02 October 2017
CRH linked to purchase of Suwannee American Cement 02 October 2017
US: Ireland’s CRH is close to agreeing a purchase of Suwannee American Cement from Votorantim Cimentos and Anderson Columbia. The deal is valued at US$750m, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg. However, this is an extremely high value for a single cement plant sale in the US. Suwannee American Cement operates a 1Mt/yr plant at Branford in Florida.
Brazilian governor seeks reopening of Itapissuma cement plant 02 October 2017
Brazil: Wellington Dias, the governor of Piauí, is seeking the reopening of the Itapissuma cement plant. Owners João Santos Group closed the plant in March 2017 due to an 80% drop in sales caused by the country’s poor economy. Around 500 employees were laid off, according to the state government. The cement producer planned to make a final decision on the future of the plant by the end of September 2017. However, the governor has intervened to try and coordinate the purchase of the plant by a local business consortium.
North American cement unions meet in Toronto 02 October 2017
Canada: Representatives of US and Canadian cement industry unions have met in Toronto. International Brotherhood of Teamsters from the US and Canada, the United Steelworkers from Canada and the US, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and the Fédération de l’Industrie Manufacturière from Canada attended the third meeting of the North America Cement Network, according to the IndustriAll Global Union. The participants exchanged ideas about over collective bargaining issues, the current situation in the cement industry and the latest developments in deals such as the CRH purchase of Ash Grove.