To coincide with the release of the Global Cement Directory 2014, Global Cement Magazine has taken a closer look at cement companies around the world, comparing capacities to analyse the development of the global cement market. Through this analysis we have identified the top 75 global cement companies. We comment on their place in the cement industry in different world regions and outlooks for the future.
The coastal west African countries of Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin are relative minnows of the global cement industry. Low-income countries in world terms, their cement capacities are typically 0 - 2Mt/yr, with lower production levels. Senegal is the exception, with a capacity of 7.3Mt/yr.
However, all of the cement industries in these countries pale in comparison to their eastern neighbour, Nigeria. The country saw an epic rise in its cement capacity in the late 2000s and so far in the 2010s, becoming a regional cement giant. Its industrial development has inevitably affected the cement industries of its neighbours and it is likely that its sphere of influence will expand in the coming years.
Here, Denes Novak and Manfred Tisch of Wopfinger Baustoffindustrie GmbH present the development and properties of a new 'clinker substitute,' which combines high performance with lowered costs and CO2 emissions.
North African nations have seen varying amounts of political disruption in recent years, with revolutions in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia and disruption in Morocco and Algeria. Construction, and hence cement production, has been a low priority as a result. In some countries the cement industry is also battling higher fuel costs. However, recent expansions may signal a brighter cement future for Africa's north coast.
The 7th International VDZ Congress 2013, 'Process technology of cement manufacturing,' has successfully taken place in Duesseldorf, Germany, on 25 - 27 September, attracting around 600 delegates of whom around 250 were from outside Germany. The Congress - in English - takes place every four years and is regarded as one of the most prestigious cement technical conferences in the world.
The Congress was opened by Gerhard Hirth, president of the Verein Deutscher Zementwerke, the German cement plant association. He pointed out that cement is a high quality, high value material without which society would struggle to cope.
