September 2024
Arpad Farkas appointed general director of Lipetskcement 28 September 2016
Russia: Arpad Farkas has been appointed general director of Lipetskcement, part of the Eurocement Group. Farkas previously ran a cement plant for Lafarge.
Eagle Materials appoints George Damiris to its board of directors 28 September 2016
US: Eagle Materials has appointed George Damiris to its board of directors. Damiris is the chief executive officer and president of HollyFrontier Corporation. He also serves as a director at HollyFrontier and Holly Logistics Services.
Rebecca McDonald resigns from board of CRH 28 September 2016
Ireland: Rebecca McDonald has resigned from the board of CRH with immediate effect. The non-executive director for the building materials producer cited family commitments as her reason for resigning.
ARM Cement appoints three new board members 28 September 2016
Kenya: ARM Cement has appointed John Ngumi, Pepe Meijer and Ketso Gordhan as non-executive directors of the company. They replace Atul Mathur, Michael Turner and Daniel Ndonye, who have resigned as directors following an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held on 26 August 2016.
John Ngumi holds a BA degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford, UK. He started his banking career at National Westminster Bank, London and has since worked variously for Grindlays Bank, Barclays Bank, Citibank and CfC Stanbic Bank/Standard Bank of South Africa. In between he also co-founded one of Africa's first indigenous investment banking groups, Loita Capital Partners. Ngumi left CfC Stanbic Bank in 2015 upon his appointment by President Uhuru Kenyatta as non executive chair of the Board of Directors, Kenya Pipeline Company Limited.
Pepe Meijer is a Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) Advisor and former Managing director for PPC International up-to November 2015. During his PPC tenure Meijer also held various Executive, General, Senior and Middle management positions across PPC’s cement operations that spanned over 28 years. Prior to joining PPC, he worked in the gold mining industry as section engineer and in the fishing/processing /frozen-food industry as group projects manager.
Ketso Gordhan joined CDC in April 2016 as the Head of Africa. He previously spent several years as Chief Executive Officer of PPC Cement, South Africa’s largest cement company. At PPC, Gordhan led the expansion of the company into sub-Saharan Africa, helping build the footprint outside South Africa into Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. Before PPC, Gordhan spent almost 10 years leading RMB’s private equity business. He has also held a number of public sector roles, including City Manager of Johannesburg and Director General of the Ministry of Transport, where he led major infrastructure projects, such as the South Africa’s N4 Toll Road.
Hanson Cement makes changes to bulk products division 28 September 2016
UK: Hanson Cement’s bulk products division has promoted John Doolan to key account manager and Neil Jackson has been appointed as field sales manager. Doolan and Jackson will report to Mark Hickingbottom, the recently appointed national commercial director – bulk cement.
Doolan, who has worked for Hanson Cement for a number of years in different commercial roles, will work closely with Hanson’s key account customers to create and deliver strategic plans. He will also develop internal and external relations to carry out the company’s vision of outstanding customer service.
Jackson, previously Hanson’s area sales manager for the Midlands, will focus on sales strategy across the bulk division. He will manage a team of five district sales managers and ensure that customers’ needs are placed at the centre of the business.
JI Youhong appointed as CEO of China Resources Cement 28 September 2016
China: JI Youhong has been appointed as the executive director, chief executive officer and a member of the executive committee of China Resources Cement with effect from 22 September 2016. He succeeds Pan Yonghong who has resigned from each of these roles.
Ji, aged 51 years, joined the group in October 2003 and has served various managerial positions of the company, including the general manager of various cement and concrete subsidiaries, the Marketing Controller from November 2008 to December 2012 and the Regional General Manager (Guangxi) from April 2012 to September 2016. He currently serves as the director of various subsidiaries of the company.
Ji is a senior engineer of building materials accredited by the Private Enterprise Senior Engineer Panel of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. He graduated from the Nanjing Industrial College (currently known as Southeast University), China with a bachelor’s degree in engineering in 1985 and a master’s degree in inorganic and non-metallic materials in 1988. He has over 28 years of experience in construction materials engineering and marketing. He is currently the Chairman of the Guangxi Cement Association.
US competition body seeks public comment on Essroc sale to Argos 26 September 2016
US: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is accepting public comments on an application from HeidelbergCement and Italcementi to sell the Essroc Martinsburg cement plant in West Virginia. The divestment is required by the FTC as part of the requirements of the acquisition of Italcementi and its subsidiary Essroc, by HeidlebergCement. The companies have sought permission from the FTC to sell the Martinsburg plant to the US division of Colombia’s Cementos Argos.
The Commission will decide whether to approve the proposed divestiture after expiration of a 30 -day public comment period. Public comments may be submitted until 24 October 2016.
Colombia: Cemex Latam has dismissed its Vice President for Planning and the General Attorney for its Latin American and Colombian units following an investigation into US$20m payments related to a cement plant being built in Maceo, Antioquia Province, Colombia. In addition, the unit’s chief executive officer has resigned in connection to the probe, according to Bloomberg.
The South American subsidiary of Cemex found payments of about US$20m had been made to a non-government individual for land and mining rights, and benefits related to a tax-free area where the Maceo cement plant is being constructed, according to a regulatory filing released by the Colombian financial regulator. Cemex has informed the Colombian prosecutors of the results of its internal probe.
Ecocem strikes deal with Boliden to supply mines in Ireland and Sweden 23 September 2016
Ireland/Sweden: Ecocem has arranged a deal with Boliden to supply mines in Ireland and Sweden. The two mines concerned by this deal are Boliden Tara Mines in Ireland and Boliden Garpenberg in Sweden. The agreements are initially for three years with options for extensions.
Ecocem have entered into an agreement with the Port of Gavle, the nearest Port to the Boliden Garpenberg mine. The Port of Gavle has built an import terminal to unload ships, and transfer the Ecocem product to trucks destined for the mine. The new facility will accommodate approximately 8000t. Ecocem’s cement will be pumped into the mine to backfill voids created by excavation.
“Ecocem Ireland are very proud to be associated with one of Europe’s oldest and biggest mining companies. Boliden’s environmental performance and ambitions are very much in line with our own and we feel that these contracts represent a strong vote of confidence on the consistency of performance and service that Ecocem deliver,” said Conor O’Riain, the managing director of Ecocem Ireland.
Violence at hearing for quarry expansion by Ramco Cement 23 September 2016
India: Commotion broke out at a public hearing seeking views on a proposed second quarry at a plant near Sendurai in Tamil Nadu for Ramco Cement. The police removed 13 attendees who threw chairs and caused disruption at the meeting, according to the Hindu newspaper. The hearing was organised by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.