September 2024
Tanzania: Mbeya Cement, a LafargeHolcim subsidiary, has launched a higher strength cement and stated that its production capacity will triple to 1.1Mt/yr at the end of October 2015. The company, which is 35% locally-owned, said that the cement 'Tembo Supaset 42.5' is used by civil contractors and pre-casters.
Lafarge Tanzania's CEO Catherine Langreney said that the product specifically addresses the needs for block making, concrete mix, mega-structures and high visibility infrastructure projects like bridges, roads and stadiums. "This brand is the result of almost one year of careful research and development by our cement technical experts," said Langreney. "Supaset CEM II is a specially-formulated Portland composite cement that is engineered to meet the fast-setting requirements of block makers."
The introduction of Supaset is likely to assist Mbeya Cement to increase its market share in the block making segment, improve customer satisfaction with Lafarge brands and reinforce its position as a leader in innovation within the Tanzanian construction industry. Langreney said that, before the end of 2015, Mbeya Cement will launch two new innovative products to meet demand of fast growing construction industry and the economy at large.
To cater for future demand, Mbeya Cement plans to start a new vertical grinding production plant, the first in sub-Sahara Africa, at the end of October 2015. "The new 700,000Mt/yr plant will elevates our capacity to 1.1Mt/yr," said Langreney.
Court ruled in favour of Cementos de Chihuahua 15 October 2015
Bolivia/Mexico: A civil court in La Paz, Bolivia has ruled to suspend the damages sentence imposed by the Inter-American Commercial Arbitration Commission (CIAC) that obliged Mexican cement company Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) to pay Bolivian investment company Compania de Inversiones Mercantiles (Cimsa) compensation. The decision, announced on 9 October 2015, sets the arbitration court to issue a new resolution and cancels the embargo sentence ruled by a court in Colorado, US. This resolution obliged GCC to provide information about its properties in Colorado and to cancel any assets sales in that area.
INC could be turned into cement importer immediately 15 October 2015
Paraguay: Paraguay's Industry and Trade Minister Gustavo Leite has revealed that the possibility of turning Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) into a cement importer with immediate effect is being considered by the authorities, which are concerned about on-going cement supply issues and cement prices.
A public-private partnership to increase capacity to 1Mt/yr is being sought, but this will require a new cement plant, which takes between three and four years, so it will not solve the existing problems. A tender process to import cement could be organised before the end of October 2015 and the product could arrive in November 2015.
Secil to build new 2Mt/yr cement plant in Brazil via Supremo 15 October 2015
Brazil: Portugal's Secil plans to upgrade its production capacity in Brazil by 2Mt/yr by the end of 2015. The move results from the addition of a new US$149m plant by its local division, Supremo, in Adrianopolis, Parana. Supremo also runs another plant in Pomerode, Catarina. The new plant will increase Secil's total cement production capacity from 7.65Mt/yr to 9.65Mt/yr, a 26% rise.
Trickle down economics in Ecuador 14 October 2015
Change draws nearer this week in the Ecuadorian cement industry with the announcement of further details on a new integrated cement plant. Union Cementera Nacional (UCEM) plans to build its third cement plant. The part-government owned group will build its new 2200t/day facility in the country's central Chimborazo province. The move will expand the group's domestic production from 1600t/day to 3800t/day, adding to its existing 650t/day of plant in Chimborazo and its 950t/day plant in Azogues. The expansion was supported by a US$230m investment agreement agreed in September 2015 between UCEM and Casaracra.
The timing is interesting here given that cement sales have reportedly fallen year-on-year by 7% for the first seven months of 2015, according to Ecuadorian Institute of Cement and Concrete (INECYC) data. Holcim, in its financial report for the first half of 2015, attributed its lower cement volumes to effects on the local economy by lower oil prices and poor weather. This also followed a declining year for volumes in 2014 after Holcim reported a record year in 2013.
Holcim also reported continuing to export clinker to its Ecuador unit in 2014 despite the drop in volumes. To that end it completed the second phase of its own expansion project at its Guayaquil cement plant back in March 2015. It increased its clinker production capacity to 4500t/day at the site at a cost US$400m.
Also of note, but on a smaller scale, was the announcement by the North American subsidiary of Gebr. Pfeiffer in September 2015 that it was supplying a new MPS swing mill for an existing grinding station at a clinker plant run by Hormicreto. Published details are sketchy on this plant but A TEC Greco refers to supplying a burner to the company for a cement kiln in 2013. The mountainous location and ownership by a concrete producer suggest that this may be a mini-cement plant.
Following the departure of Lafarge from the market at the end of 2014, Ecuador now has three main cement producers: LafargeHolcim (inheriting the Holcim assets), UCEM and Union Andina de Cementos (UNACEM). UCEM's expansion plans will increase its share of the industry by production capacity making it the second largest producer in the country. MCPEC - INECYC estimates projected that cement demand would reach 9Mt/yr in 2018. Meanwhile Manuel Román Moreno, general manager of the Empresa Pública Cementera del Ecuador (EPCE), estimated that the country imported around 1Mt/yr of clinker in 2014.
The question then for UCEM is whether the country will want 9Mt/yr of cement in 2018 with a depressed price of crude oil. As an Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Ecuador's economy is, no doubt, feeling the pinch from the low price of crude oil after a period of growth. In its expansion announcement UCEM reported the reliance of the new plant on bunker oil. This will be trucked in from the Amazonas (Shushufindi) refinery in Sucumbios province and purchased at a subsidised price. Cheap oil can be used to run the plants but it may be needed more to run the country's infrastructure demand for building materials such as a cement.
Canada: The Lafarge Brookfield cement plant in Nova Scotia, Canada, is celebrating its 50th anniversary of operations in 2015.
In 1957, the Canada Cement Company sent a team of engineers and land surveyors to Nova Scotia, Canada to search for a limestone deposit suitable for the construction of a cement plant. Out of 27 potential sites, Brookfield received the nod of approval. The company proceeded over the next few years to build a US$25m state-of-the-art cement plant. Production began on 29 September 1965.
While the raw materials mixture and fuels used for production have changed in the past five decades, the overall method of manufacturing remains the same, according to Plant Manager ScarthMacDonnell. "In some ways the plant has not changed a bit since it opened up. The fundamental process of cement manufacturing has not changed. The products we make, the fuels we use and the environmental footprint has completely transformed. So the cements we make today make 25% less carbon dioxide then they did when the plant started up," said MacDonnell. He added that more than 20% of the energy used for cement production comes from recycled materials.
More than 1000 individuals have earned a living working at Lafarge over the past 50 years while continuously producing cement that has been used in countless projects, big and small. By far the biggest showcase project the plant has been involved with was providing all the cement used in the construction of the Confederation Bridge, between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. "It was a very special recipe," said MacDonnell, of the 250,000t of cement used for the project. "It was a specialised, high-performance cement that was required for the job and it was a different product than was normally made."
Despite 50 years of mining, the reserves in the limestone deposit discovered back in 1957 are far from being depleted. "We've got well over 25 years of stone still on the property," said MacDonnell. "And there's more there if we want to go get it."
Schwenk Zement brings 100t crawler excavator into operation 14 October 2015
Germany: Schwenk Zement KG has recently brought into operation two new Liebherr R 980 SME crawler excavators at its limestone quarry in Heidenheim an der Brenz. The quarry is adjacent to Schwenk Zement's cement plant.
The SME crawler excavators from Liebherr are particularly suitable for deployment in excavation and are tailored to the tough operating conditions associated with quarrying. SME stands for 'Super Mass Excavation.' A bonus feature is that the excavator is equipped with a reinforced undercarriage, on which the running gear components of the next larger model from the standard programme, namely the R 9100 mining excavator, can be installed. In conjunction with a heavy ballast weight, this undercarriage improves the stability of the machine and, at the same time, enables the use of a backhoe with greater capacity. The equipment, such as the stick and backhoe cylinders, has been adapted to the higher tearing and breaking out forces with a larger diameter and matching kinematics.
At Schwenk Zement KG, the Liebherr R 980 SME crawler excavators are deployed together with a wheel loader directly at the quarry wall. Material is always excavated using two of the three machines. While the wheel loader is more flexible and mobile, the crawler excavator is suitable for sorting the stone and, at the same time, offers higher tearing and breaking out forces. "We used to work with three wheel loaders in production. With the two Liebherr crawler excavators, we have now found the ideal solution as we have a greater output and productivity and maintain flexibility thanks to the wheel loader," said Wolfgang Kuhnt, Quarry Manager. Since the two crawler excavators have been in operation, the number of detonations for stone excavation has dropped. The bed and material can be collected and processed in a dryer state and the loss of raw material at Schwenk Zement KG can be reduced.
The Liebherr crawler excavators achieve an average material handling performance of 350t/hr and ensure optimum supply of the crushing plant, which is restricted to a capacity of 700t/hr. "The crawler excavators are capable of dealing with 500t/hr as well, however, which equates to 1000t/hr when two are in operation," said Kuhnt. Material transport is then carried out by rigid frame dump trucks with a payload of 65t.
India: Overseas investments or the outward foreign direct investment by Indian companies more than halved to US$1.24bn in September 2015, according to media reports. This compared to US$3.12bn in September 2014. In August 2015, the outward foreign direct investment by Indian companies stood at US$2.19bn.
Out of the total US$1.24bn invested abroad, some US$137m was invested in equity, US$366m through loans and US$738m in the form of issue of guarantee. Major investors overseas during the month included Ultratech Cement in the Middle East (US$234m), Tata Power in Singapore (US$90m) and Tata Communications in Singapore (US$67.9m).
Chairman to remain at China Shanshui Cement following vote 14 October 2015
China: Shareholders of China Shanshui Cement have voted to keep Chairman Zhang Bin at a meeting on 13 October 2015 amid a fight for control of the nation's seventh-largest cement maker that has been ongoing since April 2015.
China Shanshui Cement held an extraordinary general meeting during which a proposal from its largest shareholder, Tianrui International Holding Co, to get rid of Zhang was rejected after receiving a 99.9% no vote. Tianrui International, which has a 28.16% interest, has been trying to change Shanshui's management and had another failed attempt in July 2015.
Shareholder clashes may become more common in China as President Xi Jinping encourages the culling of weaker companies in industries that are grappling with overcapacity. Two of Shanshui's other shareholders, China National Building Material Co and Taiwan's Asia Cement, which combined hold 37.6%, said in September 2015 that they will make a joint conditional cash offer to acquire all the outstanding shares they don't already control. The duo reiterated on 9 October 2015 they're still considering that course of action.
China Shanshui Cement had also initially called the extraordinary general meeting to vote on the appointment of Li Liufa, a founder of China Tianrui Group Cement Co, as Chairman of China Shanshui Cement. But China Shanshui Cement said on 12 October 2015 that it hasn't yet received a notice regarding that, making the proposed appointment no longer applicable.
Shareholders voted 95.1% in support of the removal of Zhang Caikui, Zhang Bin's father, as an Executive Director at the 13 October 2015 meeting. Li Cheung Hung and Wu Xiaoyun also had 99.9% of votes cast for their removal. Li was the Joint Company Secretary of China Shanshui Cement while Wu is a professor of the University of Nankai.
Russia: Eurocement's Akhangarancement plant produced 164,000t of cement and 127,205t of clinker in August 2015, 2.5% and 12.2% year-on-year rises respectively. The plant shipped 164,863t of cement to in August 2015, a 1.2% year-on-year rise.
The most popular types of cement in August 2015 were PC 400-D20 (Portland cement of grade 400 with active mineral additives accounting for more than 5 - 20%, SPC 400 (Slag Portland cement of grade 400 with active mineral additives accounting for 20 - 80%), PC 400-KD20 (Portland cement of grade 400 with composite additives accounting for 10 - 20%). The share of these types of cement was 91.8%, up from 75.1% in August 2014.