September 2024
Egypt: Misr Cement Qena's board of directors has voted for the company to continue operating its Qena cement plant after the end of a management contract with Arab Swiss Engineering Company (ASEC) on 30 June 2022.
Misr Cement Qena reported an operating incomeUS$5.69m in the first quarter of 2022, up by 59% year-on-year from US$3.58m in the first quarter of 2021. Its net profit in the quarter rose by 74% to US$2.56m from US$1.47m.
Liberia: Fouta Cement has secured a US$21.2m financing package for the construction of its upcoming 350,000t/yr Monrovia grinding plant. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has reported that the package consists of a US$5.4m loan from IFC's own account, a US$10.8m loan from the International Development Association's Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility (IDAPSWBFF) and a US$5m from Bank of Africa United Kingdom (BAUK).
Fouta Cement's managing director Hamidou Gnan said "IFC's package of long-term investment and advisory services gives us the foundation and support we need to make the switch from reseller to manufacturer, thereby adding more value and creating more jobs in Liberia."
Pakistan: Fauji Cement has ordered three MVR vertical roller mills from Germany-based Gebr. Pfeiffer for its upcoming Salar cement plant in Dera Ghazi Khan/Punjab Province. The supplier says that the order consists of a 520t/hr MVR 5600 R-4 mill for grinding raw materials and two 180t/hr MVR 5000 C-4 mills for cement grinding. China-based Hefei Cement will handle the order.
DG Khan Cement to start exporting cement to the US 15 June 2022
Pakistan: DG Khan Cement Company is ready to export 50,000t of cement to the US following a certification process. The Tomini Felicity bulk carrier was reportedly being loaded at the Port of Karachi in mid-June 2022 for shipping to Houston in Texas, according to the News International newspaper. The transport is part of a 100,000t deal with a US-based company that was arranged in mid-2021. The intervening period has been spent arranging the necessary certificates. The export is believed to be the first time a Pakistan-based producer has sent cement to the US.
OYAK Cement publishes Integrated Report 2021 15 June 2022
Turkey: OYAK Cement has detailed its progress towards net zero CO2 cement production in its Integrated Report 2021. The report's focus is sustainability and digitalisation. Under itsCement 4.0 CO2 emissions reduction initiative, OYAK Cement has proceeded with efficiency improvements at its cement plants.
OYAK Cement is committed to net zero CO2 cement production by 2050 and reductions in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global climate change to 1.5°C by 2030.The producer is collaborating withthe Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to realise its emission reduction goals.
South Korean truck drivers end strike 15 June 2022
South Korea: A truck driver strike has ended after seven days. The Korea Herald newspaper has reported that the government has agreed to extend a freight rate-based minimum wage system. The total cost to the cement industry was US$70.6m,
Canada/US: Holcim North America has invested in Blue Planet to support the development and commercialisation of its mineralisation technology. Blue Planet’s process sequesters CO2 with building waste feedstock such as recycled concrete, cement kiln dust (CKD) and slag to produce new aggregate products. Each tonne of Blue Planet’s aggregate can mineralize up to 440kg of captured CO2. Lafarge Canada, Holcim US, and Blue Planet will start a multi-year collaboration to help identify potential to use the mineralisation technology to further lower the carbon footprint of the companies’ cement, aggregates and concrete operations, with the potential to expand to other operations in the Holcim Group around the world.
“This is an important step for us in North America. Our vision is to transform our St Constant Plant in Montreal into a carbon campus that ultimately advances commercialisation of mineralisation technologies, including Blue Planet’s products,” said David Redfern, president and chief executive officer, Lafarge Canada. “We look forward to advancing our Net Zero strategy by leveraging mineralization technology that allows us to use the CO2 from our own cement plants to produce carbon neutral or carbon negative sand and gravel products.”
Saudi Arabia: Arabian Cement says that the Jeddah Commercial Court has ruled in its favour in a lawsuit it filed against Emaar, the Economic City Company, to claim outstanding quantities of limestone it was due in an agreement the companies signed in 2012. The court has ordered Emaar to give Arabian Cement around 4.6Mt of limestone. As part of the deal, from 2012 to 2018, Emaar agreed to provide the cement company with 44.7Mt of limestone. However, Arabian Cement maintains that it did not receive 5.3Mt of the total.
Arabian Cement previously gave land to Emaar in return for a limestone supply deal. Emmar company has been developing the King Abdullah Economic City.
Benin: A local government department covering the Atacora and Donga regions has started forcing the closure of shops and depots that are not following central government-mandated price controls. Other infringements include failure to issue purchasing invoices or display the price properly, according to La Nouvelle Tribune newspaper. The government has implemented controls on certain commodities, including cement and vegetable oil, in reaction to rising prices.
Menzel starts building new motor plant near Berlin 15 June 2022
Germany: Menzel Elektromotoren has launched construction work for its new plant in Hennigsdorfon, on the outskirts of Berlin, with the laying of the foundation stone. More than 200 guests and employees attended the event. The new headquarters will be erected on a 24,000m2 plot. All administrative and production workplaces are to be relocated by January 2024.
When complete, the new motor plant with an effective floor space of 8500m2 will increase the manufacturer's production capacities, allow the expansion of the workforce and add efficiency gains through an optimised floor plan. The production area of about 3800m2 will accommodate the assembly, metal processing, fabrication and winding workshops, paint shops and three test fields. In addition, there will be offices, logistics zones and storage areas. The new property is intended to allow for future expansions.