September 2024
Housing and infrastructure spending to speed up Indian cement demand in 2018 - 2019 28 February 2018
India: The credit agency ICRA forecasts that cement demand will grow by 4.5% in the 2018 – 2019 financial year due to growth in the housing sector and higher infrastructure spending. Improved rural incomes, higher rural credit and increased allocation for rural, agriculture and allied sectors are also likely to increase the demand for rural housing, according to the Press Trust of India.
Indian cement production rose by 2.7% to 217Mt in the nine months from April to December 2017 from 211Mt in the previous year. However, the first three months of this period, from April to June 2017, saw production drop due to local issues across the country such as a sand shortage, the implementation of Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act and a drought. The following quarter then saw a fall in production due to the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), continued sand shortages and inclement weather. ICRA predicts that cement demand will grow by 3% for the remainder of the 2017 – 2018 financial year due to a boost in production in December 2017.
Locals protest against pollution at Kohat Cement plant 28 February 2018
Pakistan: Local residents have protested about air pollution from the Kohat Cement plant. They demanded that the plant install air filters as soon as possible, according to the Dawn newspaper. The protestors also alleged that the company’s employment of local workers had dropped to 5% from 75% following its sale. The cement company says that it has hired a Chinese engineering firm to run a survey of its emissions. In 2016 the Environmental Protection Agency ordered Kohat Cement to stop production as its dust control unit was ‘out of order.’
France: Worker’s at LafargeHolcim’s Martres-Tolosane cement plant have gone on strike over salary negotiations. A coalition of unions says that the company has refused to increase salaries despite a recovery in the cement market, according to France Info radio. The plant employs 110 workers. In mid-2017 LafargeHolcim announced that it was spending Euro100m on building a new clinker production line at the site.
Iranian cement producers to target Africa 27 February 2018
Iran: Iranian cement producers are planning to export cement to Africa in the next Iranian financial year. Farhad Nikkhah, from the Saveh Cement Company, told the Trend News Agency that his company was going to sell Ordinary Portland Cement to the region from 20 March 2018. Although he said that the transport costs would be a serious factor. He added that new restrictions in certain Central Asian countries had caused a rise in the costs of exports to those countries.
Claudius Peters details upgrade project at Hope Cement 27 February 2018
UK: Claudius Peters has released information about an upgrade project at Breedon Group’s Hope Cement plant in Derbyshire. The work included upgrading and replacing the existing kiln feed equipment built with the plant in the 1970s, and increasing the accuracy and capacity of the system to 200t/hr of raw meal for Kiln 1, Kiln 2, and a standby unit. The contact was signed in October 2014 and completed in May 2017. It is one the largest capital expenditure projects undertaken at the site in recent years.
A key challenge on this project was installing new equipment while the plant remained in operation. Claudius Peters supplied and commissioned: three 300 screw pumps complete with pump inlet hoppers with de-dusting filters and modified pipelines; modifications to existing compressors; and three cyclone filters with collection hoppers transport and material transport to pre-heater inlet via rotary feeders.
Spanish cement consumption rises by 11% in 2017 27 February 2018
Spain: Oficemen, the Spanish Cement Association, says that cement consumption grew by 11% year-on-year to 12.3Mt in 2017. The association expects it to rise by 12% to 13.7Mt in 2018. However, the cement consumed in 2017 is well below the high recorded in 2007. This has been due, in part, to a decrease in the amount of cement used in infrastructure projects. Cement used in civil works decreased by 75% to 5Mt in 2017 from 19Mt in 2008.
Exports of cement fell by 10% to below 9Mt, mainly due to a ‘loss of competiveness’ caused by growing local electricity prices. The association added that Spain is the largest exporter in the European Union and the eighth largest exporter of cement worldwide.
Palpa Cement Industries orders mill from Gebr. Pfeiffer for Nepal 27 February 2018
Nepal: Palpa Cement Industries has ordered a MVR 3350 C-4 mill from Gebr. Pfeiffer for its plant at Sunwal, in the district of Nawalparasi. The vertical roller mill has a drive power of 2150kW and is designed to grind 130t/hr of cement at 3000 Blaine and 100t/hr of blast-furnace cement at 3800 Blaine. Commissioning of the mill is planned for mid-2019. It is the fourth vertical roller mill order from Nepal for Gebr. Pfeiffer over the last year.
Gujarat Sidhee Cement commissions waste heat recovery plant 27 February 2018
India: Gujarat Sidhee Cement has commissioned a 5.5MW waste heat recovery plant at its Sidheegram plant in Gujarat. The project has a budget of US$10m. Power generated from the unit is expected save the plant US$2.6m/yr .
Asian Cement Group launches Duraton Cement grinding plant in Punjab 27 February 2018
India: Asian Cement Group has launched a new 1.5Mt/yr grinding plant at Rajpura in Punjab. The project had an investment of US$62m. The site will operate under the Duraton Cement brand.
The plant consists of a grinding mill with a roller press and a separator. The unit also uses a robotic laboratory from Demark’s FLSmidth to automate cement sampling, sample transportation, preparation and analysis.
The cement producer will launch its Prime WR variant product in March 2018. This product will be sold in vacuum-packed waterproof packaging. The first consignments from the plant have been sent to religious sites in Rajpura and Chandigarh. Subsequent rollout will target Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh.
ACC and Ambuja Cements put merger plans on hold 27 February 2018
India: ACC and Ambuja Cements, the two Indian subsidiaries of LafargeHolcim, have put their merger plans on hold. ACC said that its board was of the opinion that there were ‘certain constraints’ blocking its merger plans, according to the Press Trust of India. However, it added that a merger was its ‘ultimate’ objective. Ambuja Cements made a similar statement. Both companies joined Holcim in 2005, before becoming part of LafargeHolcim in 2015.