21 November 2019

Egypt: Wikov hosted its Wikov Gear Technology Conference in Cairo in late October 2019 to promote its products to cement producers in the Middle East. The focus was on the historical presence of Wikov in the market under the former brand Škoda, and later the product highlights and innovations like Side Drive gearboxes with Separate Lubrication System and shock-load-resistant planetary gearboxes Orbi-fleX with flexible pin. The conference also included a demonstration of Wikov’s new online gearbox configurator. This platform enables users to configure and select a planetary gearbox, generate technical data, a 3D model and send a request for quotation. Around 70 industry delegates attended the event.

Turkmenistan: President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has instructed the Türkmensenagat State Agency to build three new plants using foreign investment. During a working meeting with the management of industrial and communication sectors he said that the new plants were required to satisfy local demand and increases exports, according to the Central Asian News Service.

Nepal: Construction of the Huaxin Cement Narayani plant being built at Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality in Dhading has resumed following a flood in July 2019. The deluge damaged worker dormitories, plant structures being built and an access road to the site, according to the Republica newspaper. 400 Chinese workers and 300 local workers are working on the site. Another 600 Chinese workers will be added soon. The company aims to start production at the unit from June 2020.

Spain: LafargeHolcim Spain plans to spend around Euro20m to reduce its CO₂ emissions. The funding will be used to upgrade its plants from 2019 to 2022 with the aim of reducing its emissions by 90,000t/yr. It plans to increase its usage of alternative fuels and reduce its clinker ratio in its products. It follows European funding of Euro145m by LafargeHolcim across 80 projects in 19 European countries to reduce its annual CO₂ emissions by 15%. Overall the group hopes to reach by 2030 an average content of 520kg of CO₂ per ton of cement.