Global Cement News

India: UltraTech Cement Limited has appointed Sukanya Kripalu and Renuka Ramnath as additional independent directors with effect from 11 October 2014.

Kenya: Savannah Cement, one of Kenya's newest market entrants, is set to build two new plants as it nears exhaustion of its current capacity, according to managing director Ronald Ndegwa. He said that Savannah Cement plans to invest US$250 – 350m for a clinker plant and a second mill to support its existing operations.

"We see ourselves running out of headroom in two to three years at our current mill, hence the new investment," said Ndegwa. "The clinker plant would use local limestone to make clinker."

Angola: Cement production in Angola has reached 8Mt/yr, which was slightly more than the amount consumed, making Angola self-sufficient in terms of cement.

The China International Fund Ltd (CIF) plant is the country's newest cement facility. Production from the 4Mt/yr capacity cement plant enabled Angola to cease cement imports. The plant has two 5000t/day production lines, 145MW of power production capacity and three wind turbines.

China: Anhui Conch Cement Co Ltd has announced that its output and sales of its major subsidiaries hit record highs in September 2014.

Its Foshan subsidiary in Guangdong Province saw sales exceed 10,000t/day for five consecutive days in September 2014, with average sales stablising at 8000t/day. Anhui Conch claimed that the subsidiary's September 2014 output, sales, clinker and cement production all hit new highs in 2014, with output and clinker cement production reaching historical highs.

In Jiangxi Province, its Ganjiang subsidiary witnessed 67% year-on-year growth in sales in September 2014. Anhui Conch's production in Guangxi was also robust. Its Beiliu unit completed 104% of its production target in the third quarter of 2014, while its Tongling unit produced over 10Mt of clinker cement in the first nine months of the year.

US: Mitsubishi Cement is seeking to expand its import terminal at the Port of Long Beach, California, for the more efficient handling of operations. Port officials have released a draft report reviewing the potential environmental impacts of the project being proposed by Mitsubishi Cement. A hearing for the draft is set to place take on 22 October 2014.

Mitsubishi Cement wants to reconfigure a cement import facility on Pier F into the space that was formerly used by the Pacific Banana facility. The project calls for adding storage for 40,000t of products, new ship unloading equipment and a new air pollution control system. It would also feature up to two additional truck-loading lanes that would be built underneath the silos. Each new silo would be up to 60ft in diameter and 160ft tall and would have a storage capacity of 10,000t and be capable of being loaded directly from a ship.

If approved, construction could begin as early as 2016, according to Lou Baglietto, spokesman for the project. Baglietto said that while the company is expanding its footprint, it is not expanding its throughput. The project would allow Mitsubishi to handle operations more efficiently. However, the move would position Mitsubishi for expected rises in cement demand as more residential and public works project come online.

"The economy is cyclical and I think there will be a demand for that," said Baglietto. "We want to be ready for that."