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Trinidad & Tobago: The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has ruled that Rock Hard Cement does not have to pay more than a 5% tariff on imported cement. The regional court was ruling on the duty liable for ‘other hydraulic cement,’ according to the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper. Rock Hard Cement’s competitor Trinidad Cement and its subsidiaries had argued that such imports be liable to a 60% import rate that the importer had previously paid due to Barbados’ exemption from the region’s Common External Tariff (CET) in 2001 and its subsequent re-entry in 2015.
Philippines: Republic Cement has launched Kapit-Balay Masonry Cement. The type S high-strength masonry cement product is intended for plastering, brick or block laying and block filling. The product is being produced at the company’s Danao plant in Debu.
Mauritius: Lafarge Mauritius has launched Lakaz Mazik, a cement bag that dissolves in a concrete mixer. The bag has been developed by Sweden’s BillerudKorsnäs, according to the L’Express newspaper.
US: Illinois State University has been awarded a US$15,000 grant by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to research the use of recycled glass as a substitute for Ordinary Portland Cement and fly ash in controlled low-strength material (CLSM). CLSM, also called flowable fill, is a cement-based construction material commonly used for backfilling trenches or other excavations, as well as soil-stabilisation. It can be produced at any ready-mix concrete plant by mixing cement, fly ash, sand and water in the correct proportions.
Project lead Pranshoo Solanki said that preliminary results are promising, and show that required flow and strength can be met by replacing cement and fly ash with recycled glass powder.
The EPA grant is for phase one of the recycled glass project for research at the laboratory scale. Funding for phase two will then be sought to test the product in real-world trials.
Cement board plant for Nigeria 22 April 2019
Nigeria: Sinoria FABCOM, a Chinese building materials and structural engineering firm, has announced plans to open a fibre cement board manufacturing factory in Abuja. The company, which is part of the Chinese global giant Sinoma, already has an industrial complex in Kuje Abuja, where it makes roofing products.
Liuxing Wang, Managing Director of Sinoria FABCOM, said that the new line of products would be the first of their kind to be manufactured in West Africa. He added that his company had decided to diversify into fibre cement board due to Nigeria’s raw materials and the success that it has already had with its stone-coated roofing sheets in the country.
Wang further commended the administration of President Mohammadu Buhari for creating the ‘right atmosphere for industrial growth’ of the country, noting that within the next decade Nigeria stands the chance of becoming an industrial giant.