12 April 2019

Ireland: Quinn Industrial’s turnover rose by 15% year-on-year to Euro240m in 2018 from Euro209m in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 10% to Euro26.4m from Euro23.9m

“Our Building Products division is currently planning to enter the ready-mix concrete market in the greater Dublin area to meet rising demand from the expanding construction and housing markets,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Liam McCaffrey. He added that, despite Brexit, the business is focused on growing in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Quinn Building Products continued to benefit from the on-going building recovery in the Republic of Ireland as well continued strong exports to the UK where the introduction of its new plastic bagged cement product at the start of 2018 allowed it to expand its market presence.

Quinn Industrial is also considering investment options, including an initial public offering (IPC) or a cash injection from private equity, according to the Irish Independent newspaper. However, the company has not commented on the issue.

UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) is formally joining the Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC). By doing so it is adding its support to the only world-wide industry specific system that certifies the sustainability performance of concrete plants and their supply chain across the globe. Developed in conjunction with social and environmental stakeholders, the CSC is the industry recognised authentication system, with more than 160 plants certified to its standards across eight different countries.

“We are delighted at the decision of the GCCA to champion the many sustainability benefits of concrete by putting their global reach behind the CSC. We look forward to reinforcing and accelerating our work with their support,” said CSC chairman, Christian Artelt.

Clients, developers and contractors can be assured of socially and environmentally responsible practices through the concrete supply chain when specifying CSC certified concrete. Internationally recognised sustainable project assessment methods such as BREEAM and DGNB credit design teams and their projects with points when CSC certified concrete is specified and procured.

Austria: Unitherm Cemcon has launched the MAS DT rotary kiln burner, a new product in its Mono Airduct System (MAS) product line. The new burner is already in operation at six cement plants in Austria, Germany and France.

The new design uses a more efficient primary air injection, resulting in higher effective momentum and optimised combustion. Placing the adjustable primary air openings directly at the burner tip leads to unobstructed injection of the air jets into the kiln. With minimum losses at the air nozzles, the entrainment of secondary air is improved by approximately 15%.

The new primary air system, with discs instead of flexible hoses, requires less space inside the primary air channel. Therefore, the burner is smaller in diameter and lighter in weight, which reduces investment costs. Unitherm Cemcon says that the cooling of the outer jacket tube with the MAS system (hose and disc design) is superior to that of other rotary kiln burners, as 100% of the primary air is used for cooling. With the new disc system, the cooling of the burner tip is improved even further. The producer added that all new MAS DT burners showed improved lifetime of the refractory lining at the burner. On average the refractory lifetime is extended by approximately 20%.

Mexico: Cemex Ventures has invested in Linkx, a company that offers software to optimise goods delivery. The company’s software solution allows control of deliveries and vehicles in real time, allowing for data-based decision-making and facilitating communication and information among all involved parties: shipper, carrier, and receiver.

“This investment is a clear example of our offer. Linkx came to us at a very early stage, and together, we worked on continuous improvements by reinforcing their minimum viable product and offering continuous feedback on our knowledge of industry and technology. After numerous optimisations, we have piloted this solution with several Cemex clients to achieve a very robust solution for the supply chain management challenge," said Gonzalo Galindo, chief executive officer (CEO) of Cemex Ventures.

Cemex Ventures is the corporate venture capital wing of Cemex that was launched in 2017. It invests in startups with potential in the construction industry and works with entrepreneurs, universities and other stakeholders.

Pakistan: Attock Cement’s profit fell by 25% year-on-year to US$9.7m in the nine months of the end of March 2019 from US$12.9m in the same period to March 2018. Its revenue rose by 36% to US$114m from US$83.7m.