Global Cement News
Search Cement News
Poland’s production fell by 4.5% in August 08 September 2014
Poland: Poland's year-to-date cement production increased by 11.9% year-on-year to 10.2Mt, while sales in the same period rose by 10.7% to 10.3Mt. In August 2014 cement production declined by 4.5% year-on-year to 1.51Mt, while sales fell by 9.7% year-on-year to 1.46Mt, according to Poland's Cement Producer Association.
Arcadis to manage Lafarge’s Ravena cement plant modernisation 08 September 2014
US: Arcadis, a natural and built asset design and consultancy firm, has announced that it will oversee the construction on a multi-million dollar modernisation project set to transform Lafarge North America's Ravena cement plant in New York State into one of the most advanced dry-kiln facilities in the country.
Arcadis will oversee the replacement of the existing 50-year old kiln, supporting Lafarge's commitment to quickly implement industry-leading mercury emissions caps. The improvements will further reduce SO2 and mercury emissions by an additional 20% over the next three years.
Slated for completion in 2016, the construction will create hundreds of jobs and retain over 100 current positions. Arcadis will coordinate all aspects of construction, including locating and purchasing materials, oversight of up to eight contracting companies, overall schedule coordination, management of materials and security of the site.
Sagar Cements completes sale of its investment in Vicat Sagar Cement 08 September 2014
India: Sagar Cements has completed the sale of its 47% stake in its joint venture company, Vicat Sagar Cement. Sagar had earlier obtained approval from the shareholders through postal ballot for the sale. Sagar and Vicat entered into the joint venture in June 2008 with the objective of setting up a 5.5Mt/yr cement plant in Gulbarga, Karnataka. The first phase of the plant, which was to reach a production capacity of 2.75Mt/yr, was completed in December 2012. Production commenced in January 2013.
Vietnam: Prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung has agreed to eliminate five more cement projects from the Zoning plan for the 2011 - 2020 period due to lower domestic cement consumption. The projects removed from the master plan have a combined capacity of 910,000t/yr. Earlier the prime minister had also approved the Ministry of Construction's proposal for removing nine clinker projects with a capacity of less than 2500t/day.
In 2013 the Vietnamese government decided to postpone the construction of nine other cement plants in Thanh Son, Tan Phu Xuan, Tan Tao, Yen Mao, Sai Gon Tan Ky, Phu Son, My Duc, Nam Dong and Minh Tam. While these cement plants face the axe, the government approved a project to develop Long Son Cement Plant, which will have a production capacity of 2.3Mt/yr in the northern province of Thanh Hoa. Construction commenced in early 2014 and will be put into operation in 2018.
Despite admitting the current cement glut on the local market, a number of projects are still underway as such schemes are enlisted in the nation's Zoning plan and project owners have invested huge sums in such plants, according Nguyen Van Thien, chairman of the Vietnam Cement Association. Project owners have no other choice but to continue the projects after injecting big funds, otherwise they cannot recover capital to service bank loans.
According to the Vietnam Cement Association, the combined capacity of all the country's cement plants is expected to reach more than 90Mt/yr by 2015, in line with the Zoning plan. Meanwhile, cement demand is forecast at 75 – 76Mt/yr by 2015. Vietnamese cement consumption was only 48Mt in 2012. Should demand rise by 5 - 10%/yr in 2014 and 2015, sales volumes would reach 60Mt, much lower than the expected figure.
LafargeHolcim merger approved in Singapore 05 September 2014
Singapore: Lafarge and Holcim have received approval from the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) to merge their businesses in the country.
Holcim (Singapore) and Lafarge Cement Singapore overlap in the manufacture and supply of ready-mix concrete and grey cement. Under Singapore's Competition Act, firms are not allowed to merge if the resulting entity could lead to a substantial lessening of competition in any market. However, Lafarge and Holcim argued that they would not have substantial market power after the merger. Grey cement is also imported to Singapore by Holcim primarily for its own consumption and is supplied to third parties only to a limited extent, they said.
After a public consultation exercise, the CSS issued its decision that 'The transaction is unlikely to lead to substantial competition concerns in Singapore.' This was because the firms are not major players in Singapore, despite being major names in overseas markets. The CSS added, "There is significant localised competition in the relevant overlapping markets in Singapore."
There are also alternative suppliers that can meet any additional demand for ready-mix concrete, thereby limiting the market power of the merged companies. With a number of suppliers in the market, cooperation among firms to raise prices will be harder as well, according to the CSS.