India: Gujarat Sidhee Cement has shut down the kiln line of its Sidheegram, Gujarat, cement plant for 17 – 20 days. India InfoLine News Service has reported that the company will carry out routine maintenance on the plant during the shutdown. It says that grinding and dispatch of cement will continue as usual.

France: Lafarge France has awarded a contract to Germany-based Inform for the supply of its transport optimisation software across its 160 aggregates locations and 900-truck fleet. The software uses algorithms to analyse scheduling decisions in real-time and identify those that are ideal for minimising costs and maximising service and on-time performance.

Supply chain projects head Kevin Perrault said “We have been using Inform’s transport optimisation software for over 25 years in our aggregates business.” He added “We pride ourselves in delivering the best possible service to our customers, and upgrading our operations to the latest version is a key element to help us achieve our goals and to remain competitive in the industry.”

India: Ambuja Cements has launched Concrete Futures Laboratories, a one-stop solution for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals. Eight laboratories across India will enable them to test various aspects of cement and concrete.

CEO Neeraj Akhoury said "Our strong credentials in research and development and innovation have helped us develop new products and services tailored to our customers' needs. We consistently work towards developing cutting-edge solutions for our stakeholders, and the Concrete Futures Laboratory is a testament to our efforts. We aim to create an ecosystem that is focused on collaboration and inclusive growth to build a better and sustainable tomorrow."

India: The state government of Orissa has approved cement grinding plant projects proposed by My Home Industries and Ramco Cements. My Home Industries plans to build a new 3Mt/yr grinding plant at Badchana in Jajpur. The Orissa Diary newspaper has reported the value of the producer’s planned investment as US$89.0m. Ramco Cements has proposed a 0.9Mt/yr at Haridaspur in Jajpur. The unit will cost US$26.0m and employ 60 local people.