Global Cement News

Spain: Turkey-based Çimsa has joined Oficemen, the Spanish Cement Industry Association. It follows its acquisition of Cemex’s Buñol white cement plant in June 2021, according to Europa Press. The agreement to buy the plant was delayed from 2019 due to the international aspects of the deal and competition concerns.

Bangladesh: Bashundhara Group has launched its new Bir brand cement. The promotion coincides with the 50th anniversary of Victory Day at the end of the Bangladesh Liberation War. The product joins Bashundhara Group's range, which includes King Brand cement and Bashundhara cement. The company says that its cements are currently in use in 25 major projects across the country.

Managing director Sayem Sobhan Anvir said “Bashundhara Group has always been involved in the development of Bangladesh and we’ll continue to do so in the future.” He added, “Bir Cement is the new addition of Bashundhara Group. This new brand cement will be used in building sustainable infrastructure in our country and for the future of Bangladesh.”

Mexico: Cemex's Cemex Go online shopping platform has won the Best Internationalisation Strategy award at the Mexican eCommerce Awards 2021. Marketing company Marketing4eCommerce hosted the awards, which compared Mexico's ecommerce platforms across 10 categories. Cemex Go also received nomination in the Best Mobile Transactional App category.

Cemex said "With this distinction, Cemex Go increases its positioning as a reliable app, in addition to offering merchants an alternative to solve their business needs from a mobile phone."

India: Sagar Cements says that its subsidiary Jajpur Cements is on track to commission its new 1.5Mt/yr Jajpur grinding plant in Odisha in December 2021. The Hindu BusinessLine newspaper has reported that the company invested US$41m in the plant’s construction. Sagar Cements acquired Jajpur Cements in May 2019 for US$16m. It had previously aimed to complete the new grinding plant’s construction by March 2021.

In October 2021, another Sagar Cements subsidiary, Satguru Cement, commissioned its new US$80.6m 1Mt/yr Indore integrated cement plant in Madhya Pradesh. The completion of both projects will bring Sagar Cements’ total installed capacity to 8.25Mt/yr. the company said that the new facilities will help in its rationalisation of freight expenses and help it to diversify its sales outside of existing markets.

India: JK Cement’s second-quarter sales were US$247m in the 2022 financial year, up by 18% year-on-year from US$209m in the second quarter of 2021. Its profit fell by 24% to US$22.7m from US$30.1m. During the quarter, the company reported a rise in operating expenses of 32% to US$203m from US$153m.