September 2024
CCI examining fresh complaint against India’s cement makers 18 December 2015
India: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is examining a fresh complaint of alleged unfair business practices made against cement makers, according to CCI chairman Ashok Chawala. The development comes against the backdrop of the quashing of a US$949m fine imposed on them by the regulator in a previous case.
Chawla said that the CCI is looking into a fresh complaint filed against cement companies. The Confederation of Real Estate Developer's Associations of India (CREDAI), which has about 10,000 members, approached the CCI against the Cement Manufacturers' Association (CMA) in September 2015. In October 2015, the CREDAI said that the association had filed a complaint against the CMA as prices have risen sharply despite low demand for cement.
"To control the cost of construction and make home prices work for the common man, the CREDAI has moved the CCI against cement manufacturers who have been unduly increasing the cost of cement," said the CREDAI. Despite low demand, the association had said that the prices of cement have jumped by 20 – 40% in major cities across India since October 2015.
Nigeria: Dangote Cement has rolled out over 150 new trucks to ease the distribution and availability of cement across the country. The move also aims to help distributors service their customers, deliver products in a timely manner and also take distributors and businesses 'to the next level.'
The Group Chief Marketing Officer, Oare Ojeikere, explained that the trucks would be at no cost to distributors and that all that was required was for the distributors to reach a certain volume of sales in three years.
"This scheme is about empowering our partners and ensuring they have what they require to get their products to their customers. Currently, the exchange rate has more or less ballooned out of proportion, making it increasingly difficult for people to invest in new trucks. Our business is powered by the ability to get cement to the retailers and the end-users," said Ojeikere.
He pointed out that in the past nine months, the group has embarked on different initiatives to improve the profitability of its partners, noting that its partners who drove growth, bought more and were also very aggressive in distribution, were rewarded for their diligence. "We want to assure our partners that those who continue to drive growth will continuously get rewarded for their efforts. We have also made cement more affordable because our per capita cement consumption and the huge housing deficit of over 18 million, we believe that if we are able to bring down the price of cement, we can drive much greater velocity in the amount of cement consumed in the country," said Ojeikere.
CEMENCO’s wastes endanger residents according to local residents 18 December 2015
Liberia: Chemical wastes being disposed off by the Liberian Cement Corporation or CEMENCO in the demolition of its former cement plant are allegedly posing a serious threat to human lives, residents of adjacent communities have complained.
CEMENCO, which is a subsidiary of HeidelbergCement, was established in Liberia in 1968 and was the only cement plant in the country.
The company's General Services Manager, James D Gibson, Jr., said that CEMENCO is primarily a grinding plant and not an integrated plant. He said that cement from its old plant was caked or baked cement, which has no asbestos and therefore, the current exercise possesses no health risk to communities and residents as being claimed.
One man dead after accident at Continenial Cement in Buffalo 18 December 2015
US: One person is dead following an accident on 15 December 2015 at Continental Cement in Buffalo, New York.
Buffalo police and fire departments along with a Medic ambulance responded to the quarry for a report of a male with head trauma after being struck by a boom on a tow truck. The man was reported as in stable condition at the scene and was transported to a local hospital. The victim later died at the hospital from his injuries.
The incident is being investigated by the Mine, Safety and Health Administration, the Scott County Medical Examiners Officer and the Buffalo Police Department.
LafargeHolcim and CDC Group to scale-up an affordable low-carbon construction solution 18 December 2015
Malawi: LafargeHolcim and CDC Group, the UK's development finance institution, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up a company to produce and promote an affordable low-carbon construction solution for developing countries.
The new company aims to scale up production of earth-cement bricks, a simple, reliable, affordable and environmentally-friendly building material that was launched by LafargeHolcim in Malawi in 2013.
Deforestation and forest degradation account for the majority of Malawi's greenhouse gas emissions. The manufacture of burnt bricks, the main building material in Malawi, is a significant contributor as a result of the wood-fired clamp kilns used in the production process.
LafargeHolcim has developed an alternative solution to burnt bricks. Durabric, designed by the Group's research and development centre, is produced from a mixture of earth and cement compressed in a mould and left naturally to cure in the sun without firing. Durabric contributes to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and the deforestation associated with wood fuel consumption. The bricks are also more resistant than fired bricks and reduce construction costs.
"Durabric offers many benefits compared to the traditional bricks used for construction in the developing world. It is easy to manufacture, has a smaller environmental footprint, offers more resistance, all at a lower cost," said Gérard Kuperfarb, Member of LafargeHolcim's Executive Committee in charge of Growth and Innovation. "Through the new company we are setting up with CDC, we will accelerate the development of this affordable, low-carbon solution in developing markets where traditional bricks are commonly used."
More than three million of these bricks have already been produced in Malawi and have been used in around 500 buildings. A brick production plant is being built to increase availability of Durabric in Malawi.
Limak Cement plans US$1bn African acquisition 18 December 2015
Africa: Turkey's Limak Cement is in talks on the acquisition of cement operations in Africa which could be worth up to US$1bn, a senior executive told Reuters, though there was no certainty a deal would be agreed.
Limak, which already has interests in Mozambique and Ivory Coast, has signed a confidentiality agreement regarding the purchase from an international cement company, though the outcome of the talks will not be known for several months. Limak Cement Group General Coordinator Gultekin Aksuyek did not say who it was looking to buy the assets from, but said that it had operations in more than one African country.
"A global cement firm is considering selling its facilities in three African countries. We are seriously interested and have signed a confidentiality agreement," said Aksuyek. "I think we will know in five to six months." He added that Turkish companies had ground to make up in the continent, which has good growth opportunities.
Other overseas expansion plans are also in the works. "We are also studying a possible acquisition in one of the Latin American countries," said Aksuyek. "We may make an acquisition there in the next five years." Limak has 10 cement plants in Turkey and is building cement grinding and packaging facilities in Mozambique and Ivory Coast, which are expected to come online in 2016 and 2017.
Aksuyek expects Limak Cement's sales volume to grow by around 4% in 2016 to 8.8Mt.
Lafarge partners with ZRL to increase cement exports to the Democratic Republic of Congo 17 December 2015
Democratic Republic of Congo/Zambia: Lafarge Zambia and Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) have collaborated to increase cement exports to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A policy directive is being followed by the government in order to increase exports and help stabilise the local currency. Lafarge will begin to export 400t/week of cement to the DRC in 2016 and will multiply its exports to Malawi and the DRC by a factor of four. Lafarge has become the biggest user of rail in the country and the first cement producer to be fully-associated.
US demand for fibre cement products set to grow 17 December 2015
US: US demand for fibre cement products is forecast to grow by 5.8%/yr until 2019 to 2.9Bnft2, valued at US$2.2bn.
Accelerating construction expenditures, specifically in new housing, will spur demand. Siding is by far the largest application for fibre cement and demand will benefit from the popularity of fibre cement sidings in the south and west of the US, the regions that will experience the strongest growth in population and housing starts going forward. These and other trends are presented in 'Fiber Cement,' a new study from The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.
The residential market accounts for the majority of fibre cement demand. According to Construction Group Leader Tom Bowne, while new housing demand for fibre cement products will rise at the fastest pace through 2019, residential improvement and repair will continue to account for a larger portion of residential demand. Sales of existing housing will generate demand for fibre cement products as homeowners look to increase the value of their properties before going to market.
Exterior fibre cement products have seen increasing use in the non-residential market in recent years, particularly in the form of fibre cement backer-board products. Fibre cement product demand in the non-residential market is forecast to grow by 5.4%/yr until 2019 to 670mft2. Rebounding non-residential building construction demand will primarily drive gains. In addition, fibre cement siding and exterior trim will benefit from a design trend in commercial buildings that favours an exposed-wood appearance for exteriors. Fibre cement product manufacturers have responded to this demand by developing new wood-like products aimed at commercial buildings.
Siding accounts for over 70% of fibre cement product demand. Fibre cement manufacturers have found a great deal of success in this application, managing to penetrate a competitive market and becoming a major material option in siding over the course of a couple of decades. Backer-board is the second-largest application for fibre cement in the US and is expected to post above average growth in the forecast years.
Elementia pays remaining US$45m for Cementos Fortaleza 17 December 2015
Mexico: Mexican construction group Elementia has paid the final US$45m instalment for the acquisition of a 47% stake in Mexican cement producer Cementos Fortaleza from Switzerland's LafargeHolcim.
Cementos Fortaleza was formed as a joint venture in 2013 by Elementia and Lafarge, prior to its merger with Holcim. In 2014, Lafarge agreed to sell its interest in the venture for a total of US$225m. As part of the deal, Elementia was required to pay 80% of the purchase price, or US$180m, in December 2014 and the remaining 20% in December 2015.
Prism Cement appoints new Chief Executive Officer 17 December 2015
India: Prism Cement Limited has appointed Joydeep Mukherjee as its Chief Executive Officer - HRJ (designate) and Key Managerial Personnel with effect from 16 December 2015. HRJ or H R Jhonson is a division of Prism Cement.