Displaying items by tag: Germany
HeidelbergCement discusses Hilal Cement sale
28 January 2021Kuwait/Germany: HeidelbergCement has detailed the reasons behind the sale of its 51% stake in Hilal Cement, which has been led by HeidelbergCement subsidiary Suez Cement since 2016. The group said that the divestment represents the first step in a ‘comprehensive portfolio optimisation’ in line with its Beyond 2020 strategy.
Chief executive officer Dominik von Achten said, “We are pleased with the closing of the transaction in Kuwait.” He continued, “The focus of our portfolio management is the simplification of country portfolios and a prioritisation of the strongest market positions.”
Hilal Cement operates two cement terminals and four ready-mix plants.
ThyssenKrupp’s gambit
27 January 2021There have been two developments from ThyssenKrupp’s ongoing restructuring worth noting by the cement sector in recent weeks. The first is that the Germany-based engineering and steel producer has stopped trying to sell its cement plant division. The second is that Denmark-based FLSmidth is holding serious talks about buying its mining division.
ThyssenKrupp first announced plans for a major restructuring in mid-2019 with an anticipated reduction of 6000 jobs across the business. The sale of its elevator business for Euro17.2bn to private equity was announced in February 2020. Later in May 2020 it then revealed plans to divide its previous business areas into core, dual and multi track segments. Core - including Materials Services, Industrial Components (Forged Technologies and Bearings) and Automotive Technology – would be kept as before. Dual-track – including Steel and Marine – would either be kept as before or considered for consolidation. Multi-track - including cement plant engineering, mining and more – would be sold, added to a partnership or closed. By size, core reported sales of Euro16.1bn (53%) in the company’s 2019 - 2020 financial year, dual-track reported Euro8.8bn (29%) and multi-track reported Euro5.5bn (18%).
Volkmar Dinstuhl, formerly in charge of mergers and acquisitions, was put in charge of Multi-track. By October 2020 he was publicly admitting that the division was planning to “find a solution for all our businesses within the next two years” including cement plant engineering. In the same interview he described the Multi-track division as an internal private equity fund. However, the elevator business sale has been seen by several commentators as giving ThyssenKrupp more freedom around how to conduct its restructuring. Three months later and Handelsblatt, a German business newspaper, reported this week that ThyssenKrupp’s cement plant division may have avoided its multi-track fate. It cited internal communication to employees about what’s been happening with the sale. Principally, orders have picked up in the company’s new financial year, since October 2020, and although a sale has not been ruled out, it won’t be pursued until late 2021 at the earliest. This is potentially good news for the sector as a sign that the market may be improving and definitely good news for those employees working for the division.
As a competitor, FLSmidth would have been expected to be potentially interested in buying either ThyssenKrupp’s mining or cement plant division, or both. So, the only question was, when it made a point of saying publicly that it was in non-binding negotiations to buy mining, what about cement?
Looking at the numbers shows that FLSmidth’s mining division did better than its cement one in the first nine months of 2020 with order take up year-on-year and the mining industry described as being relatively resilient during the coronavirus crisis, with the majority of mines operational across regions. By contrast it pointed out that the cement market was still ‘severely’ impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and that future cement demand was dependent on general economic growth. Acquisition activity in mining certainly seems like the safer bet at the moment. Yet the temptation to neutralise a competitor may have been a strong one. With the mining deal still in progress and the cement sale possibly ended for now, we’ll just have to wait and see. Other buyers for both divisions are no doubt waiting in the wings should circumstances allow.
One final fun fact to consider is that the man put in charge of selling both of ThyssenKrupp’s mining and cement plant divisions, Volkmar Dinstuhl, just happens to be a World Chess Federation (FIDE) recognised International Master. Being good at chess doesn’t automatically confer skill at anything else. Just look at former world champion Gary Kasparov’s political ambitions in Russia for example. Yet, ThyssenKrupp’s elevator division sale has been seen as one of the largest leveraged European buyouts in recent years and has appeared to have bought it some time to mull its options over its cement plant division. With this in mind, any potential buyers for the rest of Multi-track may be wondering just how many moves ahead this seller is thinking.
KHD Humboldt Wedag wins contract with UltraTech Cement for upgrades at multiple plants
26 January 2021India: UltraTech Cement has awarded Germany-based KHD Humboldt Wedag a contract relating to three new kiln lines, one new raw meal grinding plant with two KHD roller presses, and the upgrade of five existing clinker grinding plants with KHD roller presses. KHD said that the engineering and supply of equipment as well as supervisory services related to erection and commissioning, comprised a potential order volume of more than Euro30m. It added that UltraTech Cement and Humboldt Wedag India are currently negotiating with the aim of concluding a corresponding Engineering and Procurement (EP) contract package.
Germany: ThyssenKrupp has decided not to sell the cement division of its subsidiary ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions after failing to receive a ‘convincing’ offer. The Handelsblatt newspaper has reported that the group is still exploring options for individual subsidiaries under its restructuring programme. It reportedly aims to establish a looser group structure under which individual units enjoy a high degree of independence.
The Germany-based engineering company stared to try and sell the various division of its plant-building business in 2020. However, the source quoted by Handelsblatt also says that orders in ThyssenKrupp’s current financial year, since October 2020, have been recovering, with a several new projects. Separately, Denmark-based FLSmidth said in mid-January 2021 that it had entered into non-binding negotiations with ThyssenKrupp over the possible acquisition of its mining business.
Steffen Haack appointed as executive board member responsible for engineering at Bosch Rexroth
20 January 2021Germany: Bosch Rexroth has appointed Steffen Haack as its executive board. His tasks include the engineering activities of the company and responsibility for the three business units which constitute the Industrial Hydraulics division. Haack will retain his role as head of the Industrial Hydraulics business unit. He succeeds Heiner Lang as head of Engineering, who left the company at the end of 2020.
Haack, aged 54 years, holds a doctorate degree in fluid technology and he began his career at Bosch in 1996. Since 2017, he has been managing the Industrial Hydraulics business unit, for which he will continue to remain responsible. He was previously a member of the executive board of Bosch Rexroth from 2015 to 2017. In addition to his professional activities, Haack is a member of the executive board of the Fluid Technology Association at the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) and the advisory board of the German Mechanical Engineering Summit.
Other appointments include the decision to place executive board member Marc Wucherer in charge of the Factory Automation division, another unit previously managed by Lang. Wucherer has been responsible for sales and for the three hydraulics business units Industrial Hydraulics, Large Hydraulic Drives, and Large Projects since 2017. Responsibility for these three hydraulics units will be transferred to Haack.
Germany-based Bosch Rexroth is a supplier of drive and control systems for many industries including cement, mining and materials handling.
Continental unifies belts and services under Continental brand
20 January 2021Germany: Continental has strategically sharpened its conveying solutions and services profile by unifying all products, technologies and services under the Continental brand. The company said that the unification complements an optimisation and extension of the portfolio in both belts and digital products. In 2021 it will launch drone-based monitoring services for conveyor systems.
Conveying solutions services head Andreas Bakenhus said “We see fast-changing requirements in our markets. A few years ago, our customers asked for high-quality, long-life belts. Now, construction, industry and mining companies are looking for safety, quality, efficiency and productivity gains. Our customers are requiring integrated solutions covering the entire value chain around a belt from commissioning, consulting and training to digital monitoring and on-site maintenance. Additionally, energy-optimised belts, new business models and sustainability aspects will play a crucial and competitive role in the future.” He concluded “Basically, we understand it as our job to offer service levels that allows our customers to fully concentrate on their core business.”
Conveying solutions head Hannes Friederichsen said “Decisive drivers are our customers. In this way, our customers and partners will benefit from a stronger and trusted global product portfolio from a single source. Thus, we will further be joining forces to continue our customer-centric business approach.”
FLSmidth enters negotiations with ThyssenKrupp over acquisition of its mining business
15 January 2021Germany: Denmark-based FLSmidth has entered into non-binding negotiations with ThyssenKrupp over the possible acquisition of its mining business. Mining is one of ThyssenKrupp subsidiary ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions’ major businesses, alongside cement. This business segment reported net sales of Euro2.9bn in its 2020 financial year, a small decline from the sales figure in 2019 despite the coronavirus pandemic.
INFORM expands management team
13 January 2021Germany: INFORM has appointed four new co-chief executive officers (CEO) alongside Adrian Weiler, the company’s CEO since 1986, who will continue in his leadership role. Andreas Meyer, Matthias Berlit, Peter Frerichs and Jörg Herbers all assumed their new roles at the start of 2021. The four new executives hold over 75 years in leading positions at the company. Their appointments are intended to hasten the company’s development.
INFORM is a provider of artificial intelligence (AI) driven optimisation software for digital decision making and agile operations that was founded in 1969. In the construction materials industry is has a particular focus on improving supply chains and logistics. The company has its is headquarters in Aachen, Germany with a North American regional office in Atlanta, Georgia in the US and an Australian office in Sydney.
REEL to buy Möller from FLSmidth
04 January 2021Germany: France-based REEL has agreed to acquire handling and lifting systems specialist Möller (also known as FLSmidth Hamburg GmbH) from Denmark-based FLSmidth for an undisclosed amount. The company employs 60 people and has reported sales of Euro400m/yr.
FLSmidth Cement President Carsten Riisberg Lund said, “The sale of Möller is part of an on-going process aimed at reshaping FLSmidth’s cement division. Consistent with the corporate strategy we announced earlier this year, we are pursuing a more focused cement portfolio. The new owner has a strong focus on the aluminium and related sectors and is therefore a natural fit for Möller’s future.”
HeidelbergCement considering selling assets in California
23 December 2020US: HeidelbergCement is considering selling assets in California. Bloomberg News reports that it is working with Morgan Stanley on a potential divestment and it hopes to raise around US$1.5bn. It is reportedly approaching competitors including Martin Marietta Materials, Cemex, CRH, Summit Materials and LafargeHolcim, as well as companies in China and Latin America. The first bids are not expected until early 2021.
The Germany-based building materials company operates three integrated cement plants in California, as part of its Lehigh Hanson subsidiary, in addition to concrete and aggregates units. Divestment of these assets would focus the company instead on markets in the East Coast, Midwest and Canadian regions of North America.
In July 2020 HeidelbergCement announced that it had reduced its value of its assets by Euro3.4bn following a review. It blamed this on reduced demand for building materials due the coronavirus pandemic and the devaluation of its Hanson subsidiary in the UK, in part related to the UK’s exit from the European Union.