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Italcementi’s third quarter 2014 revenues down by 3% 10 November 2014
Italy: Italcementi has reported that in the third quarter of 2014 its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell to Euro469m, down from Euro472m in the third quarter of 2013. Revenues fell by 3% year-on-year to Euro3.12bn. Italcementi confirmed that it still expects to report a higher recurring EBITDA for the full year.
LafargeHolcim to retain Cauldon cement plant 10 November 2014
UK: In January 2014, the UK Competition Commission (CC) instructed Lafarge Tarmac to sell one of its two cement plants to enable a new company to compete in the industry. In light of the LafargeHolcim merger, Lafarge plans to sell Lafarge Tarmac and all of its assets in the UK, with the exception of the Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire, to a new market entrant. Following the merger, the newly-formed LafargeHolcim would retain the Cauldon cement plant.
The Cauldon plant would remain under the management of Lafarge Tarmac until the merger. "There is unlikely to be much change for employees," said a Lafarge Tarmac spokesperson. "Until the LafargeHolcim merger is completed, the plant remains part of Lafarge Tarmac and will be managed as such with no change for employees, customers or suppliers." The decision was made by the company's shareholders.
Tasek Corp suffers third quarter earnings drop 07 November 2014
Malaysia: Tasek Corp reported a 7.1% drop in earnings to US$6.4m in the third quarter of 2014 amid stiff competition. Earnings declined despite a 3.3% rise in revenue to US$44.4m during the three month period. Tasek said that it suffered lower margins from the cement segment due to intense price competition on the market. For the nine months to the end of September 2014, earning were 16.3% higher at US$23.2m, with revenue climbing by 14.5% to US$144m. Tasek said that the outlook for the fourth quarter of 2014 was expected to remain positive.
Bua Group spends US$500m on 3Mt/yr greenfield cement plant 07 November 2014
Nigeria: Bua Group International has invested US$500m in a 3Mt/yr capacity greenfield cement plant in Okpella, Edo State. The Obu Cement Plant will take Bua's cement capacity to 5.3Mt/yr when it is commissioned in February 2015.
Bua Group already operates a 0.5Mt/yr capacity cement plant in Sokoto State via its subsidiary, Sokoto Cement. The plant currently operates at 100% capacity. Bua Group is also constructing a new 1.5Mt/yr capacity in the same state. In Edo State, Bua Group currently owns the 0.3Mt/yr capacity Edo Cement Plant.
The Obu plant is planned for conclusion and commissioning within the first quarter of 2015, and is predicted to hire over 1000 direct labour and thousands of indirect labour, according to Yusuf Binji, executive director, project and technical, Bua Group, Okpella, Edo State.
Haver & Boecker launches Roto-Packer Adams Mini system, G600 palletising series and Feige PalletFill Type 16 06 November 2014
Germany: Haver & Boecker has recently launched its new Roto-Packer Adams Mini packing system, the new G600 palletiser series and the Feige PalletFill Type 16.
The Roto-Packer, based on Adams technology, fills powder-type bulk materials into compact polyethylene bags at speeds of up to 600bags/hr and over a steplessly adjustable weight range of 1 – 10kg. Haver Innovation Management are working to increase the packing speed to 1200bags/hr.
The new G600 palletiser series from Newtec Bag Palletizing, a Haver & Boecker subsidiary, has also been launched. To increase capacity, the G600 series palletisers work using two lifts to convey the bags. Control of the palletisers is done via a human-machine-interface, which allows the user to operate the machine. The operator can perform a product changeover or switch to a maintenance mode with only a few adjustments. A VPN connection for remote maintenance ensures ongoing support by specialists of Newtec Bag Palletizing and allows a reduction in maintenance time.
'Plug & Fill' and 'ATEX compliance' are the key functions of the Feige PalletFill Type 16, a swivel-type pallet filling station. Feige, a Haver and Boecker company launched the product. The pallet-filling station is used for the automatic and calibrated filling of drums and pails on pallets. The mobile design allows filling directly at the tank without first having to pump the product from the tank system to a fixed filling system. 255 dosing-parameter settings for a variety of products can be entered. The control and operating systems are placed directly at the filling station.