Global Cement News

India: Birla Corporation has announced that it will increase cement production capacity by 4.5Mt/yr with an investment of around US$416m over a period of three years. Of the proposed 4.5Mt/yr, the company plans to set up two 1.5Mt/yr facilities at Chanderia, Rajasthan and a 1.5Mt/yr plant at Satna, Madhya Pradesh.

The total cement production capacity of the company at present is 9.3Mt/yr. The proposed expansion therefore represents around half of its current installed capacity.

Guatemala: Local press has indicated that Guatemalan residents are protesting against local cement manufacturer Cementos Progreso's plans to build a cement factory in San Juan Sacatepéquez, 30km north west of Guatemala City. Members of 12 local communities claim that they were not consulted prior to works commencing and they say that the cement plant will contaminate the local environment.

The cement factory will be built in the area to serve construction of a 24km highway known as the 'Anillo Regional' that will connect the departments of Guatemala, Quiché, Baja Verapaz and Chimaltenango. The highway is expected to cost US$19.2m and works are being carried out under a public-private partnership, in which Cementos Progreso is participating.

The Guatemalan president Otto Pérez inaugurated the start of construction works in May 2013 and defended the project, saying that it would bring development to the area, according to a presidential statement. "I want to ask the local population, which will benefit from the project, to help us and collaborate," said Pérez. The president also characterised claims that the highway will damage the environment, affect local farming and reduce water resources in the area as 'lies.'

Following on from last week's analysis column (Global Cement Weekly #107: Gimmie Water - water conservation in the cement industry) Irish cement producer CRH has released its 2012 Sustainability Report.

Unfortunately, no comparable figures for water usage per cement production were published and CRH noted usage measurement as a group objective. Its best estimate was that the group used 36Mm³ of water in 2012, with 12% of that figure (4.4Mm³) used in cement production.

Otherwise plenty of good news filled the report with improvements shown for most of the key indicators. Notably chief executive office Myles Lee pointed out that CRH had substantially increased alternative fuel usage in its European cement operations in 2012 and that this helped with rising energy costs.

Sticking with CRH, the Irish cement producer recently released information on its development strategy for the first half of 2013.

Despite - or perhaps because – of decreasing profits in 2012, CRH's development spend has nearly doubled year-on-year to Euro470m from Euro250m. The increase is mainly due to the asset swap with Cementos Portland Valderrivas (CPV), which was announced in February 2013. CRH agreed to transfer a 26% stake in Corporacion Uniland to CPV. In return, CPV agreed to transfer its 99% stake in Cementos Lemona to CRH, as well as giving CRH its UK-based cement importer Southern Cement.

In its press release CPV specifically mentioned that the asset swap would reduce its exposure to the Spanish cement market. On CRH's side the inclusion into the deal of a UK cement importer may be incidental but having an additional destination for potential excess Spanish cement production capacity can only be prudent.

Elsewhere this week, Turkmenistan's decision to protect domestic cement production with a 100% import duty raises interesting implications for exporters in the region such as Iran. It is unclear whether Turkmenistan is blocking Iranian exports altogether or just taxing them more. Either way, following news of a Iraqi block on Iranian exports, it seems likely to dent Iran's ambition to reach 18Mt of exports in the 2013 – 2014 Iranian calendar year, which will end on 20 March 2014.

France: Lafarge has announced changes to its Executive Committee due to start from 1 September 2013. Sonia Artinian and Peter Hoddinott will join existing committee members Eric Olsen, Guillaume Roux and Alexandra Rocca.

Sonia Artinian, currently Country CEO for Romania, is appointed as Executive Vice-President of Organization and Human Resources, taking over from Eric Olsen.

Artinian, a French national, joined Lafarge in 2008 as Senior Vice-President Organization, Learning and Development. She started her career as a strategy consultant, notably working for Cap Gemini Consulting. She is a graduate of École nationale de génie rural des eaux et forêts and of Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (section biology).

Peter Hoddinott, currently Head of Energy and Strategic Sourcing at the Performance department, is appointed as Executive Vice-President of Performance, taking over from Guillaume Roux.

Hoddinott, a British national, joined Lafarge in 2001 with the acquisition of Blue Circle by Lafarge. He worked for the mining industry before joining Blue Circle in 1995, where he held several operational positions in the UK, before being appointed General Director for the Philippines in 1999. He is a graduate of Imperial College and holds a Master of Business Administration from London University.

Eric Olsen, currently Executive Vice-President Organization and Human Resources, is appointed Executive Vice-President of Operations, taking over from Jean-Carlos Angulo, who has decided to retire.

Olsen, a US national, joined Lafarge in 1999 after starting his career at Deloitte & Touche. He became Chief Financial Officer of Lafarge North America in 2004.

Olsen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and accounting from the University of Colorado, and an MBA from the HEC international business school in Paris.

Alexandra Rocca, currently Senior Vice-President Group Communications, is appointed as Executive Vice-President Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development.

Rocca, a French national, joined Lafarge in 2010 as Senior Vice-President Group of Communications and has been a member of the group Executive Committee since January 2012. She began her career at Printemps Group in 1986 with subsequent roles at Air Liquide Group, Galeries Lafayette and Crédit Agricole S.A. group. She is a graduate from the HEC international business school in Paris, the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris and holds a BA in French literature.

Guillaume Roux, currently Executive Vice-President Performance, is appointed Executive Vice-President of Operations.

Roux, a US-French dual national, has spent his entire career with Lafarge which he joined in 1980 as an internal auditor. Subsequent roles since have included Chief Executive for Turkey in 1999, taking responsibility for Lafarge's cement operations in South-East Asia in 2002 and becoming Executive Vice President and Co-President of the Cement Division with the responsibility for the Cement business in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2006. In 2008 he supervised the integration of Orascom's operations with Lafarge. He is a graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris.

Nigeria: The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has released plans to invest around US$1bn in Nigeria towards the construction of a cement plant and other projects, including the modernisation of a port near Lagos, a saw mill, real estate investment and manpower development. President of CCECC, Yuan Li, made the announcement in conjunction with a Nigerian delegation to Beijing led by the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.