Global Cement News

US: ScrapeTec has announced the launch of PrimeTracker, a belt tracker designed to tackle misalignment. The supplier says that the tracker differs from other products of its kind in using free rotation, thereby avoiding abrasion and damage from sliding over the belt surface. The tracker is able to swing and tilt while remaining in full contact with the belt.

Sales and distribution head Thorsten Koth said, “For optimum performance of a conveyor system, it is critical that the belt always runs straight on the conveyor, without sideways movement. Our new PrimeTracker belt tracker has been designed to automatically guide a conveyor belt back into the correct straight-line position, to prevent costly downtime and component replacement.” He added, “An advantage of the ScrapeTec PrimeTracker is that it is operates in the idling position at all times, unless there is sideways movement of the belt. This system corrects misalignment immediately, by guiding the belt back into the correct position, with no damage or abrasion to the belt or tracker.”

Germany: Flender and Schaeffler have launched the Schaeffler Modular Adaptable Returnable Transport (SMART) Box, a packaging system for bearings. Flender says that the reusable box reduces waste by replacing disposable packaging.

Chief executive officer Andreas Evertz said, “Over the past few years, Flender has systematically minimised its own CO₂ emissions and was able to reduce them by 83% between 2015 and 2020. We want to be completely CO₂-neutral by 2030. In addition, close cooperation with customers and suppliers is another important step towards achieving complete climate neutrality. It is therefore important for us to also focus on potential savings in the supply chain. We are pleased to have a partner in Schaeffler who is also thinking in this direction. With the introduction of SMART Box for one type of gearbox, we are already reducing the use of wood as one-way packaging material by more than 100t/yr.”

Taiwan: Taiwan Cement’s revenue fell by 7% year-on-year to US$4.02bn in 2020 from US$4.32bn in 2019. Net income grew by 4% to US$881m.

Senior vice president Edward Huang said, "In 2020, Taiwan Cement made achievements in many aspects. In additional to our sound financial performance, we also committed to the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA)’s Climate Ambition aspiring to deliver carbon neutral concrete to society by 2050. Even though challenges such as Covid-19, global economic volatility and climate change remain in 2021, Taiwan Cement is well-prepared as we continue to see stable profits in the cement industry, expand our waste treatment and energy businesses and move towards our carbon emissions reduction targets."

China: China Tianrui Group Cement recorded consolidated sales of US$1.87bn in 2020, up by 1% year-on-year. ET Net News has reported that consolidated profit attributable to the owners rose by 2% year-on-year to US$286m.

Greece: Titan Cement’s consolidated earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 7% year-on-year to Euro286m from Euro267m in 2019. Sales remained level year-on-year at Euro1.61bn and net profit after taxes and minorities (NPAT) fell by 97% to Euro1.50m from Euro50.9m. The group attributed the profit slump to one-off charges, namely the full write-off of the Euro46.6m goodwill of subsidiary Titan Cement Egypt and the derecognition of Euro17.3m of accumulated deferred Egyptian tax assets. If not for these, the group says its consolidated NPAT would have increased by 28% to Euro65.4m.

Cement sales were 17.1Mt, up by 1% from 17.0Mt. The group called the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak ‘less severe than expected.’ Ready-mixed concrete sales rose by 3% to 5.4Mm³ from 5.2Mm³.

Construction activity continued under coronavirus lockdown in most of the group’s countries of operation. As a result, sales remained resilient across all markets. US sales fell by 2% to Euro938m from Euro952m due to negative currency exchange effects. Greece and Western Europe sales rose by 1% to Euro247m from Euro245m. Southeastern Europe sales rose by 3% to Euro938m from Euro952m and Eastern Mediterranean sales rose by 1% to Euro152m from Euro150m.

Group executive committee chair Dimitri Papalexopoulos said “In 2020, we delivered strong financial performance while taking care of our employees and those around us, ensuring high-quality, uninterrupted customer service and accelerating progress towards our digital and sustainability aspirations. In the face of uncertainty caused by Covid-19, we remained confident in our business model. We adapted to shifting market conditions and continued to pursue operational excellence while laying the groundwork to capture future growth.” The group anticipates a positive market trend in all regions in 2021.