September 2024
LafargeHolcim launches new cement base for mortars 18 November 2015
Russia: LafargeHolcim's plant in Kolomna, Moscow has begun production of a new cement base for mortars under the Kelma brand. It is characterised by high strength, fine adhesion to surfaces and a long retention of mobility that provides for the mortar's plasticity necessary for construction works without adding extra water. The product is being sold in 50kg bags.
Increased competition eats into PPC’s earnings 18 November 2015
South Africa: PPC has reported a 3% fall in cement revenue to US$526m in the first nine months of 2015, although group revenue grew by 2% year-on-year to US$645m. The decline in the cement business was blamed on increased competition.
"The Mpumalanga area was the hardest hit, with double-digit volume declines. The north-west region, although also under pressure, showed some resilience," said PPC in a statement.
Company CEO Darryll Castle said that improved performance from the company's operations in Zimbabwe and Botswana had offset the declines experienced in the core South African cement business. He said that projects in Africa would ensure that shareholders had a 'diversified portfolio of businesses in different geographies.'
Breedon Aggregates buys Hope Construction Materials for Euro480m 18 November 2015
UK: Breedon Aggregates plans to acquire Hope Construction Materials for Euro480m. In a statement, Breedon said that the transaction would create 'the UK's leading independent producer of cement, concrete and aggregates.'
Hope has 160 operational sites, including a cement works in Derbyshire, five quarries and 152 concrete plants. In the first six months of 2015, Hope sold 1.6Mt of cement, 4.7Mt of aggregate and 2.3Mm3 of concrete, generating revenue of Euro407m and underlying earnings before interest depreciation and amortisation of Euro52.8m.
The acquisition is conditional upon UK competition authority approval and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2016. "This acquisition is well-timed, with UK construction output forecast to expand by around 15% over the next four years and volumes of all our major products expected to grow strongly," said Peter Tom, Breedon Executive Chairman. "We are confident that we will be able to continue delivering significant value for our shareholders in the coming years, with an even stronger platform for growth."
The Chief Executive of Aggregate Industries, part of LafargeHolcim, Pat Ward, will take over as Breedon Chief Executive early in 2016.
Sagar Cements reports 3% rise in October 2015 production 17 November 2015
India: Sagar Cements cement production in October 2015 rose by 3% year-on-year to 96,247t and its cement sales rose by 7% to 99,918t.
China: China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has unveiled a document to ask cement companies in north China to carry out peak-shifting production on a trial basis in the winter. The peak-shifting production will not only ease the 'haze weather,' but also enhance the cement market and reduce producers' costs, according to industry insiders.
Due to fierce market competition, cement enterprises in north China produce cement at full capacity in the winter to seize the opportunity when the energy supplies end and building operations start. However, in the summer, many enterprises are forced to produce at half of their installed capacity due to the glut of cement on the market. As the cement industry is a high energy-consumption industry, the overlap of cement production and energy supply in winter increases coal consumption and leads to haze weather in north China. If peak production were carried out in winter for four months, about 4.36Mt of coal and 177bnm3 of flue gas emissions would be cut in the whole northern area, which could help improve the local environment. The peak-shifting production could also help ease overcapacity.
After the peak-shifting, cement enterprises in north and northeast China will suspend production for four to five months in winter and the overcapacity rate in the domestic cement industry will fall to 16 – 21% from the current 51%, which would help enhance the industrial climate.
Shree Cement's net profit jumps by 18% 17 November 2015
India: Shree Cement's net profit rose by 18.3% year-on-year to US$19.5m in the quarter that ended on 30 September 2015 and its total income increased by 6.79% to US$265m.
Claudius Peters' ETA Cooler exceeds 13,000t/day in China 17 November 2015
China: The ETA Cooler, the concept for cooling clinker in the cement making process announced by Claudius Peters Projects GmbH in 2004, has reached a new capacity milestone with a more than 13,000t/day model going into production earlier in 2015 in China.
The ETA Cooler principle was introduced in 2004 with a 2000t/day installation at a Holcim cement plant in Switzerland. Over the last decade, Claudius Peters Projects has progressively offered the market increasingly higher capacity models. It has now reached 13,000t/day, currently the world's highest capacity cement line production. The company has said that even higher capacity is feasible.
Due to its design, no dust removal system is required with ETA Cooler and the relatively long stroke action means a low grate speed, which in turn means less wear and maintenance. As there are no obstructions to the clinker flow in this moving floor technology, high transport efficiency is also achieved, with uniform cooling, thus improving the quality of the clinker and in turn the quality of cement produced, according to Claudius Peters Projects. The ETA Cooler has a very low construction profile and modular design, allowing it to be retrofit to existing cement plants.
FLSmidth Airtech opens Turkey office 17 November 2015
Turkey: FLSmidth Airtech - Air Pollution Control, opened its new office in Istanbul on 13 November 2015. Customers, partners and suppliers from the industry participated in the reception. The office is regional and will service the Turkish market and neighboring countries such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Middle East and North Africa. FLS Airtech has served the Turkish cement and steel industry with more than 200 reference state-of-the-art solutions in air pollution control.
Loesche mills ordered for Nova Cimangola SA cement plant in Angola 17 November 2015
Angola: Sinoma International has ordered Loesche's complete grinding series for the Nova Cimangola SA cement plant in Luanda, Angola. These will be the first Loesche vertical roller mills in the country.
The order includes one cement raw material mill of the type LM 48.4 with a capacity of 400t/hr and two cement mills of the type LM 46.2+2 C/S which are designed to have a capacity of 150t/hr each. Loesche's coal mill of the type LM 24.20 DC completes the order. Further equipment like rotary star feeders, metal detectors, the engineering for the cyclones, classifier motors and the control system are also in Loesche's scope of supply, as well as a two-year operation spare parts contract.
The coal mill and the cement raw material mill are scheduled to start operation in the middle of 2016. The cement mills will follow with a production start by the end of 2016.
China International Fund cement plant provides electricity to the Angolan public grid 16 November 2015
Angola: China International Fund's (CIF) cement plant in Luanda will provide 50MW of electricity to the Angolan public grid, under a presidential order authorising the purchase of energy. The order said that the power purchase agreement would be valid for ten years, but gave no figures for the amounts involved in the purchase of electricity by state-owned Rede Nacional de Transporte (National Transmission Grid).
"Given that the studies conducted to assess the supply and demand for electricity in the Luanda region indicate a deficit of 400MW, this contract is authorised until structural projects that are underway start operating," said the order authorising the contract with CIF.
The government of Angola is working on several projects that will increase national electricity production, including the construction of two dams by Brazil's Odebrecht. This is the case of the US$4.3bn Lauca hydroelectric facility in Cambambe, Kwanza Norte financed by a credit line from Brazil. From 2017 it will produce 2,070MW of electricity and serve five million people. Another of the works involves increasing the power of the Cambambe hydroelectric facility, in the same municipality, which will increase from 180MW to 700MW and be put into operation in stages during the second half of 2016.
The future Soyo combined-cycle plant, the construction of which is the responsibility of the China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and that will cost the Angolan state more than US$900m, will provide electricity to the capital, Luanda, and north of Angola from 2017 onwards.