the market.”

Türkiye: Çimsa has commissioned its new calcium aluminate cement (CAC) production line at its Mersin plant. The investment was US$31.8m and the line has a production capacity of 66,000t/yr. This has increased Çimsa’s CAC production capacity from 131,000t/yr to 197,000t/yr. In February 2024, it increased its CAC capacity from 65,000t/yr to 131,000t/yr.

The company said that it can now meet around 20% of global consumption in markets excluding China.

China: A fleet of LiuGong DW105AE electric wide-body trucks has been deployed at one of Conch Cement’s mines in south China, as part of its efforts to operate ‘zero-carbon mines.’ The vehicles have a rated load of 70t and are equipped with a fully hydraulic load-sensitive steering system. They are also equipped with mining power batteries. The truck has a 500kW motor for increased traction and a large displacement pump to improve lifting time.

In 2025, Conch Cement said “Conch Cement actively responded to the national ‘Dual Carbon’ goal, accelerated the pace of electrification of transportation equipment, and systematically promoted the strategic transformation of construction machinery from diesel-driven to electric-driven. In 2025, the electrification rate of transportation equipment increased to more than 25%, representing a year-on-year increase of 12.5%.”