Global Cement News

Germany: UK-based Triton Investment Management Limited subsidiary Scur-Alpha has entered into a share purchase agreement with Volkswagen for the German gear manufacturer Renk. Renk will continue to serve the cement industry with its special gear units and horizontal slide bearings under the new ownership.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has launched a campaign called ‘Shaped by Concrete,’ which aims to teach people about how concrete made with cement ‘shapes the world to make our communities, city and country better’ by telling stories based on the themes of ‘sustainability, resilience and durability.’ “We are excited to share bold, compelling stories of how we can make the world a better place, shaped by concrete,” said PCA president and CEO Mike Ireland.

South Africa: LafargeHolcim is planning to sell its South African operations as the world's largest building material maker continues to streamline its portfolio, according to sources close to a deal who spoke to Bloomberg. The Swiss company is working with adviser Credit Suisse Group to seek a buyer for the business. It has apparently already reached out to local competitors, Chinese cement producers and buyout firms, but may struggle to attract interest for the unit due to challenging dynamics in the country's cement industry. South Africa is Africa’s most mature cement market but it is hampered by decreasing demand, old production facilities, tight domestic competition and cheap imports from the Middle East. A representative for LafargeHolcim declined to comment.

India: Nuvoco Vistas Corporation, Nirma Ltd’s cement making subsidiary, is reported to be considering a partnership with either Apollo Global Management or Bain Capital to bid for Emami Cement, according to sources quoted by the Mint news outlet. Emami Cement’s owners RS Agarwal and RS Goenka are seeking a valuation of around US$1bn for the company, which operates a 2.5Mt/yr integrated plant at Risda in Chhattisgarh and a 2.5Mt/yr grinding plant at Panagarh in West Bengal.

Emami also acquired a 0.6Mt/yr grinding plant at Bhabua, Bihar in September 2018. In addition, the firm has mining assets in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh and near Jaipur in Rajasthan. Its main markets are in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, where it markets its products under the Double Bull brand.

LafargeHolcim and HeidelbergCement both submitted expression of interest in Emami, while UltraTech Cement has also been linked to the firm.

Poland: The Association of Cement Producers in Poland estimates that cement production reached 19Mt in the country in 2019, around 1% more than in 2018. According to estimates, imports from Belarus and Turkey, the producers of which do not have to purchase EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) permits, grew by 0.25Mt and 50,000t respectively. The Association expects that sales will remain a similar level in 2020.

Polish electricity prices rose by about 35-40% during 2019, caused to a large extent by the surge in ETS permit prices. This, said Xavier Guesnu, CEO of Lafarge Polska, is leading to a marked increase in imports from outside of the EU. There are concerns that, if unchecked, this could adversely affect domestic cement producers.