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Italy: Gambarotta Gschwendt has appointed Davide Gambarotta as its chief executive officer (CEO) with immediate effect. He is also its sole owner designate. Gambarotta will maintain his position as CEO and sole director of MDG Handling Solutions.

Both companies will operate jointly, under the holding company Gambarotta Group. MDG Handling Solutions will offer complete engineering and procurement (EP) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects. Gambarotta Gschwendt will design and produce equipment for bulk material handling.

UK: The Materials Handling Engineers Association (MHEA) has appointed James Bullock as its vice-president. He has been a member of the MHEA’s executive committee for several years. He succeeds Linda White, who has held the post since late 2019. White is taking the post of secretariat from 1 March 2020.

India: Bimlendra Jha, Managing Director and CEO of Ambuja Cement, a member of LafargeHolcim, has left the company to pursue other interests. The company has appointed Neeraj Akhoury as MD and CEO with effect from 21 February 2020. His appointment is subject to the approval of the shareholders.

Meanwhile, LafargeHolcim’s other Indian subsidiary, ACC, which is in the process of merging with Ambuja, has promoted its chief commercial officer Sridhar Balakrishnan to the position of MD and CEO.

France: Cem’In’Eu, the France-based operator of modular grinding plants, has appointed Magali Laurenço as director of its Rhône Ciments subsidiary. She has been in post since January 2020.

Magali Laurenço spent the first years of her professional career at Ciments Calcia, where she held the positions of manufacturing engineer (2006 - 2008), manager of the mechanical maintenance sector (2008 - 2014), then manager of the maintenance and new works (2015 - 2020) and production and maintenance service manager (2018-2020).

Germany: Matthias Mersmann has been appointed by the Supervisory Board as a new member of the Management Board of KHD Humboldt Wedag International AG, effective 1 February 2020. He contributes his long-term expertise in the technology of cement manufacturing processes and equipment design, which he has acquired in various executive positions with OEM suppliers as well as an independent consultant. From 1994 to 2008, Mersmann worked for KHD Humboldt Wedag in Cologne and became familiar with the product portfolio, the staff and cement clients.

After leaving KHD in 2008, Mersmann founded the cement consultancy aixergee GmbH and specialised on the optimisation of equipment of all kinds and makes for the manufacture of cement. He was also called into the Executive Committee of Loesche GmbH for five years, where he was responsible for the technology of the Loesche products.

"While the cement industry emits 7% of all man-made CO2-emissions alone, a future without cement is unthinkable,” says Mersmann. “This, along with the digital transformation, will set the frame for all industry participants to re-shape their way of doing business. For KHD this provides so much more an opportunity than it provides a problem. KHD has a combination of advantages that can help it to develop a prosperous future, if we work it out right. It will take all our ambition and motivation and maybe a lot of ‘new thinking, ’ but it will be worthwhile. I am looking forward to cooperating with the best engineers in the industry and a highly qualified and motivated team in the management board to bring KHD back into a leading position of the cement equipment suppliers.”

Mario Zhu, CEO of KHD, said, “We are all very happy at the return of Matthias back to KHD! I am sure with his leadership KHD technology team shall be further strengthened and thus bring further benefit to our clients and the global cement industry.”