Togo: CimCo says that its 2.5Mt/yr Lomé cement plant in Maritime Region will open by September 2021 following a total investment of US$118m. Agence Ecofin reports that work on the project is 65% complete. The producer said that the plant will create 500 direct jobs and a further 1000 indirect jobs.

Germany: Beumer has partnered with technology start-up Elara Digital to launch a cloud-based database product to provide overviews, orchestrate communication and access information for repairs and the smooth operation of machinery. Relevant information such as work orders, checklists, machine documentation or guides for trouble shooting can be created and accessed at any time creating a knowledge database for maintenance teams. The supplier says that the application is compatible with a simple mobile application, giving cement plant workers, ‘the factory know-how in your pocket.’

Managing Director Robert Bach said, "My job is to find young entrepreneurs with business ideas that are relevant to us."

Indonesia: Semen Baturaja has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huadian Buket Asam Power. Under the agreement, the producer will supply the power company with limestone for its flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) process in exchange for fly ash, bottom ash and gypsum. The agreement will last two years until March 2023.

The cement producer’s managing director Sumsal Saifudin said, “This collaboration is a form of synergy between the two companies to improve competitiveness, which is much-needed in facing an increasingly competitive industrial environment, by taking advantage of opportunities for the creation of new revenue streams and cost transformation.”

Germany: Schenck Process reported operating sales of Euro592m in 2020, down by 6% year-on-year from Euro632m in 2019. Adjusted group earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 11% to Euro91.4m from Euro102m. New orders for the year totalled Euro619m, down by 6% from Euro659m, but rose by under 1% to Euro292m from Euro291m in the Americas region. Demand for aftermarket service also fell, partly due to reduced production output and capacity utilisation in the global cement industry. The supplier said that construction and steel were also ‘hard hit.’ It attributed the decline to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on markets and customer demand. Corrective actions ‘partly mitigated’ the effects of this on income.

The group said that staff reduction have led to lower personnel expenses in the first quarter of the 2021 financial year.