September 2024
Birla Corporation to take legal action against Lafarge India 03 February 2016
India: Birla Corporation said it will take legal action against Lafarge India over the firm's 'inability' to go ahead with the deal to sell its Jojobera and Sonadih cement plants. In August 2015 both firms signed an agreement, through which Birla Corporation was to acquire Jojobera and Sonadih cement businesses from Lafarge India for US$734m.
"Lafarge India has since informed its inability to proceed with the agreement. The company has since discussed the matter with its legal advisors and has decided not to accept its contention and is in the process of taking appropriate legal measures in consultation with lawyers," said Birla Corporation in a regulatory filing. The firm did not specify reasons behind Lafarge India expressing its inability to complete the deal.
Birla Corp was to acquire Lafarge India's cement business, which comprises an integrated cement unit at Sonadih, Chhattisgarh, a cement grinding unit at Jojobera, Jharkhand along with Concreto and PSC brands. The acquisition would have added an additional cement capacity of 5.15Mt/yr to Birla Corp and would have helped the firm consolidate its position in the eastern India cement market. The company has a total operational cement capacity of about 10Mt/yr with plants in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Kakatiya Cement Sugar & Industries appoints Shri P Veeraiah as chairman and managing director 03 February 2016
India: Kakatiya Cement Sugar & Industries has appointed Shri P Veeraiah as its chairman and managing director effective from 3 February 2016. He was previously the joint managing director of the company. The appointment has been made following the death of Shri P Venkateswarlu. It is subject to the approval of shareholders, which is expected to be obtained at the next annual general meeting.
Hengst acquires Nordic Air Filtration 02 February 2016
Germany: Hengst has acquired all the shares of the Danish filtration specialist Nordic Air Filtration. The Münster-based filtration manufacturer said that the acquisition was part of its growth strategy.
"Nordic Air Filtration's entire product portfolio is an excellent complement to our current expertise in the field of industrial filtration. Our goal is to expand our activities in the non-automotive market further and to transfer our competence and technology as a partner in the automotive industry to filtration applications in these related segments," said owner Jens Röttgering.
Nordic Air produces industrial air filtration systems and it supplies dealers and original equipment manufactures worldwide. The company has three locations in Denmark and in the UAE and employs around 100 staff who generate sales of over Euro15m/yr. Nordic Air Filtration has a very large portfolio of around 4000 different filter products and more than 20 different filter media for gas turbines and industrial applications. André Radley Grundahl, who was formerly Managing Director of Nordic Air, will continue to oversee business operations.
BSW Machinery launches 20% lighter polypropylene woven bag 02 February 2016
Austria: BSW Machinery has presented a new type of woven polypropylene (PP) bag that is 20% lighter than comparable bags. Using its Light & Strong (LS) technology BSW has produced 64g bags that they say outperformed standard 80g bags commonly used in the cement industry in drop tests. Key elements of the LS technology include advanced extrusion technology for higher tape tenacity and indexed micro perforation.
The Vienna-based subsidiary of Windmöller & Hölscher has implemented new processing technology on BSW's tape extrusion line tiraTex to achieve higher strength without compromising elasticity. Tenacity values of 7g/den can be achieved with elongation at break values ranging be-tween 25% and 30% using standard PP grades commonly used in industry. The processing characteristics can be maintained at high outputs and production speeds of 500m/min or more.
The LS bags also have higher edge strength by protecting edges and other areas through indexed perforation. The perforation is disengaged whenever vulnerable sections of bag material are passing through the bag conversion machine. Synchronization ensures that the unperforated areas are matched to the print on the bag and are placed such that in the final bag the critical zones are built from un-perforated material.
Korfez announces recent orders in Turkey 02 February 2016
Turkey: KORFEZ ENG. has announced a series of contracts for cement mill components in Turkey. No values for the orders or client details were disclosed.
The cement and mining industries casing manufacturer has received an order to convert a cement mill from two grinding chambers to one by means of a new mill shell lining system. The new WAVE 35/55 mill shell lining will be installed in a cement mill with a diameter of 4.4m. This plate profile leads to an optimal fine grinding in the whole grinding compartment. This is the third major order for Korfez within two years from a private cement company north of Istanbul.
In January 2016 Korfez signed a contract to convert two cement mills at another cement plant near Istanbul. The two existing two-chamber cement mills will be modified to mono-chamber mills. The scope of supply includes the reconstruction of the complete mill inlet with a new step chute, a new wave mill shell lining system in high chromium alloyed steel casting and a new complete discharge diaphragm. Delivery and installation is planned for April - May 2016.
Finally, Korfez has signed an order to deliver a new shell lining system for another Turkish cement producer. The scope of the order is a complete replacement of a wear shell lining for a single-compartment mill Ø4.0m and 14.5m effective grinding length, the mill discharge and complete new manhole covers in modified execution. The complete lining is as a wave profile type: WAVE 35/50 in a highly wear-resistant steel castings with 27% chromium content. The complete contract scope is to be completed and delivered in six weeks.
Egypt: Suez Cement plans to spend US$77m to convert its Helwan and Torah cement plants to use coal and refuse derived fuel (RDF), according to local media. The Kattameya and Suez cement plants were converted in 2015.
The company intends to start the conversion process in February 2016 at Helwan and July 2016 at Torah. The upgrade is expected to take 12 - 18 months. Subsequently both plants would use 70% coal for their energy. Helwan Cement will supplement this with 20 – 25% RDF and 5% natural gas. Torah Cement will use 30% heavy fuel oil. These conversions are expected to reduce the company's operating costs.
Marcus Brew appointed managing director of Untha UK 02 February 2016
UK: Untha UK has appointed Marcus Brew as its new managing director. Brew was previously the sales director. The previous managing director since 1997, Chris Oldfield, will become the company chairman.
"Having been a part of the business for seven years, it is a pleasure to now lead the company through our next phase of growth. In truth, Chris and I won't feel much of a change, as we've both been concentrating on these responsibilities for some time – the new titles are really just a formality," commented Brew.
Afghan Jabalo Saraj cement plant to reopen in 2017 01 February 2016
Afghanistan: The Jabalo Saraj cement plant will reopen in early 2017 according to the ministry of mines and petroleum. A spokesman for the ministry said that the plant is being rebuilt to local media, reported by BBC Monitoring.
The Jabalo Saraj cement plant closed in 1996. The ministry of mines and petroleum has allocated US$1.5m for the reconstruction effort using local engineers.
At present only the Ghori cement plant is operational in the country. According to the ministry it produces up to 420,000t/yr and it only meets 6% of the country's demand.
LafargeHolcim stops clinker production at Voskresenskcement plant 01 February 2016
Russia: LafargeHolcim has permanently stopped clinker production at its Voskresenskcement plant in the Moscow region due to market constraction and oversupply. The decision is part of a reorganisation its cement production structure in the Central region of Russia to fight the impact of the recession in the construction sector. The new structure includes cement production at the Schurovo (Moscow region) and Ferzikovo (Kaluga region) plants, leveraging their competitive cost structure.
"With the reorganisation of its cement production structure in the Central region of Russia the company ensures its viability and is well positioned in the country to meet customer requirements and make a valuable contribution to the Group," said Guillermo Brusco, CEO of LafargeHolcim Russia.
Staff at Voskresenskcement will be transferred internally where possible. Current customers of Voskresenskcement will be offered products from the Schurovo and Ferzikovo plants.
Russia: Rolt Company has started project development on four power plants under a contract with Eurocement Group. The plants are intended for cement factories situated in Central and North Caucasian Federal Districts of Russian Federation.
Each power plant will have a total electric output of 100MW. Rolt Company will develop the projects of power plants construction for Lipetskcement (23.2MW), Oskolcement, Kavkazcement and Voronezhsky affiliate of Eurocement Group (15.2MW each).