Global Cement News
Search Cement News
Do you want to build a cement plant?
Written by David Perilli, Global Cement
16 December 2020
Could the fairy tale of McInnis Cement have ended any other way? The saga of the frequently frozen cement plant in Quebec collided with reality this week when it emerged that the pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and the provincial government are poised to let it go. The new buyer, Votorantim Cimentos, plans to form a new 83%-owned subsidiary based in Toronto to combine the assets of McInnis Cement and St Marys Cement. The proposed change in management marks a transition to a large multinational building materials producer.
Normally, Global Cement Weekly would end on a summary for its last outing of the year but the government involvement in the McInnis Cement’s ownership has created a very public tale of hope and hubris. Attempting to build a brand new integrated cement plant in rural Quebec might not seem exciting but this story has it all, from corporate competition to sustainability issues to clinker export markets. Readers looking for a global recap of 2020 should refer to the December 2020 issue of Global Cement Magazine with news and cement producer round-ups.
The McInnis story began in early 2014 when the Quebec provincial government announced that it would invest US$350m in a new 2.2Mt/yr cement plant and port facility to be operated by McInnis Cement at Port-Daniel. The project was championed by the Beaudoin-Bombardier family, which was to foot the larger share of the US$1bn total bill. Local press compared the gambit of entering a new market with established players as being similar to Bombardier's approach to its C Series airliner that was eventually bought out by Airbus: risky but potentially lucrative.
As the plan developed, competitors in both Canada and the US took exception to an export-focused cement plant being propped up by government money, political parties got involved over how public money was being spent and environmentalists became upset. The concerns of the latter were partially bypassed in order to get the project started. Then, when the cost over-ran by US$350m, the provincial government said it wasn’t spending any more and the CDPQ took over. The plant was inaugurated in September 2017 and the CDPQ started looking for a buyer or new investors at the start of 2018. It rowed back from this position in early 2019 when its chief executive officer told local press that the pension and insurance fund was ‘convinced’ of the potential of McInnis Cement. Votorantim was publicly linked to the company in September 2020 and the agreement followed this week.
It’s unknown how much Votorantim has paid to buy control of McInnis Cement but its presence in the Great Lakes region and the east coast will be augmented by this deal. Following the acquisition it will control two integrated plants and two grinding plants in the Midwest US, two integrated plants in Ontario, and now the McInnis integrated plant in Quebec. The combined integrated production capacity will rise to around 7Mt/yr. Things are looking up for the company with the Brazilian market recovering despite coronavirus and the US market holding steady so far in 2020.
The drama of McInnis Cement highlights the perils of state investment in heavy industry and the pitfalls of making a risky entry into a saturated market. The bit the Votorantim press release neglected to mention was the loss that the provincial government of Quebec is expected to make on its involvement with the cement plant. Instead it was left to Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon to admit to journalists that the province is prepared to lose up to US$370m on the affair if it can’t recoup its costs after other creditors take their slices over the next decade or so. One consolation that was reported in the local press was that jobs and facilities at the McInnis plant would be supported until at least 2029. The story of the cement plant at Port-Daniel continues for now but it’s likely to be far less public as private companies take it into the unknown.
Global Cement Weekly will return on 6 January 2020
Li Fuli appointed chairman of China Resources Cement
Written by Global Cement staff
16 December 2020
China: China Resources Cement has appointed Li Fuli as the chairman of its board of directors and the chairman of its nomination committee. He suceeds Zhou Longshan and Ye Shukun respectively in the roles.
Li, aged 54 years, is currently the deputy general manager and chief accountant of China Resources Group. He joined the organisation in mid-2018. Prior to this he worked for China Minmetals Corporation, a Beijing-based metals and mineral trading company, from 1991 to 2018. He holds degrees in economics and business administration.
Steffen Haack appointed by Bosch Rexroth as executive board member responsible for engineering
Written by Global Cement staff
16 December 2020
Germany: Bosch Rexroth has appointed Steffen Haack as its executive board member responsible for engineering from the start of 2021. His tasks will include managing the engineering activities of the company and responsibility for the three business units which constitute the Industrial Hydraulics division. He will take over the role as Head of Engineering from Heiner Lang, who will leave the company by the end of 2020. Haack will retain his role as head of the Industrial Hydraulics business unit. Marc Wucherer, aged 51 years, will be put in charge of the Factory Automation division.
Haack, aged 53 years, holds a doctorate degree in fluid technology. He started his career at Bosch in 1996. Since 2017, Haack has managed the Industrial Hydraulics business unit, for which he remains responsible. Previously, he was 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.
Germany-based Bosch Rexroth is a supplier of drive and control technologies for a variety of industries including cement.
Cementir Holding to launch calcined clay cement product in 2021 16 December 2020
Italy: Caltagirone Group subsidiary Cementir Holding has announced the upcoming launch of its FutureCem grey cement product on 1 January 2021. The company says that it has 30% lower CO2 emissions than normal ordinary Portland cement (OPC). It developed the product in collaboration with its Denmark-based subsidiary Aalborg Portland using 35% limestone and calcined clay to replace clinker. This resulted in a much more sustainable, high grade cement according to the company. It added that the low carbon benefits of FutureCem have been achieved without compromising strength and quality.
Chief sales, marketing and commercial development officer Michele Di Marino said that FutureCem is a ‘giant step’ on the way towards more sustainable cement production. “This is immensely important if we are to achieve our sustainability goals at Cementir Group,” said Di Marino. “But it is also an important contribution to the green transition of the concrete and construction industries in general. Thanks to the efforts of our research and development department in Aalborg, we are ready to begin distributing the FutureCem technology in Denmark and soon other subsidiaries in Europe will follow.” He added, “We have reached an important milestone in our innovation and sustainability efforts, but we are not done. Currently, we are incorporating the technology into more cement types in our product range. This includes white cement, and we have already introduced two white ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) premix types with FutureCem technology.”
China: Huaxin Cement plans to invest US$184m in a green building materials joint venture called Huangshi Huaxin Green Building Materials. The group says that the other investors are Huangshi City Urban Development Investment Group and Yangxin County Mining Investment. The partners plan to invest a total of US$1.84bn to establish a 2Mt/yr lime plant, a 100Mt/yr artificial sand and gravel plant and a 2bn blocks/yr building materials plant. The new facilities are to be situated in Yangxin County, Hubei Province. The units will be built in phases from January 2021.