September 2024
Keerthi Industries starts 2.24MW waste heat recovery unit at plant 13 February 2017
India: Keerthi Industries has started operation of a 2.24MW waste heat recovery unit at its Keerthi cement plant at Mellacheruvu, Nalgonda district in Telangana. The cement producer says that the upgrade cost US$3.9m to buy and install, according to local press. Keerthi Industries operates a 0.6Mt/yr cement plant.
Protestors blockade Semen Indonesia Rembang pant 13 February 2017
Indonesia: Farmers have blocked access to Semen Indonesia’s Rembang cement plant as part of on-going protests against the construction of the unit. Around 250 farmers protested at the site in support of a Supreme Court ruling in October 2016 and a local government order in favour of shutting down the plant, according to the Jakarta Post newspaper. The activists claim that activity has continued at the site.
However, Semen Indonesia denies that is has started operation at the plant saying that its workers are merely ‘taking care of its assets.’ The cement producer says it stopped construction soon after it received the governor's decision to revoke its permit. It added that it had spent US$337m on the plant and that it was 99% complete when the governor issues his decree. 3000 workers were also laid off at the same time.
Cemex sells minority stake in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua 13 February 2017
Mexico: Cemex is selling a 15.6% stake in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC). If all 51,750,000 shares of GCC are sold the cement producer will raise around US$240m in revenue before expenses. Following the sale Cemex will retain a 7.4% direct interest in GCC.
Long Son to open second production line in August 2017 13 February 2017
Vietnam: Long Son plans to open its second production line at its Long Son cement plant in Thanh Hoa in late August 2017. The new line will more than double the plant’s production capacity to 5Mt/yr, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. The company has spent US$176m on the new line.
PPC and AfriSam resume merger talks 13 February 2017
South Africa: PPC and AfriSam have resumed talks to discuss merging the companies. The cement producers will prepare an assessment on the proposed merger and then report back to their respective shareholders and boards. AfriSam previously proposed a merger with PPC in late 2014 before talks were called off in mid-2015. At that the time the two cement producers controlled about 60% of the local market.
President inaugurates Itacamba Cement plant in Bolivia 13 February 2017
Bolivia: President Evo Morales has inaugurated the Itacamba Cement plant in Yacuses in the department of Santa Cruz. The plant had an investment of US$220m and has a production capacity of 0.95Mt/yr, according to Via Empressa. Itacamba Cement is a joint venture between Spain’s Cementos Molins, Brazil’s Votorantim Cement and Camba Cement. The cement producer also operates a grinding plant in Puerto Quijarro and its hopes to produce up to 1.2Mt/yr of cement from both sites. The plant is also expected to create up to 540 direct and indirect jobs.
RL-Trans orders mobile bulk truck loader from Dino 10 February 2017
Finland: Logistics company RL-Trans has ordered a Dino DS400 mobile bulk truck loader. The loader has loading bellows and a capacity of 90m³/hr. The Dino can be used to fill 53t into extra-large bulk trucks, such as those used in Finland, within two hours. Following the completion of a bulk terminal RL-Trans wanted to be able to deliver packed bulk goods. It then made the order via screw conveyor manufacturer Van Beek based in the Netherlands.
Kuwait: Siwertell, part of Cargotec, has signed a contract with Acico Construction for its third road-mobile cement unloader. Similar to its last delivery in 2015, the road-mobile unloader will be a trailer-based, diesel-powered Siwertell 10 000 S unit. It will be fitted with dust filters and a double bellows system and like its predecessor will have a rated capacity of 300t/hr. Acico also operates a Siwertell 5 000 S unit, which was delivered in 2014.
The new unit will be built at Siwertell's premises in Bjuv, Sweden and delivered by the end of the first quarter of 2017. It will operate in Kuwait's second largest port, Shuaiba, located south of Kuwait City.
Acico Construction, part of Acico Industries Company, was founded in 1990 and has experienced sustained and steady growth. Its third Siwertell unit has been ordered so that the company can focus its operations on the increasing number of larger vessels, up to 10,000t, that it now handles. It also uses a two-year Siwertell Care maintenance support contract, signed in 2015, to cover Acico's first two road-mobile units. The agreement includes an ongoing training element for Acico maintenance staff, covering mechanical and electrical systems and instrumentation.
France: LafargeHolcim has launched its ‘Start-Up Accelerator’ plan to collaborate with entrepreneurs to improve its access to innovative construction solutions. The scheme will offer young companies on-site accommodation and the use of the facilities at the group’s Research and Development Centre in Lyon, France, to develop, test and market their solutions in construction and urban planning. The project will build on LafargeHolcim’s existing experience of working with start-ups in areas that include sustainability, innovative construction systems and the digital sector, as well as its extensive partnerships with customers, end-users and research facilities worldwide.
"With the Start-up Accelerator we are making a commitment to support young companies specialising in construction materials and construction solutions. We can offer them a sophisticated laboratory environment and access to years of experience in creating and applying building materials in thousands of projects and challenging environments around the world. In return, we believe that the start-ups will bring new ideas and new solutions that will change the face of construction in the coming years. We are committed to looking for new solutions for our customers so having the opportunity to bring new ideas together with our own R&D will be invaluable," said Gérard Kuperfarb, Group Head of Growth & Innovation at LafargeHolcim.
The Start-Up Accelerator will be open to entrepreneurs from around the world and will offer them access to offices, laboratory equipment and testing facilities at the industry’s leading Research and Development Centre. They will also benefit from the group’s network of technical experts and its commercial and market experience around the world. As part of the project, LafargeHolcim is also planning to partner with other companies to extend innovation projects along the construction value chain. The first young companies are expected to join the facility in mid-2017.
Ghori plant contract cancelled by government 10 February 2017
Afghanistan: The Afghan government has cancelled a private contract to run the Ghori cement plant citing irregularities in the ownership of the company in 2016. It said it was not properly notified about a change in ownership and the company also owes it unpaid taxes and fees since it was privatised in 2006, according to Reuters. Zabihullah Sarwari, a spokesman at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, said that the government was notified of the sale of the original shareholding after it had been completed.
Local businessman Javid Jaihoon reportedly purchased the business from Afghan Investment Co (AIC), a group of investors including the brother of the former president Hamid Karzai. Jaihoon told Reuters that he had paid all the government fees relating to the company and that he has invested nearly US$60m in the plant.
Operation at the cement pant is expected to continue for the time being. The government now intends to put the company up for international tender.