September 2024
Angola bans cement imports from start of 2015 19 December 2014
Angola: The Angolan government has banned the importation of cement as of 1 January 2015, saying that there is adequate local production to meet national demand.
"Due to the investments made by various companies, the installed cement production capacity in Angola is 8Mt/yr. Demand is around 6.5Mt/yr," said Minister Waldemar Alexandre Pires. He added that the ban was imposed after consultation with the country's Cement Sector Commission, coordinated by the Ministry of Construction and the Ministries of Trade, Industry and the Economy.
The Angola cement market has enjoyed four years of double-digit growth on the back of the country's economic recovery. This follows the end of a 30-year civil war in 2002. The short-term outlook is positive, with continued market growth and capacity building, encouraging more players to venture into the burgeoning market. The majority of domestic cement consumption is located in the more densely populated western provinces. So far the government claims to have spent over US$1bn on reconstruction since the end of the war.
A resumption of construction activities in and around the capital of Luanda, where the government has pushed ahead with a range of new construction projects including a number of much-needed housing schemes for the city's expanding population, has been the main drivers of the cement consumption in the southern African nation.
HeidelbergCement reopens Ukrainian cement plant 18 December 2014
Ukraine: HeidelbergCement has reopened its plant in eastern Ukraine a month after shutting it. Separatists in the region wanted to impose their own agenda on the production process, the company said in November 2014. The situation has now changed and HeidelbergCement is about to sign a contact with a new security firm, according to CEO Bernd Scheifele. The re-launch of the production process was closely coordinated with the Foreign Office.
The conflict in Ukraine has led to serious infrastructure damage and thus the demand for building materials is high, according to Scheifele. The plant's capacity is 2Mt/yr of cement. The company generates Euro150m of revenue with its three Ukrainian sites, or a share of 1% of the total revenues. In 2014, however, turnover slipped by 30% due to the conflict.
Bolivia: Itacamba Cemento SA has awarded its new raw material grinding solution to Gebr. Pfeiffer Inc, a subsidiary of Gebr. Pfeiffer SE. The company's new 2000t/day capacity cement plant will be located in the municipality of Yacuces, Germán Busch Province.
Gebr. Pfeiffer will supply the raw material grinding system, using an MPS 3750 B mill as its key component. Raw material output will be 210t/hr with a fineness of 14% residue on 90µ. The project scope includes a rotary lock DSZ 1400 R, a raw mill MPS 3750 B, a classifier SLS 3150 B, cyclones AZZ 500 and related engineering and spare parts. Delivery to the Yacuces Plant is scheduled for the second quarter of 2015.
PPC names mining executive Darryll Castle as next CEO 18 December 2014
South Africa: PPC has named a mining industry veteran as CEO, ending a three-month leadership vacuum that has hit its share price. Darryll Castle will take over as CEO from 12 January 2014. Castle previously worked as chief operating officer (COO) at base metal miner Metorex, which has since been acquired by China's Jinchuan Group. A chartered financial analyst, he has been CEO of Trafigura Mining Group and Anvil Mining. Castle's experience includes projects in Zambia, Angola and Tanzania.
2014 in cement 17 December 2014
For the last issue of Global Cement Weekly before the Christmas and New Year break we're following our tradition of reviewing some of the major industry news stories of the year. Remember this is just one view of the year's events. If you think we've missed anything important let us know via LinkedIn, Twitter or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Lafarge and Holcim merger
The year has been dominated by one story: the merger of the two largest European-based cement producers, Lafarge and Holcim. The implications are massive. At a stroke the new company can dispose of less profitable units, clear debts and benefit from new mega-economies of scale. As Europe emerges from the recession, LafargeHolcim will be ready. Worldwide it is a rebuff to the consolidating Chinese cement producers who are poised, if they wish, to emerge from China and dominate international markets. The process has appeared surprisingly smooth so far with considerable forward planning. This week the European Commission has approved the proposed merger.
Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont described the deal as 'a merger of equals'. What he didn't say is that the merger will leave LafargeHolcim with no equal. However, one question remains. Once the merger is complete will the new company be profitable?
China heads abroad
State planners in Hebei Province revealed plans to move excess cement production capacity outside of China in their usual sparse style. The quiet tone of the announcement failed to match its intentions to move 30Mt of capacity abroad by 2023. It is the next step after becoming the world's biggest cement producer, capturing swathes of the equipment market and consolidating its many local producers. How Chinese cement producers will fare in the wider global market remains to be seen. Yet while its economy remains strong the gobbling up of European utilities by Chinese companies suggests that, if all else fails, money talks.
Coal for India
If you can't fire-up your kiln you can't make clinker. With Indian cement producers reporting falling profits in 2014 the squabbling over coal allocation in the country summed up some of the input cost and infrastructure problems facing the country's cement industry. The coal blocks are due to be auctioned off from January 2015. Meanwhile analysts predict that Indian cement demand is unlikely to grow until 2016.
Sub-Saharan scares and skirmishes
The creation of Lafarge Africa means that three producers are now in a skirmish in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lafarge, Dangote and PPC. All three companies are present in multiple countries and expanding fast. This week, for example, PPC announced proposed merger plans with AfriSam. Given the low cement consumption per capita in this region the benefits of getting in early are immense. Unfortunately, there are many speed bumps along this road to development. One is the on-going Ebola epidemic. Left unchecked it could cause untold economic damage.
ASEAN set to open up
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is set to drop import tariffs in 2015 as it establishes a common market. Already in preparation cement producers have started to change their strategies, thinking regionally instead of nationally. Holcim Philippines, for example, announced in February 2014 that it was considering delaying building a new plant as it analysed the situation. The region, including high-growth countries like Indonesia and Thailand, could see its cement industry go into overdrive. However, the benefits may not be uniform as countries like the Philippines may lose out.
The US, fracking and falling oil prices
Of the western economies recovering from the 2007 recession, the US cement industry has rebounded the fastest, due in part to fracking which has brought down the cost of energy. The Brent Crude price hit a low of US$60 per barrel this week and this has consequences for everybody in the cement industry as fuel procurement strategies adapt.
For starters, cement producers gain a fuel bill cut as the cost of fuels fall. Producers in Egypt who have been frenziedly converting kilns from gas to coal may suddenly find their margins improve. Low energy prices also take away financial motivation to co-process alternative fuels in cement kilns. Finally, what of the giant infrastructure projects in Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) like Saudi Arabia? Take away the petrodollars propping up these builds and cement demand may evaporate.
For more a more detailed look at trends in the cement industry check out the Global Cement Top 100 Report.
Global Cement Weekly will return on 7 January 2015. Enjoy the festive break!
Saudi City Cement starts trial operations of new production line 17 December 2014
Saudi Arabia: Saudi City Cement Company has started trial operations of a second production line. Without disclosing any financial details, Saudi City Cement said that the new production line will have a production capacity of 5,500t/day. The trial period will last about four months.
India: The Pollution Control Board has despatched 20,000t of effluent sludge generated by textile units in the SIPCOT Industrial Estate in Perundurai to cement plants in Ariyalur district in Tamil Nadu state for use as an alternative fuel. Local media reports that local cement producers have started accepting effluent sludge from the dying industry after the success of a trial run that indicated no variation in the strength and quality of cement. Following the first order demand for another 8000t has been expressed.
Sarbottam Cement Industries starts commercial operation in Nepal 17 December 2014
Nepal: Sarbottam Cement Industries (SCI) has started commercial operation at its 400,000t/yr cement plant. The plant, which includes a captive power plant and a grinding unit, will employ over 1600 staff both directly and indirectly when fully functional. Saurabh Group, which has major share in import-export business of cement, steel, tea and woollen products, among others, set up SCI with an investment of US$64m. The cement plant has 45% foreign investment.
Australia: The Boral cement plant in Berrima, New South Wales, will receive a US$3.3m grant from the Environmental Trust as part of the NSW Environment Protection Authority's Waste Less, Recycle More initiative. The funding will be used to increase the use of waste derived fuels at the plant.
Executive general manager for Boral Cement Ross Harper said the achievement of the grant confirmed the potentially-important role that the New Berrima site could play in reducing the increasing impact of re-usable materials ending up in landfills.
"Since September, we have been informing our local stakeholders about the positive environmental and economic effects which can be obtained by replacing a portion of our coal consumption at Berrima with fuels derived from recovered and processed waste streams," said executive general manager for Boral Cement, Ross Harper.
Boral is currently preparing to submit planning applications which will seek approval for the use of wood waste-derived fuel and refuse-derived fuel in production at the Berrima plant. The site already holds an approval to use rubber tyre chips. Pending approvals, the site is looking to begin integration of the two fuels from the start of 2016 following construction of the new infrastructure.
Atrus halts construction of cement plant in Krasnodar 17 December 2014
Russia: Austrian company Atrus Cement has halted construction of a cement plant in Krasnodar territory indefinitely. The project has been temporarily put on hold due to a lack of funds to finance the construction, according to Interfax.
Atrus Cement was planning to build and launch a cement plant in the Crimean district of Krasnodar territory by 2016. The project will cost over US$188m and will have a cement production capacity of 2.1Mt/yr. The company had hoped to start construction in 2012 and complete the project by 2016.