September 2024
Jean-Paul Wallace appointed as company secretary at Boral 16 August 2023
Australia: Boral has appointed Jean-Paul Wallace as its General Counsel and company secretary. He succeeds Peter Lim who held the posts on an interim basis.
Wallace has worked for Australia-based and international law firms. He has also held positions in the engineering and construction sectors for almost 20 years, with General Counsel and company secretary roles at UGL, Tenix and CPB Contractors. He holds an undergraduate degrees in art and law from the University of Sydney and a graduate diploma in corporate governance from the Governance Institute of Australia.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries installs carbon capture pilot system at Heidelberg Materials North America’s Edmonton cement plant 16 August 2023
Canada: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has successfully delivered and installed a KS-21 solvent-based carbon capture pilot system at Heidelberg Materials North America’s Edmonton cement plant in Alberta. The partners will now proceed to test the technology using different fuel sources and plant operating modes. Heidelberg Materials North America says that the installation is an ‘important step’ in the CO2MPACT carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. Once completed the project will comprise a 1Mt/yr capture installation at the plant and its integrated heat and power system. Heidelberg Materials North America expects the installation to be operational by late 2026.
Heidelberg Materials North America’s vice president cement operations, Northwest Region, Joerg Nixdorf said “Today is a substantial milestone in our journey to building the world’s first full-scale carbon capture project in the cement industry.”
Fletcher Building’s sales flat in 2023 financial year 16 August 2023
New Zealand: Fletcher Building recorded sales of US$5.07bn during the 2023 financial year, down slightly year-on-year from US$5.08bn in the 2022 financial year. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) fell by 29% to US$296m from US$419m. The drop in earnings was mainly attributed to additional costs allocated to the New Zealand International Convention Centre and Hobson Street Hotel project. Adjusted for significant items, the group’s EBIT rose by 6% to US$477m from US$452m.
Throughout the year, Fletcher Building’s cement subsidiary Golden Bay Cement co-processed 100,000t of waste as alternative fuel (AF). The producer awarded a bottom ash supply contract to Huntly Power Station. It also launched EcoZero carbon neutral cement, which is its EcoSure reduced-CO2 cement with the remaining emissions offset.
Chief executive officer Ross Taylor said “Looking forward to the 2024 financial year, we expect some further tightening in our overall volumes and so our focus remains on strong customer performance, cost control and pricing disciplines across our businesses. We have shown we are well equipped to continue performing solidly through the cycle.”
Nigeria: BUA Cement says that it expects to inaugurate its upcoming Okpella and Sokoto cement plants in early 2024. The Punch newspaper has reported that chief financial officer Jacques Piekarski said the plants will have a combined capacity of 6Mt/yr, and will raise BUA Cement’s Nigerian cement capacity by 54% to 17Mt/yr from 2024.
Vietnam: The government has launched a public consultation over a proposed environmental protection fee. The Vietnam Investment Review newspaper has reported that the proposed policy would require emitters of dust, NOx, sulphur oxides and carbon monoxide, including cement plants, to pay a basic fee of US$127/yr. Additional variable rates of US$0.02 – 0.03/t would apply to emissions of each of the pollutants. If it enters into force, the regulation will require cement plants to submit quarterly fee declarations to the government. The government says that the policy aims to encourage investment in emissions mitigation technologies.
Asia Cement Corporation wins multiple sustainability awards 16 August 2023
Taiwan: Asia Cement Corporation won one gold and two bronze awards at the Taiwan Sustainable Action Awards 2023. The company’s Lighting Up the Beauty of the Tribe with Warmth and Heart outreach initiative won gold, while its Coping with Climate Change through Public-Private Collaboration contraband co-processing initiative and Promoting Low-Carbon Cement for a Better Net-Zero Scenario initiative for the development and application of low-carbon cement both won bronze.
Executive Vice President Doris Wu said “Every sustainable goal has corresponding action plans. Only through persistent endeavour, focus and work from all different perspectives can impossible tasks be turned into concrete objectives.”
India: JK Cement’s sales were US$3.31bn during the first quarter of the 2024 financial year. This corresponds to year-on-year growth of 22%, from US$2.73m a year earlier. Nonetheless, its net profit dropped by 29%, to US$136m from US$193m.
Cockburn Cement awards new US$68m contract to SIMPEC for Kwinana grinding plant expansion 15 August 2023
Australia: Construction company SIMPEC, a subsidiary of WestStar, has won a new US$68m contract to work on the on-going expansion of Cockburn Cement’s Kwinana grinding plant. The work involves the construction of two 100t/hr grinding units, a 110,000t raw materials store and a reclamation system. Business News has reported that the total value of the Kwinana grinding plant expansion is US$249 - 272m. Cockburn Cement has committed total investments of US$129m to the project, of which US$7.44m consists of an existing contract with SIMPEC.
SIMPEC managing director Mark Dimasi said "This new contract demonstrates the company's track record of delivering for its clients. We are very pleased to secure this work and are committed to maintaining a long-standing relationship with Cockburn Cement and Adbri. I would like to thank Cockburn Cement for this opportunity to deliver such a high-profile local project and would also like to thank our team for their commitment in helping secure this contract.”
Mark Irwin, CEO of Cockburn Cement’s parent company Adbri said "The balance of work for the agreed scope remains consistent with Adbri's previously announced cost estimate and project schedule for the Kwinana Upgrade Project."
Sinai Cement increases sales in first half of 2023 15 August 2023
Egypt: Sinai Cement’s consolidated sales more than doubled year-on-year during the first half of 2023, to US$76.5m from US$33.2m, Arab Finance News has reported. As such, the company succeeded in reducing its net losses to US$2.58m, compared to US$3.31m in the first half of 2022.
Australian government considers CO2 Cross-Border Adjustment Mechanism for cement imports 15 August 2023
Australia: The Ministry of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is holding a consultation over the possible implementation of a Cross-Border Adjustment Mechanism to penalise imported cement for its CO2 emissions in line with the Australian cement industry’s emissions reduction goals. The Guardian Australia newspaper has reported that the government expects to publish its report on the policy in mid-late 2024. The government began implementing new CO2 emissions limits for Australia’s 200 largest industrial emitters in July 2023. It expects these to eliminate 200Mt-worth of CO2 emissions over the period up to 2030. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said “80% of these companies, and 86% of covered emissions, are covered by corporate net zero commitments.” Australia is committed to net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
With regard to the proposed Cross-Border Adjustment Mechanism, Bowen said “It’s a potentially important mechanism to ensure domestic sovereign capability and supply. One of the biggest challenges we face is supply-chain crunches, and any measure which helps us deal with that is a positive thing for the transition.”