Global Cement News

Kenya: Savannah Cement is set to complete US$50m upgrade to its grinding plant at Athi River by the end of 2019. It is installing a second 1.2Mt/yr mill at the unit supplied by Denmark’s FLSmidth, according to the Kenya Broadcasting Company. Contractors are also installing belt conveyors, storage silos, a packing plant and dust filters as part of the new vertical roller mill line.

The cement producer made the announcement at an event celebrating its seventh anniversary. The existing mill at Athi River has a production capacity of 1.2Mt/yr.

Nepal: Flooding has damaged the Huaxin Narayani Cement plant being built at Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality in Dhading. Rising water from the Malekhu River caused around US$90,000 damage to the construction site, according to the Himalayan Times newspaper. The deluge wrecked a storeroom and swept away five vehicles. Work on the US$137m project started earlier in 2019.

Australia: Southern Cross Cement, a joint venture between Brickworks, Neilsen Group and Neumann Group, is planning to open a 0.2Mt/yr terminal by October 2019. The US$60m unit will import cement from south east Asia, according to the CourierMail newspaper. It is anticipated to supply 10% of Queensland market. A 12,000t/day mechanical ship unloader will be installed at the site.

Ireland: Local environmental activists have accused the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of ignoring European Union (EU) NO_x emission limits by granting an exemption to Irish Cement’s Limerick integrated plant. Limerick Against Pollution group alleges that the plant has been allowed a limit of 800mg/m3 despite a EU directive reducing the limit to 500mg/m³, according to the Limerick Post newspaper.

Romania: LafargeHolcim has signed an agreement with Oresa to buy Somaco, precast concrete producers. The transaction will allow LafargeHolcim to develop its position on the Romanian building materials market, where the company is already present in the cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates segments. No value for the transaction has been disclosed. It is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in late 2019.

“This is our sixth bolt-on acquisition this year and we are delivering on our commitment to further develop our Solutions & Products business segment as part of Strategy 2022 – ‘Building for Growth.’ The acquisition enables LafargeHolcim to enter Romania’s fast growing precast concrete market and to become an integrated solutions provider for our local customers,” said Jan Jenisch, chief executive officer (CEO) of LafargeHolcim.

Somaco operates five precast concrete plants and one plant for aerated blocks in Romania. The company reported net sales of Euro56m in 2018 and has 750 employees. It has a portfolio of precast products for bridges, tunnels, subways and logistics platforms and supplies products for the residential sector.