September 2024
Siam City Cement cancels US$150m cement plant in Cambodia 04 September 2013
Cambodia: Siam City Cement (SCCC) has cancelled a US$150m cement plant project in Cambodia due to political uncertainty, according to the Bangkok Post. The Thai cement producer is considering building a cement plant in Myanmar instead.
Philippe Arto, managing director of SCCC, said that the board has decided to 'put on the shelf' the plan to build a 1Mt/yr cement plant in Cambodia after finishing a feasibility study. SCCC, which is 27.5% owned by Holcim, signed a memorandum of agreement with Cambodia's Chip Mong Group for the study in late 2010. Under the previous plan, construction of the Cambodian cement plant was due to start around the end of 2013 and take two years to complete.
SCCC is looking at the possibility of pushing forward a cement project in Myanmar, where the market is sizeable and the economy is growing substantially. SCCC has placed no timeline for its Myanmar project.
Liberian government to sue Cemenco 04 September 2013
Liberia: The Liberian government, through the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) is preparing to take legal action against the Liberia Cement Corporation (Cemenco) for allegations of pollution from its operations in Monrovia.
"We have completed all medical examinations on dozens of residents in the Belema Community. Doctors have established that indeed the cement dust being produced by the company is responsible for their disability and lung infections," said INCHR Commissioner, James D Torh. He added that the INCHR was resolved to reap millions of dollars in damages for residents dating as far back as the time CEMENCO was established in 1968.
Uralmash supplies mill frames to Holcim Russia 04 September 2013
Russia: Heavy machine producer Uralmash has signed a contract with Holcim Russia to supply a 4kh13,5 mill frame with covers and liners for its Schurovsky plant. A total of approximately 130t of equipment will be manufactured for delivery by January 2014.
This is a third set of frames that will be manufactured for this plant by Uralmash. The first two were delivered in 2010 and 2011. Holcim Russia has been conducting an upgrade of this plant since 2007. A new production line began operation in 2011.
Nepal allocates US$3.3m to connect cement plants to power grid 04 September 2013
Nepal: The Nepalese Ministry of Industry (MoI) has allocated US$3.3m towards providing electricity connections to nine cement factories under its infrastructural development programme for manufacturing industries.
According to the Kathmandu Post, the cement plants chosen for the grant are Shivan Cement, Dang Cement, Laxmi Cement, Rolpa Cement, Ghorahi Cement, United Cement, Maruti Cement, Sarbottam Cement and CG Cement.
"A total of 23 cement factories have been selected for the infrastructure development programme for the current fiscal year, out of which nine will receive funds for electricity connectivity while another 14, including the nine, also will get incentives to construct access roads," said Industry Secretary Krishna Gyanwali.
The allocation follows the announcement in July 2013 of government plans to spend US$4m on building access roads to 14 cement plants as part of a wider US$11.3m infrastructure development scheme for the local cement industry. Cement plants that produce clinker using local limestone are eligible for the scheme.
Cimpor improves quarterly performance 04 September 2013
Portugal: Cimpor has reported that its sales rose by 19.6% year-on-year to Euro1.30bn for the first six months of 2013 from Euro1.09bn in the same period in 2012. It attributed the rise to increased sales of cement and clinker from business expansion in South America following assets brought in by owner InterCement.
The subsidiary of Brazil's InterCement saw its volumes of cement and clinker rise by 4.1% to 13.5Mt from 12.9Mt. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6.3% to Euro284m from Euro267m. It decreased its net loss by 63.5% to Euro74.8m from Euro204.8m.
Sinoma orders another Gebr. Pfeiffer mill for Iraq 04 September 2013
Iraq: Sinoma (Suzhou) Construction has placed an order for an MPS 5000 B vertical roller mill for cement raw material grinding from Germany's Gebr. Pfeiffer SE. The grinding plant will be located near Sulaymaniya in northern Iraq and is the fifth MPS 5000 B in a row which will be installed there.
The vertical roller mill sold is designed for a capacity of 500t/hr at a product fineness of 10% R 80 µm and will come equipped with a 4000kW gear unit.
In addition to the supply of the core components for the grinding plant, the order includes engineering services to enable the local manufacture of mill components and the supervision of manufacture at Chinese workshops.
Lafarge sells Honduras cement plant to Cementos Argos 03 September 2013
Honduras: Lafarge has sold its cement operations in Honduras to Cementos Argos for Euro232m. Sold assets include a 1Mt/yr cement plant and a 0.3Mt/yr grinding plant. The sale is subject to regulatory approval.
The transaction had a total enterprise value of Euro435m based on a 2012 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) multiple of 8.6. Lafarge owns 53.3% of its Honduran subsidiary, Lafarge Cementos SA de CV.
Sinoma subsidiary to buy stake in Hazemag 03 September 2013
China: A subsidiary of National Materials Group (Sinoma) is buying a 59.1% stake in German mining equipment firm Hazemag & EPR for US$137m. The Chinese state-owned cement equipment manufacturer and cement producer made the announcement in a statement filed to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
"It will improve the technique, strengthen the management and establish the channels for the purpose of rapid expansion of Sinoma International to the field of mining equipment and generate more return for the group when Hazemag makes more profit in the future," said Sinoma chairman Liu Zhijiang in the statement.
Holcim and Cemex to swap assets in Europe 29 August 2013
Europe: Mexican cement producer Cemex and Swiss multinational cement maker Holcim have announced that they have reached an agreement to conduct a series of transactions in Europe. The transactions will are expected to be complete in the final quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approval.
Cemex will acquire all of Holcim's assets in the Czech Republic, which include a 1.1Mt/yr cement plant, four aggregates quarries and 17 ready-mix plants.
Cemex will sell its assets in the western part of Germany to Holcim, which include one cement plant and two grinding mills that encompass a total capacity of 2.5Mt/yr, one slag granulator, 22 aggregates quarries and 79 ready-mix plants. Cemex will retain its interests in other parts of the country.
In Spain, Cemex and Holcim will combine all their cement, ready-mix and aggregates operations. Cemex will have a 75% controlling interest over the combined operational assets and Holcim will control 25%.
As part of these transactions, Holcim will pay Cemex Euro70m in cash. Additionally, the transactions are expected to generate synergies that will result in a recurring improvement in Cemex's EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of US$20-30m, which will begin to be realised in 2014.
"When finalised, this will be an important strategic step that should allow Cemex to improve its footprint in Europe and it will consolidate our portfolio in the continent," said Lorenzo H Zambrano, Chairman and CEO of Cemex.
"This transaction will significantly strengthen our presence in Germany while at the same time giving us the necessary flexibility in Spain," said Holcim CEO Bernard Fontana. "Overall, our footprint in Europe will be considerably strengthened."
Boral on a sticky-wicket down under 27 August 2013
This week's news that Boral's operations have been disrupted by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) in the Australian state of Victoria highlights an increasingly difficult situation for the company and the Australian cement industry in general.
Boral's worksite at Footscray, near Melbourne, was allegedly blockaded by the CFMEU last week over the union's separate and long-running dispute with site contractor Grocon. The CFMEU wants Boral to stop supplying Grocon sites. Boral says that it has been forced to address the issue at Footscray and two other sites by issuing injunctions against the union. After its first half results announcement last week, which showed a loss of US$192m for the year ending 30 June 2013, this is clearly the last thing that Boral needs to be dealing with.
So far, 2013 has seen mainly trouble for Boral. In January it announced that it would shed 1000 jobs across its global operations, including 885 in its native Australia. In February it announced that the company made a US$25m loss in the half year to 31 December 2012. In March, it restructured by merging production divisions to save additional cash. It also had to suspend production at its Waurn Ponds plant. However, revenues have been rising. Boral is not Titan.
Elsewhere in Australia, Adelaide Brighton announced that its first half 2013 profit fell by 9% year-on-year. It expects no improvement over 2012 in the rest of the year.
With the onset of the carbon tax, cement manufacturing is increasingly expensive in Australia, a fact that is especially difficult when combined with lower demand. China, Indonesia and Vietnam all produce similar quality cement 'nearby' at considerably lower cost, making the long-term future of cement manufacturing in Australia look fragile. Indeed, this is a trend that Australia shares with its antipodean neighbour. In New Zealand, after years of indecision, Holcim recently decided to not build a new cement plant at Weston. A new import terminal is its new preferred strategy. Could Australia, a country with such vast reserves of fuels and minerals, also be gradually heading towards cement import dependency?