Italy: Federbeton, the Italian cement and concrete association, has called for a coordinated infrastructure investment plan to restart the national economy once the coronavirus crisis recedes. It has noted a halt to production not seen since the 1940s during the current crisis and a general reduction in cement consumption to 17Mt/yr from 47Mt/yr over the last decade, according to the Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA). It is calling on a strategic plan for the sector to make any post-pandemic economic recovery as efficient as possible.

Spain: The Spanish cement association Oficemen has targeted a 43% emissions drop by 2030 across its entire value chain compared to 1990 levels. The objective has been published as part of the association’s sustainability roadmap to 2050. It is a tightening of the previous target of 27% by 2030. Oficemen intends to meet the tougher reduction by using the so-called 5C approach - clinker, cement, concrete, construction and built environment, and (re)carbonation – as detailed by Cembureau, the European Cement Association. Oficemen also revealed that it is working with the Spanish Technological Platform for CO₂ (PTECO₂) on identifying potential locations for storing captured CO₂. Hugo Morán, Secretary of State for the Environment, participated remotely with the launch event.

Oficemen also reports that Spanish cement consumption fell by 12% year-on-year to 12.2Mt in the first 11 months of 2020. Exports declined by 5%.

India: France-based Fives says that Ramco Cements has ordered a second FCB TSV 5500 BF type classifier for raw material mixing at a plant in Tamil Nadu. The order follows the commissioning of a similar classifier from Fives at the same site. The upgrade is part of an overhaul of the unit’s grinding equipment. No price for the order or commissioning date has been disclosed.

Senegal: Aumund Group says that it is supplying conveying equipment to a new production line that will be built at Ciments du Sahel’s Kirene plant. The order package includes 23 bucket elevators, seven pan conveyors, eleven drag chain conveyors, two Samson material feeders, four Centrex silo discharge machines and 19 silo discharge gates. The machines will operate in all stages of the production process, from raw materials discharge to conveying between the clinker silo and the cement mill, and in the packing plant. Supply will be made in several tranches between March and June 2021. Commissioning is planned for the first quarter of 2022.

China-based Sinoma International Engineering and its subsidiary CBMI Construction are the main contractors for the project. Aumund France and Aumund China, with support from Aumund Foerdertechnik, are the main divisions of Aumund working on the upgrade.