Vietnam: SCG Packaging plans to invest US$354m to establish a new 370,000t/yr packaging plant in Vinh Phuc province. The Tuoi Tre newspaper has reported that operations at the plant will commence in early 2024. The product will be Vina Kraft Paper brand bags. The Siam Cement Group (SCG) subsidiary will finance the expansion through cash and debt.

Pakistan: The government of Punjab has granted no-objection certificates (NOCs) for 22 new cement plants. Pakistan Press International News has reported that 10 plants are currently under construction in the state.

UK: Bunting has opened the Bunting-Redditch Customer Experience Centre at its Bunting-Redditch facility in Redditch, Worcestershire. The centre is equipped with high-intensity magnetic separators, eddy current separators and a revolutionary electrostatic separator. Bunting said that it will enable its engineers to work in partnership both remotely and at site.

General manager Adrian Coleman said “Having the ability to test and prove the separation capabilities of a specific machine is priceless. There is a constant flow of materials arriving to be tested and being returned. We are fortunate enough to have unique laboratory-scale technology that enables separations that are simply not possible in other test houses. Investing in our new Customer Experience Centre has already generated orders that previously we would not have secured.”

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies recorded sales of Euro540,000 in the first half of 2020, more than five times the Euro96,000 recorded in the first half of 2020. Its cement sales were 1880t, more than double its first-half cement sales in 2020. During the period, its orders increased by 29% to 200,000t from 155,000t at 31 December 2020. The company recorded negative earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Euro2.56m, up by 22% from Euro2.10m in the first half of 2020. It loss declined by 39% to Euro2.68m from Euro4.14m.