Analysis

The Indonesian Cement Association (ASI) has warned that cuts to the Nusantara Capital City project had reduced cement sales so far in 2025. Yet also this week the ASEAN Federation of Cement Manufacturers (AFCM) launched its 2035 AFCM Decarbonisation Roadmap. Here is a round-up of recent news from the cement sector in Indonesia.

ASI data shows that local cement sales volumes fell by 2.5% year-on-year to 51.9Mt in the first 10 months of 2025 from 53.2Mt in the same period in 2024. Cement production decreased by 5.6% to 52.9Mt. Lower demand was reported in Kalimantan and Java. However, it rose in Sumatra and Nusa, in part, due to road construction. Sadly, Sumatra has been badly affected by floods this week. National cement exports grew by over 20% to 1.1Mt. The ASI is currently hopeful that a government-backed home renovation programme might stimulate demand.

Graph 1: Domestic cement sales and exports in Indonesia, 2019 - 2025. Source: Indonesian Cement Association (ASI). Note: Figure estimated for 2025, exports include cement and clinker.

The general picture can be seen above in Graph 1. The local cement sector has generally had a capacity utilisation issue since the mid-2010s. Domestic sales started to catch up but the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the market. Meanwhile, exports of cement and clinker have been steadily rising since 2014. These are dominated by clinker exports, with the single largest destination being Bangladesh. Other major targets include Taiwan and Australia. The country’s relatively low consumption of cement per capita suggests that the utilisation rate will grow over time.

The local production market is dominated by state-owned Semen Indonesia (SIG) (with a 48.5% share), followed by Indocement (29.1%), Conch Cement Indonesia (7.1%) and Cemindo Gemilang (6.6%). SIG’s sales volumes in the first nine months of 2025 roughly follow the general trend reported by the ASI with local sales down by 1.8% year-on-year to 27.5Mt and exports up by 25.3% to 5.1Mt. The group’s sales revenue and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 3.8% to US$1.52bn and 23.8% to US$198m respectively. Indocement’s revenue fell by a similar rate. Both companies anticipate a modest recovery in 2026.

Something to note from SIG’s financial results and related discussions in 2025 (and earlier) has been its approach to marketing and selling its cement brands in a highly competitive environment. It says it changes its brand mix in different regional locations with varying combinations of market leaders with premium pricing and so-called ‘fighting brands’ with competitive pricing. Yet, eco-brands received a mention in addition to the other two groups in the third quarter report analysts’ discussions suggesting an appetite for potentially lower-clinker cements in a developing market such as Indonesia.

This leads to the second Indonesia-related news story of the week: the 2035 AFCM Decarbonisation Roadmap. The plan intends to reduce net CO₂ emissions from the cement sector in the region by 16% to 190Mt/yr from 228Mt/yr in 2020. 58% of this reduction will be achieved through the use of alternative fuels, 33% via the use of low-carbon cements and 9% through the use of renewable energy sources. Work towards carbon capture, utilisation and/or storage (CCUS) is starting with the aim of supporting capture pilots in the region and planning towards CO₂ transport and storage networks. Similarly, the roadmap urges producers to identify and prepare to use new secondary cementitious materials such as calcined clay and construction and demolition waste.

The race between capacity building and market share has been a familiar one in coverage of the cement market in Indonesia in recent decades. Provided the main companies can endure the competition, it looks set to continue, while demographic trends indicate the need for continued investment. Otherwise more market consolidation is to be expected when the utilisation rate dips too low. What is new though are the higher levels of blended cements and the changes this brings to the market. This can be seen above in the marketing strategy of SIG and the regional decarbonisation strategy. Similar trends are happening everywhere but the effects on a highly competitive market could be pronounced. Particularly if those government-backed schemes that the sector anticipates promote it.

The Global CemFuels Asia Conference will take place on 2 - 3 February 2026 in Bangkok

Zimbabwe relaxed import rules on cement this week in a bid to bring down prices. This follows a high-profile visit earlier in November 2025 by Aliko Dangote with US$1bn investment plans including a new cement plant. Here’s what’s been happening.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Raj Modi, announced this week that the government was aware of price issues and was taking measures to fix it. This has included issuing licences to import around 0.15Mt of cement from October 2025 onwards. He commented that there was a backlog of cement at the border. He noted that the country has a shortage of clinker with only PPC currently manufacturing it. Local media reports that the price of cement rose by 42% in October and November 2025. This has been attributed to a local construction boom, limited local production, and constrained imports. Subsequently, vendors have run out of stock.

South Africa-based PPC has certainly done well out of the situation. Its revenue for the six months to September 2025 rose by 23% year-on-year from US$89.4m to US$110m. This was attributed to a 25% increase in sales volumes. It was also achieved despite a prolonged shutdown period at its integrated Colleen Baw plant in the first quarter of its financial year. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 11% to US$25.9m from US$23.3m.

Import bans on cement in Zimbabwe have come and gone over the last couple of decades alongside the country’s wider economic issues in response to international sanctions. Zimbabwe is land-locked but it also shares a border with South Africa, a larger cement producer. The government implemented an import ban in 2021, prices have surged periodically and remedial actions, such as large-scale licence approvals, have been taken on occasion. An additional 30% surcharge on cement imports was introduced in May 2025.

The country clearly needs more local producers and Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote flew to the rescue on 12 November 2025 to sign a memorandum of understanding with President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Details are light on the US$1bn investment deal, but it includes a 1.5Mt/yr cement plant, power generation and a 2000km fuel pipeline from Walvis Bay in Namibia that will reportedly run through Botswana. Dangote was previously in talks with the Mugabe regime in the mid-2010s but talks did not progress.

However, other plant projects are already on the way. In late October 2025 local press reported that the China-based 0.8Mt.yr Chegutu cement plant was over half-way complete. Production at the site is scheduled to start in early 2026. The WIH-Zim Cement plant is also being built at Magunje. This one has reported cement and clinker production capacities of 1.2Mt/yr and 1.8Mt/yr. Unfortunately, the local Environmental Management Agency (EMA) ordered the project to stop construction in August 2025 after inspectors found violations of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conditions, including failure to compensate displaced households. Further legal action has followed. This project is backed by Labenmon Investments, another China-based investment firm. Unfortunately, that company also popped up in the sector news this week in connection to a bribery scandal connected to an apparently separate grinding plant project in Bulawayo, according to the Herald newspaper. Two other unconnected and smaller grinding plants, JainQiang Cement and Zimsonc Industries, also reportedly started production making blended products in Hwange in mid-2025.

Of the existing cement producers, Khayah Cement entered into ‘corporate rescue proceedings’ in late December 2024, blaming international economic sanctions for causing an ‘untenable’ business environment. A public tendering process to find investors was announced by the former Lafarge subsidiary in May 2025. A US$60m rescue package from Uganda-based Hima Cement was approved by creditors and shareholders in September 2025. This includes refurbishing the company’s Harare plant. The country’s other local clinker manufacturer, Sino Zimbabwe, reportedly also restarted production in late November 2025.

The general economy in Zimbabwe was on track for a forecast 6% annual growth in July 2025 due to the agricultural sector and strong commodity prices. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated this view in November 2025, singling out easing inflation amid exchange rate stability [LINK]. Quite possibly this has also benefitted the construction sector too, leading to the current issues with imports. In this setting, Aliko Dangote’s investment plans are a serious vote of confidence for both the cement sector and the wider business environment.

Cementir Group launched two of its lower carbon cement products in the Middle East and Africa markets this week. We’ll take a look at this in more detail and cover other recent products news from cement producers.

Egypt-based Sinai White Cement will manufacture the products under Cementir’s D-Carb umbrella. One will be a Limestone Portland cement, to the CEM II/A-LL 52.5N specification EN197-1, with around a 10% clinker reduction. The other will be CEM II/B-LL 42.5N with around a 20% clinker reduction. Both of these reductions are in comparison to Aalborg White CEM I 52.5R. D-Carb is the name of Cementir’s product range for white low-carbon cements. It was launched in European markets in 2024, with II/ALL 52.5R cement, and then expanded to Asia Pacific regions, including Australia, in early 2025. Cementir says that its customers can switch to D-Carb from CEM I as it “integrates well with their production processes without requiring major formulation changes.”

In late October 2025 Dyckerhoff revealed that it was the first cement manufacturer in Germany to receive general building authority approval (abZ) for the use of CEM VI (SLL) cement in accordance with DIN EN 197-5. The German Institute for Building Technology (DIBt) granted approval for Dyckerhoff’s Lengerich cement plant. CEM VI is a newer type of composite cement similar to CEM II but with a lower clinker content. The SLL type that Dyckerhoff wants to make has a clinker content of 35 – 49 %, granulated blast furnace slag of 31 – 59% and limestone of 6 – 20%. The company says that this cement can be used in more than 60% of all concrete types produced in ready-mixed concrete plants. Its composition is also useful for low-carbon concretes when no fillers, such as fly ash, are available. Dyckerhoff added that the low hydration heat of the cement has a particularly positive effect in massive cast components.

Earlier in October 2025 Rohrdorfer held an inauguration ceremony for a new pilot unit for calcined (they say tempered) clays at its Rohrdorf cement plant. The pilot project started in July 2025 and has been processing up to 50t/day of raw clay. When Rohrdorfer launched the project in early 2024 it said that it was going to use waste heat from the main production line and was also considering the use of hydrogen to provide the remaining amount of heat required. Waste gases produced during calcination were also going to be fed back into the existing waste gas cleaning system of the clinker production line after leaving the pilot plant to further reduce emissions. Rohrdorfer said that its approach was going to be the first time waste heat recovery was going to be used in conjunction with calcining clay.

Meanwhile, in West Africa, Dangote Cement inaugurated its new 3Mt/yr cement plant near Abidjan in the Ivory Coast in mid-October 2024. Around the same time the company launched various products in the country, including its CEM I and CEM II brands 32.5R, 3X42.5N, 3X42.5R and 52.5N. This is a more traditional range of cement products compared to the ones above but note the highlighting of strength. This has been a key selling point for products in this part of the world previously, hence its focus. CEM II is a blended cement that uses lower levels of clinker. One clinker substitute in CEM II products is calcined clay. Gebr. Pfeiffer, for example, said in August 2025 that it was to supply a vertical roller mill to Ciments de Côte d'Ivoire (CIMCI) for clay grinding at its cement plant. There are also a number of other calcined clay projects in the Ivory Coast and other countries in West Africa. Further afield, JK Cement in India also started to market its LC3 clay calcined cement product line in October 2025.

Finally, US-based Amrize launched its ‘Made in America’ label for its cement range this week, “offering builders the guarantee of American manufacturing and quality, supporting American jobs and local communities.” Readers may recall that Amrize was recently owned by Switzerland-based Holcim. However, the company is currently keen to point out that its cement products are “made in the US from its raw materials and processing to manufacturing, meeting rigorous US performance standards.” Amrize does sell blended cements including FortiCem Portland-Pozzolan Blended Cement, ECOPlanet Cements and OneCem Portland Limestone Cement.

Most of the news stories highlighted above demonstrate a trend for blended cements with lower clinker factors. There’s no real change here. This has been happening for a long time and it is being driven by both profit and sustainability motives, although the current bunch of stories may also be turning up to coincide with the COP30 conference in Brazil. Note the inclusion of places outside of Europe and the drive for new blends. Another factor to consider here is protectionism in certain markets, as Amrize’s marketing drive suggests. New blends will also require new certifications, standards and approvals as is the case with Dyckerhoff’s work on CEM VI (SLL). The next trend to watch for will be the market reaction to carbon captured cements, such as Heidelberg Materials’ evoZero product. Will end users pay a premium for zero-carbon cements?

Emir Adigüzel warned that cement prices in Europe could triple under current decarbonisation policies. The director of the World Cement Association (WCA) made the comments at a conference in Germany this week. He noted that most of these carbon-related costs will be passed to consumers. His view is that carbon pricing will force price rises across the industry.

That cement prices will rise due to decarbonisation policies is not in itself news. This debate is really about how much and who pays. The WCA's latest analysis asserts that the cement sector will require investment of US$200bn by 2050 to fully decarbonise. Some progress has been achieved so far. Major cement companies reduced carbon intensity from an average of 700kg CO₂/t in 2019 to 640kg CO₂/t in 2023. Adigüzel’s argument is that carbon capture (CCUS) in the cement sector has its place only “if applied correctly.” His view is that these technologies will have a limited effect on global industry decarbonisation as the required investment per cement plant exceeds the capital cost of an entire cement plant. The WCA prefers to promote decarbonisation instead via energy efficiency, alternative fuels, reduced clinker factor and new technologies. That last one includes CCUS but is not limited to it also covering things such as electrification and heat storage. Note today’s news that India-based Adani Cement has ordered a RotoDynamic Heater from Coolbrook. Adigüzel also criticised the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in incentivising non-scheme exporters to reduce their carbon footprint, particularly given the expensive investments required.

Decarbonisation is going to be expensive and CCUS is the priciest part of this. Hence, cement producers are likely to consider taking as many measures as possible before implementing CCUS. That cement companies would pass on these costs to consumers also seems likely. The other obvious outcome is that consumers will simply use less cement where possible. Yet Adigüzel doesn’t address how net zero can be achieved with continuing clinker production without using CCUS. His pricing for CCUS is at the right scale though. As Boston Consulting Group (BCG) pointed out in 2024, the cost of CCUS looks set to increase cement prices from US$90 – 130/t to at least US$160 – 240/t by 2050. As well as the capital costs to build a CCUS unit, this includes the additional energy costs required and the price of transporting the CO₂ to a sequestration site. The first two large-scale Heidelberg Materials CCUS projects in Europe, for example, both connect to government-backed transport and sequestration schemes. BCG went on to posit that decarbonisation trends would create five archetypes of cement plants: export hubs and larger plants close to CO₂ storage sites; former export sites far from storage; import grinding hubs; and stranded assets.

Finally, Carbon Brief reported this week that CO₂ emissions in China continued to stay flat in the third quarter of 2025, suggesting a stable or falling trend since early 2024. The adoption of electric vehicles and declines from cement and steel production contributed to the picture in the latest quarter. Emissions from the production of cement and other building materials fell by 7% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025. This was attributed to the ongoing real-estate contraction. Note that this decarbonisation trend in China has been created by market trends.

Expect plenty more sustainability stories everywhere over the next few weeks as the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) started this week in Belém, Brazil. The GCCA will be present at a number of events including an update to the Brazil Cement Industry Roadmap on Saturday 15 November 2025

The Global FutureCem Conference on cement industry decarbonisation will take place on 21 - 22 January 2026 in Munich, Germany

The FLSmidth Cement divestment story took a historic turn this week with the renaming of the company to Fuller Technologies. The sale of the company to private equity firm Pacific Avenue Capital Partners completed on 31 October 2025. Pacific Avenue then publicly rebranded the firm a few days later in early November 2025.

FLSmidth Cement was sold as a complete operating business with all the intellectual property (IP), technology, employees, manufacturing facilities, sales and service organisations included. For more on this read Global Cement Weekly #716. The decision to change the name to Fuller Technologies harks back to the history of FLSmidth and related companies. Pennsylvania-based Fuller Company dates back to the mid-19th Century with the formation of the McKee-Fuller Foundry Company. Fuller Company later emerged in the 1920s when it started selling the Fuller-Kinyon pump, a pneumatic screw pump that simplified the handling of pulverised materials. This product went on to become well known for cement conveying. In 1959 Fuller acquired Traylor Engineering. It was then later acquired by FLSmidth in 1990.

What is interesting here is that Pacific Avenue has chosen to emphasise the US industrial heritage of its acquisition. Looking at the numbers last year offers one answer as to why. Purely in economic terms FLSmidth Cement’s revenue share broke down as follows in 2024: US - 24%; Denmark - 14%; India - 11%; Indonesia - 9%; Brazil - 8%; Türkiye - 7%; and China - 7%. The remainder came from export sales elsewhere.

Both Fuller and FLSmidth are well known brands in the cement sector though. One is American and the other is European. Focusing on the US brand name is a canny move given the increasing dominance of China-based equipment suppliers to the global cement market from the 2010s onwards. One of the few markets that the Chinese equipment suppliers have not made inroads into is the US. Whilst they may have supplied smaller pieces of equipment, major orders have remained the preserve of western companies. Or at least publicly they have. Partly this is because few new lines have been built recently. Yet, the three new clinker production lines in the US in recent years - Heidelberg Materials’ plant in Mitchell, Indiana, National Cement’s plant in Ragland, Alabama and GCC’s plant at Odessa, Texas - had major equipment supplied by either thyssenkrupp or KHD. Both companies are German, although KHD is majority-owned by a Chinese entity.

Western cement multinationals have focused on the US as they have retreated from the east. Key examples of this include CRH’s acquisition of Ash Grove in 2018 and the spin-off of Amrize by Holcim in 2025. Trade protectionism has then crept in under the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 and the more overt tariffs introduced by the Trump administration in 2025. The US cement market is the third largest in the world and the fundamentals for the local construction materials market look good in the medium term. With carbon taxes in the US looking like a distant prospect, it’s a fair bet that more clinker production lines are likely to be required before too long. Protectionism and demand suggest that an equipment supplier to the cement sector with a historically American sounding name and long US-roots might just have an edge. Manufacturing facilities based in the US could also help reduce the cost of tariffs too.

Of course, given that Pacific Avenue is a private equity firm, it may be preparing for a future carve-out or other forms of financial engineering by building up the perceived value of its asset. Or maybe somebody at Pacific Avenue (or elsewhere) simply likes their American industrial history!

Anyway, welcome back to Fuller Technologies and best of luck. And, lest anyone forget, it remains a multinational company with offices in Europe, India, China, Brazil, Thailand, the UAE… and the US.