September 2024
Nepalese standards agency bans cement products 14 September 2016
Nepal: The Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) has temporarily banned several brands of cement following tests in which they failed to reach minimum standards set by the government. The bureau has required cement producers to recall the affected brands as ‘soon as possible,’ according to the República newspaper.
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Pozzolanic Portland Cement (PPC) Super Advance and Infratech cement produced by Shree Araniko Cement, Reliance Super Shakti and Reliance Cement produced by Reliance Cement and PPC Kalash Gold Cement produced by Shree Cement have been banned for failing to meet compressive strength level standards. In addition the PPC brand of Bajra Shakti, Tri Shakti Supper and JBC cement produced by Jaya Bageshwori Cements, PPC brand of Yeti, Rock Strong and Gaurav Cement produced by Jay Mangalmaya Cements have been banned for exceeded the 28% insoluble residue level set by the government.
Steppe Cement reduces loss in first half of 2016 14 September 2016
Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has reduced its consolidated loss after tax to US$1.5m in the first half of 2016 from US$2.2m in the same period in 2015. Its turnover fell by 47% year-on-year to US$23.7m from US$44.7m due to a devaluation of the Kazakh Tenge. Despite this, it increased its sales of cement by 6% to 0.76Mt from 0.72Mt.
The cement producer reported that the Kazakh cement market decreased by 10% during the first half of 2016. It expects a market of about 9Mt in 2016, down from 9.6Mt in 2015. Steppe Cement has increased its market share to 18% year-on-year in the reporting period from 16% and it expects to reach a share of 19% for the full year. Imports of cement into Kazakhstan have decreased by 63% in 2016 as the Russian Rouble exchange rate has returned to its historical level against the KZT. Imports represent 5% of the market down from 12% in 2015.
W&H renames BSW Machinery as W&H Machinery 14 September 2016
Austria: Windmöller & Hölscher (W&H) has renamed BSW Machinery as W&H Machinery. This follows the integration of BSW Machinery, a woven packaging equipment and bag producer, into W&H over the last decade.
BSW Machinery was originally founded in Austria in 2005 focusing on the polypropylene woven market. Meanwhile, another W&H company at the same production plant in the Czech Republic concentrated producing sub-assemblies and components for the group. Both operations have now merged forming W&H Machinery. Expansion is planned for the plant and the newly named company employs over 400 workers.
John King Chains appoints John Wilson as Chain Division Account Manager 14 September 2016
UK: John King Chains has appointed John Wilson as its Chain Division Account Manager. Wilson is a production engineer with 20 years of business development. He brings practical understanding of engineering processes and experience with leading Conveyor Chain manufacturers to the company.
Ash Grove Cement appoints Chengqing Qi as technical centre director 14 September 2016
US: Ash Grove Cement has appointed Chengqing (Cheng) Qi as its technical centre director at the company’s headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas. In his new role, Qi will oversee operations of the company’s technical centre. Greg Barger, an American Concrete Institute (ACI) Fellow and Ash Grove’s long-time technical centre director, will retire in 2017. Barger will continue in this role and work alongside Qi until the transition is complete.
Most recently Qi served as technical manager for a cement manufacturer where he was responsible for troubleshooting cement, concrete and aggregate performance, testing materials and evaluating new material sources. Prior to that, he was with Professional Service Industries in Fairfax, Virginia, as a materials engineer and petrographer.
Qi has authored or contributed to more than 20 technical papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. He is a member of multiple technical committees for the ACI and ASTM International.
Qi holds a doctorate in civil engineering, with an emphasis on cement and concrete materials, from Purdue University’s School of Civil Engineering in West Lafayette, Indiana, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in materials science and engineering from Southeast University in Nanjing, China.
Huaxin Cement proposes Lafarge and Holcim managers for board positions 14 September 2016
China: Huaxin Cement has proposed Ron Wirahadiraksa and Daniel Bach as candidates for its board of directors. The proposals will be submitted to the shareholders general meeting for approval.
Ron Wirahadiraksa, a Dutch national born in 1960, has been the chief financial officers of LafargeHolcim since 1 December 2015. He graduated with a Doctoral in Business Economics from the Free University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He also graduated as a Certified Registered Controller from the Free University of Amsterdam. Wirahadiraksa joined the Philips group in 1987. He became Chief Financial Officer at LG Philips LCD in South Korea in 1999, during which time he shared operating leadership with the Korean CEO. He became Chief Financial Officer at Philips Healthcare in 2008 and in 2011 he took over as CFO for the Philips Group.
Daniel Bach, a Swiss national born in 1963, has been the Area Manager South East Asia and China (Huaxin) for LafargeHolcim since July 2016. He joined Holcim as project engineer and manager in 1994. In 1998, he moved to Corporate Business Risk Management and in 2002 was made Technical Director for Holcim Indonesia. From 2004 – 2007, Bach acted as assistant to a member of the Holcim Executive Committee before being appointed Senior VP Manufacturing for Holcim Philippines. He became the Area Manager for South East Asia in 2011. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich.
Huaxin Cement is an association company of LafargeHolcim. As of 31 December 2015, the group held 41.8 % of the voting rights in the associate company.
Nigeria: Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, the chairman of the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), has warned that the price of cement may rise if the Naira continues to devalue. He made the comments at the company’s Annual General Meeting according to the Nation newspaper. Imported inputs such as fuel, machinery, spare parts and gypsum would all be affected by local currency depreciation. The cement producer was forced to shut down its Sokoto cement plant for intermittent periods in late 2015 due to poor supplies of low pour fuel oil (LFPO) from the Kaduna refinery.
The subsidiary of BUA Group reported that its turnover fell by 14% year-on-year to US$41.4m in 2015 from US$48m in 2014. Its profit after tax fell by 37% to US$3.81m from US$6.09m.
Spanish regulator issues Euro29.2m fine to cement companies 13 September 2016
Spain: The National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) has issued total fines of Euro29.2m to 23 cement companies for involvement in a cartel between 1999 and 2014. Among the companies are Cementos Portland Valderrivas, with a Euro10.2m fine, Cemex Spain with a Euro5.8m fine and Holcim Spain, with a Euro4.4m fine, according to the Cinco Días newspaper.
The CNMC’s investigations have shown that the companies coordinated the exchange of commercial information, market sharing and price fixing between 1999 and 2014 in three distinct geographical areas in the north, centre and south of the country. Notably, the southern region examined the companies used email and WhatsApp mobile phone application to share sensitive information.
US: An on-going mechanical failure is to shut down the Lehigh Cement Redding plant in California for an estimated 14 weeks. The problem with a gearbox has reportedly been occurring since January 2016 and has persisted despite equipment replacements. The cement producer is currently waiting for further replacement parts, according to the Redding Record Searchlight newspaper.
39 workers will also be laid off at the plant. Lehigh previously laid off 40 employees workers at the plant in 2009 due to a fall in construction activity in the market.
Lafarge Canada completes upgrade at Exshaw cement plant 13 September 2016
Canada: Lafarge Canada has announced the completion of modernisation and environmental upgrades at its Exshaw cement plant in Alberta. The plant has increased its cement production capacity to 2.2Mt/yr from 1.3Mt/yr. Environmental improvements have led to a 60% reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions, a 40% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions and a reduction in fugitive dust and noise coming from the plant's equipment. The plant has also achieved zero water discharge from its operations.
"It is an incredible achievement to comple a project of this scale. Completing it safely takes focus and energy and I applaud the team for its dedication to this goal," said René Thibault, President and CEO, Lafarge, Western Canada. "By all accounts we consider the project to be a success, cementing our long term commitment to Exshaw, Alberta and western Canada."
The upgrade consisted of shutting down the plant’s kiln four in November 2015. It modernised kiln five to meet new emissions targets by retiring less efficient gravel-bed filter technology. It then built a new production line, kiln six, with a baghouse to collect particulates, as well as a vertical raw mill, a EcoDome storage facility, a pre-heater tower and a vertical cement mill.
Construction at the plant began in 2013, with more than 600 contracted employees on site at the peak of construction activity in addition to 160 permanent employees. The team achieved nearly three million hours without a lost time incident.