Global Cement News

Sweden: Åke Erikssson is the newly appointed manager of the Höganäs Bjuf Asia Pacific operation, shown here (left) together with the managing director Erik Olsen.

Höganäs Bjuf Asia Pacific provide services to the cement producers in the Asia Pacific region and will in the future also start with installation services.

UK: Lafarge's chief executive Bruno Lafont has said that the joint venture between miner Anglo American and cement maker Lafarge in the UK is likely to begin selling a series of assets as required by regulators by the end of June 2012.

The UK Competition Commission said in May 2012 that the companies had to sell 'an extensive package of operations' including one of the UK's largest cement plants, the Hope plant in Derbyshire, for the planned joint venture to win approval.

"It's a process that should start at the end of the month of June when we have completed the process of authorisation and consultation with the antitrust authorities," Bruno Lafont announced.

Both companies said in May 2012 that they were confident the conditions for the joint venture would be met, prompting speculation that they might have buyers for the assets lined up, despite government austerity plans that are likely to limit infrastructure spending.

Germany: Intensiv-Filter & Co KG has submitted an application for insolvency. The application was submitted on 31 May 2012 to the district court of Wuppertal, Germany. Dr Marc d'Avoine was appointed as the temporary insolvency trustee.

Initial plans are to re-start ongoing projects as quickly as possible. To aid re-capitalisation, d'Avoine has implemented efficiency improvement measures and continued technological advancements at the firm. In addition the sales department has, in spite of the insolvency, managed an order boom for the manufacture of machines and plants.

Intensiv-Filter group operates worldwide with around 400 employees. For 90 years it has been a leader in dust removal technology.

Nigeria: The cement sub-sector of the Nigerian economy received a further boost on 11 June 2012 when President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the new 5.25Mt/yr Dangote Cement Obajana Plant Line 3. The plant launch is part of the nation's drive to 'free itself' from foreign cement imports.

With the commissioning of the new line, the production capacity of the Obajana Plant will be raised to 10.25Mt/yr. In 2015 a fourth line will be completed, giving a combined production capacity of 13.25Mt/yr. This would make it the largest cement plant in the global cement industry.

The line 3 launch follows the commissioning of Dangote's 6Mt/yr Ibese plant. The company aims to lead the way in the Nigerian cement market and have sufficient material left over for export.

With the continuous expansion of the existing plants in the country and its operations across 14 other African countries, Dangote Cement will remain one of the largest producers in Africa and the world. The company said that the inauguration marked a milestone not only for the company but also for Nigeria, pointing out that the Obajana project will make Dangote Cement the 'power house of cement in Africa.'

Group President Alhaji Aliko Dangote has previously said that Dangote Cement would soon start to convert its import terminals for export terminals in readiness for exportation of its excess capacity to neighbouring countries.

Brazil: A large report by Sindicato Nacional da Industria do Cimento (SNIC) has revealed that home consumption of cement has risen by 104% in Brazil since 2006. The report, carried out by Galanto Consultoria, showed that Brazilian families are carrying out more home improvement, resulting in a surge in demand for many building materials.

DIY consumption of cement rose from US$14m in 2002-2003 to US$28.8m in 2008-2009. Interestingly, the use of bricks fell from 6% to 4.6%, wood from 5.7% to 3.9% and tiling from 6.4% to 5.9% of total materials used over the same period. The president of SNIC, Jose Otavio Carvalho, said that DIY applications now represent 18.23% of the total consumption of cement in Brazil.

Overall cement consumption in Brazil has risen by 34% to U$1.7bn in 2011, up from US$1.3bn in 2006. The major regional consumer is the south east with a 40.2% share followed by the north east with a 25.5% share of national consumption.

SNIC estimates that Brazil produced 63.6Mt of cement in 2011, just shy of national demand of 64.6Mt. Imports made up the shortfall. The industry's installed capacity was estimated at 78Mt/yr at the end of 2011, with SNIC predicting an increase to 111Mt/yr by the end of 2015.