Displaying items by tag: Spain

Spain: Cement Science Group (CemSciG) and the University of Málaga (UMA) have received a US$50,000 donation from US-based CSA Research for their research into reduced-CO₂ cement production. The funding will continue the partners’ work at UMA’s department of inorganic chemistry, crystallography and minerology into alternative methods of cement production. Titles of their on-going projects include ‘Optimisation and Processing of LC3 Eco-Cements with Spanish Clays,’ ‘Microstructure Analyses of Limestone Calcined Clay Cements by Advanced Synchrotron Techniques’ and ‘Reduction of Cement Industry CO₂ Emissions without Loss of Mechanical Properties.’

Spain: LafargeHolcim España has announced the launch of a joint venture called ECCO2 with Carbon Clean and Sistemas de Calor. The joint venture will develop carbon capture technology for use at the producer’s Carboneras cement plant in Almería. It will then seek to market captured CO₂ from the plant for use as a gas in local agricultural greenhouses. When commissioned in early 2023, the carbon capture system will have the capacity to capture 10% of the Carboneras plant’s CO2 emissions.

Spain: Cementos Molins has acquired a 100% stake in precast concrete supplier Pretersa Prenavisa for an undisclosed sum. Molins, through its subsidiary Precon, made the purchase from the European investment group Kartesia. It says the transaction will boost its presence and product mix in the precast concrete market in Spain, Portugal, and France.

Pretersa Prenavisa supplies the engineering, design, manufacture, and assembly of precast concrete structures. Its headquarters is based at Teruel and it operates three production plants at Teruel, Jaen and Segovia. It has around 770 employees and reported a turnover of Euro56m in 2020.

Cementos Molins operates in the precast business in Spain through its subsidiary Precon. It operates ten production plants located throughout Spain. The acquisition of Pretersa Prenavisa is Molins’ fifth in 2021. It follows the takeover of Escofet, a concrete design specialist, the acquisition of a white cement plant in Spain from Çimsa group, the acquisition of Calucem, a calcium aluminate cement producer, and the acquisition of the aggregates and ready-mix concrete businesses of HeildelbergCement in Catalonia.

Spain: Cementos Cosmos plans to scale down the production of clinker at its Córdoba cement plant as a result as the high cost of electricity. The Cordoba Day newspaper has reported that parent company Votorantim Cimentos said that clinker grinding operations at the site will continue to ensure a sufficient cement supply in the region.

The Córdoba cement plant employs 48 people. The company is currently negotiating the situation and the scope of its impacts with the workforce.

Spain: Spain’s 10-month cement consumption was 12.5Mt in 2021, up by 12% year-on-year from 10-month 2020 levels. Interempresas News has reported that consumption grew by 10% year-on-year in October 2021 to 1.3Mt from 1.18Mt. During the month, exports fell by 14% year-on-year to 581,000t from 485,000t.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos’ revenue grew by 37% year-on-year to US$2.95bn in the first nine months of 2021 from US$2.15bn in the same period in 2020. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 67% to US$758m from US$455m. Cement sales volumes rose by 18% to 27.8Mt from 23.5Mt. The cement producer benefitted from strong growth in the first half of 2021, particularly in Brazil, although this has slowed somewhat. Notable acquisitions by the company so far in 2021 include an agreement to buy both Cementos Balboa and FYM’s Southern business in Spain and the completion of a deal to take control of McInnis Cement in Canada.

Overall the group’s net revenue rose by 32% to US$8.81bn from US$6.67bn. Its adjusted EBITDA grew by 70% to US$2.14bn from US$1.26bn. Cement-based revenue represented 44% of the total. The group attributed its result in the third quarter of 2021 to higher commodity prices and sales volumes.

Spain: Turkey-based Çimsa has joined Oficemen, the Spanish Cement Industry Association. It follows its acquisition of Cemex’s Buñol white cement plant in June 2021, according to Europa Press. The agreement to buy the plant was delayed from 2019 due to the international aspects of the deal and competition concerns.

Spain: Cementos Molins has secured a renewal of its sustainability-linked loan until December 2026 and increased its limit to Euro300m. The loan is linked to reductions in Cementos Molins’ CO₂ emissions.

Chief financial officer Jorge Bonnin said “This innovation, together with the robust financial position and the strong cash generation, enables the development of the profitable and sustainable growth strategy through markets consolidation and development in new markets.”

Europe: US-based CASE Construction Equipment has won a contract to supply Cemex with a new fleet of backhoe and wheel loaders for its building solutions operations in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the UK.

Europe regional mobile equipment fleet and category manager Craig Hooper said “As one of the world’s largest building solutions providers, Cemex is committed to leading on the path to a low carbon economy and is closely evaluating all areas of its business to make efficiency improvements. The vehicles we use as part of our work are a key part of this and we are pleased to have agreed this contract with CASE for these vehicles, which will provide a significant sustainability benefit to Cemex’s European operations. They incorporate advanced technology alongside lower fuel consumption due to an improved power to weight ratio. We look forward to working with CASE to explore other opportunities to enhance the eco-credentials of our fleet.”

Spain: FYM has agreed to sell its Southern Spain business to Brazil-based Votorantim Cimentos. The assets consist of the 1.6Mt/yr Málaga cement plant and 11 ready-mixed concrete plants and aggregates assets in Andalusia. Parent company HeidelbergCement said that the divestments accord with it Beyond 2020 strategic vision. FYM retains its Northern Spain cluster in the Basque Country, Cantabria, La Rioja and Navarra, which it operates under the Cementos Rezola brand.