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Lafarge Exshaw completes emissions improvement work 26 August 2014
Canada: Lafarge has completed a US$20m upgrade at its Exshaw cement plant in Alberta, which will reduce the level of emissions generated by its operations. The upgrade is one part of an ongoing expansion at the plant that will ultimately see Lafarge nearly double the plant's output from 1.2Mt/yr to 2.2Mt/yr.The expansion was originally planned in 2008, but was delayed because of the economic downturn.
Now, with Alberta 'booming again,' the timing is right, according to Bob Cooper, Lafarge vice-president for Western Canada Cement. The project will be completed by the summer of 2015.
"We're quite proud of this because we're helping to build Alberta. "We're the only company in Alberta right now, from a cement standpoint, increasing our output," he said. "The market is quite strong. We see a lot of growth going forward in Alberta, the Prairies and even British Columbia."
The environmental benefits of the expansion and side-projects will be 60% lower sulphur dioxide emissions and 40% lower nitrogen oxide emissions.In addition, new dust mitigation and noise abatement equipment has been installed. Lafarge has also installed a new water recycling system, which means that the plant will no longer discharge used water into the Bow River.
Pakistan cement sales fall at start of new fiscal year 22 August 2014
Pakistan: After posting cement dispatches of 3Mt/month between March and June 2014, Pakistan's cement dispatches were down to just 2.23Mt in July 2014. This compared unfavourably to dispatches of 2.6Mt in July 2013. Domestic dispatches of 1.75Mt were down by 6.5% year-on-year compared to July 2013. Cement exports dropped by a third from 0.75Mt in July 2013 to 0.5Mt in July 2014.
The poorer export performance was mainly attributed to a reduction in quantities sold to Afghanistan where against exports of 0.44Mt in July 2013 were reduced to just 0.18Mt in July 2014. According to industry experts, this trend is likely to continue in the coming months as NATO forces prepare to leave Afghanistan. The massive decline, over 58%, also indicates declining competitiveness of Paksistani cement in the global market where other regional players like Iran are making inroads.
New FLSmidth plant for DRC 21 August 2014
Democratic Republic of Congo: The Danish cement plant manufacturer FLSmidth & Co has announced that it has secured a contract to supply Nyumba Ya Akiba SARL in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a 'complete package of equipment and engineering for a greenfield cement plant.' The deal is worth US$90.3m.
Harish Badami appointed as CEO and managing director at ACC
Written by Global Cement staff
20 August 2014
India: Harish Badami has taken over as CEO and managing director of ACC effective from 13 August 2014. The former CEO and managing director, Kuldip Kaura, left his position on the same date. The board of ACC, in which Holcim has a majority stake, had approved Badami's appointment in June 2014.
Immediately before joining ACC on 1 August 2014, Badami had served as managing director of Celanese India. He has held similar positions of president and managing director of Dow Chemical India, as well as managing director of Rohm and Haas India, before its acquisition in 2009 by Dow Chemical.
Dangote breaks cover
Written by Global Cement staff
20 August 2014
Of the five African cement news stories in this edition of Global Cement Weekly, three concern the actions of Nigerian cement giant Dangote Cement. This week it has announced a new captive power plant in Nigeria and the fact that Sephaku Cement, which is owned by Dangote to the tune of 64%, is now in a position to produce cement from its Aganang plant in South Africa. These two items are fairly typical of the type of announcement that Dangote makes in the African market, and the high frequency with which it makes them. It is the third story, of course, which is unusual.
We have heard, for a couple of years now, that Dangote has designs on becoming a pan-African cement giant. Certainly it is the pre-eminent producer in west Africa, with its influence rapidly spreading to the east, north west and south of this vast continent. Few others, (but perhaps South Africa's PPC), can claim to have such influence and, unopposed, there seems no limit to Dangote's ambitions.
This week we heard just how bold those ambitions are. For the first time Africa's No. 1 cement producer has said that it wants to break out of Africa and enter new markets. No longer satisfied with operating at home, a company release has identified the Middle East and Latin America as potential hunting grounds, either for new capacity or acquisitions. The proposed list of LafargeHolcim cast-offs, which includes few assets in either region (LINK), will also have received significant attention in the Dangote boardroom.
The selection of the Middle East and Latin America, however, is not accidental. The Middle East is a high growth area and provides a platform for possible 'pincer-movement' expansion into more impenetrable markets in central Africa like Chad and (South) Sudan. The Middle East also means proximity to India. Dangote may also want to dampen the influence that Indian, Pakistani and Iranian exports have in the region. Potential tie-ups with Dangote's growing operations in east Africa are clear.
The selection of Latin America, on the face of it at least, is less obvious. There are numerous strong and growing local and regional producers. Not least of these is Colombia's Cementos Argos, which has increased its influence in the USA through strategic acquisitions. There are also numerous domestic large Brazilian producers but Dangote may feel like there is room for more to joint the party. Cade, the Brazilian competition authority, has certainly agreed that competition could be improved in Brazil following its recent investigations. Could Brazil be a prime target?
Wherever Dangote decides to play its first non-African card, it will be a major step for the company and African cement producers. How long until we see the first African-owned cement plant on another continent?