Global Cement News

Ivory Coast: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has set caps for the ex-factory and retail price of cement. Maximum prices have been designated for 32.5 and 42.5 grades of Ordinary Portland Cement in both urban and rural areas, according to the Agence de Presse Africaine. The ministry said that arrangements had been made with producers to keep the market supplied. It added that failure to comply with the designated prices would lead to penalties.

Jamaica: Builders have complained about a shortage of cement with mounting delays between ordering the product and receiving it. However, Caribbean Cement has denied that there is any disruption to supply, according to the Jamaica Observer newspaper. However, the producer did note that there is currently an ‘extraordinary’ demand for cement due to a boom in the construction sector. It is currently increasing production to meet the surge.
Caribbean Cement says it produced over 0.1Mt of cement in March 2021, a record in recent monthly production. In 2020 it produced over 0.94Mt.

Poland: HeildelbergCement subsidiary Górażdże Group plans to vaccinate 700 of its employees against Covid-19. A first dose will be administered in mid-May 2021 followed by a second in June 2021. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be used and administered on company sites. The corporate health campaign will be conducted as part of the country’s National Immunisation Program.

Germany/Sweden: Sweden-based BillerudKorsnäs and Germany-based Haver & Boecker have decided to continue jointly developing further standards for sack packaging following positive feedback in 2020. The sack packaging norms include recommendations for the development and use of packaging solutions and processes and define basic standard know-how or standard procedures. They are intended to provide orientation for regular questions that manufacturers of bulk materials face.

"Together BillerudKorsnäs and Haver & Boecker now offer a set of recommendations to minimise problems and maximise performance in the packaging chain. If manufacturers and users of paper sack packaging follow the recommendations and guidelines and implement usage of these norms in their supply chain, efficient and effective packaging production, filling, handling, storage and transport of the end products will be ensured," says Mikael Peterson, Technical Service Director at BillerudKorsnäs.

BillerudKorsnäs has contributed experience in packaging paper production as well as analytical tests, design and developments at the BillerudKorsnäs Packaging Development Centre. Haver & Boecker has contributed its experience in filling technology and handling of powdered bulk materials.

Sweden: Researchers at the department of architecture and civil engineering at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg in Västra Götaland county are developing a technology to enable concrete to store energy in the manner of a rechargeable battery. The team has proposed a design based on cement mixed with short carbon fibres. The concrete is then fitted with a metal-coated carbon fibre mesh that forms the battery’s anode and cathode. The team says that a future product based on the technology would enable solar-powered roads and buildings to store their own energy. Additionally, the introduction of sensors to the system would enable full and constant monitoring of the condition of the structure.

Chief researcher Emma Zhang said, “Results from earlier studies investigating concrete battery technology showed very low performance, so we realised we had to think out of the box, to come up with another way to produce the electrode. This particular idea that we have developed – which is also rechargeable – has never been explored before. Now we have proof of concept at lab scale.”