September 2024
Mexican Ready-Mix Concrete Association warns of cost impacts of Ukraine crisis on global cement production 02 March 2022
Mexico: The Mexican Ready-Mix Concrete Industry Association (AMIC) says that European natural gas shortages and disruptions to the supply of oil, chemicals and other goods as a result of the conflict in Ukraine may cause a rise in the cost of global cement production.
AMIC president Ana Laura Burciaga said "Having a conflict that delays the arrival of these products can make them more expensive because they would have to be obtained from more expensive sources due to shortages.” Burciaga continued "The area where the conflict is taking place was a major supplier of gas and we are concerned that this will have repercussions, especially in terms of a price increase when we have just suffered a very significant one of a magnitude we had not seen for many years."
Uzbek companies allowed to export cement themselves 02 March 2022
Uzbekistan: The President of Uzbekistan signed in a law change on 1 March 2022 permitting legal entities to export cement on the basis of direct contracts. The change also applies to clinker. Under the current law, all exporters can claim up to 50% of transport costs for subsidisation by the Export Promotion Agency of Uzbekistan.
CRH develops contingency plans in Ukraine crisis 02 March 2022
Ukraine/Ireland: CRH says that it is monitoring the on-going Ukrainian invasion crisis as it impacts its employees, assets and the continuity of its operations in the country. The Irish Times newspaper has reported that the company has developed contingency plans, which it will deploy as necessary.
CRH’s Cemark subsidiary employs 800 people in Ukraine, where it has operated since 1999.
India: Wonder Cement says that its Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, cement plant’s electricity consumption fell by 1.8GWh year-on-year in 2021. It attributed the reduction to its use of an ACS880 slip power recovery system (SPRS) supplied by ABB India.
ABB India’s Motion business president Sanjeev Arora said “This project puts forth how we are one of the most trusted partners for customers when it comes to energy efficiency. He said that the company ‘has constantly promoted technologies that help in driving country’s carbon-neutral future,’ concluding “Our solutions are aiding businesses across India to cut energy expenses and decarbonise their operations.”
Belarusian domestic cement sales on Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange forecast at 1.5Mt in 2022 02 March 2022
Belarus: The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange says that it expects to auction 1.5Mt of cement in 2022. BELTA News has reported that the figure corresponds to 50% of the annual production of Belarusian Cement Company.
Egyptian cement exports surge by 151% in 2021 02 March 2022
Egypt: A report from the Export Council for Building Materials, Refractory and Metallurgy Industries (ECBM) has revealed that Egyptian cement exports rose by 151% year-on-year in 2021. The value of cement exports was US$456m in 2021 compared to US$182m in 2020, according to the Al Mal News newspaper. Local producers have focused exports on African markets.
Benin: The Council of Ministers plans to commission a feasibility study from a third party to look into building a 5000t/day clinker plant with a cement production capacity of 1.6Mt/yr. The government wants to preserve local limestone deposits through the creation of a national integrated cement plant that could supply the market, according to La Nouvelle Tribune newspaper. Cement sales increased by 30% in the country from 2016 to 2021 and this trend is expected to continue. The government hopes to build a new cement plant by 2026.
Austria: RHI Magnesita says that customer demand and sales volumes to above pre-pandemic levels have driven revenue growth in 2021. It added that, at the same time, unprecedented supply chain disruptions resulted in higher freight, energy and purchased raw materials costs. Its adjusted revenue grew by 12.9% year-on-year to Euro2.55bn in 2021 from Euro2.26bn in 2020. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 7.7% to Euro280m from Euro260m.
Stefan Borgas, chief executive officer of RHI Magnesita, said, “This has been a strong year of progress for RHI Magnesita in challenging conditions. Customer demand recovered much faster than was anticipated, creating an unprecedented strain on global supply chains and significant increases in costs and logistics lead times. Despite logistics difficulties and market volatility we have progressed the strategic investments which will deliver long term growth and margin improvement. We enter 2022 with restored margins and ready to build further on our sustainability and technology leadership position in the global refractory industry.”
The group said that merger and acquisition progress has been accelerated in the reporting year with an agreement to buy Turkey-based Sormas Refrakter and the establishment of a new joint venture in Chongqing, China to widen the product range for cement customers in the region.
Finally, RHI Magnesita reported that it has 63 staff based in Russia and Ukraine but no refractory production sites. Approximately 3.4% of group revenues were from the Commonwealth of Independent States region in 2021. It said that this business would be impacted by economic sanctions but that the main financial effects for the group as a whole were expected from higher energy costs.
Menzel to build new motor plant near Berlin 02 March 2022
Germany: Menzel Elektromotoren has signed a construction contract to build a larger motor plant at Hennigsdorf near Berlin. The manufacturer says it has experienced substantial growth in recent years and has outgrown its present headquarters in central Berlin. The new site will have an area of around 8500m² and will accommodate a motor plant with production, testing and storage areas as well as offices. The plot will also allow for flexible expansions to meet future growth requirements. Construction is to start in the summer of 2022, with completion scheduled for August 2023.
“Our new location will feature state-of-the-art machinery, efficient logistics, larger hoist capacities for optimised production processes and high energy efficiency,” said chief executive officer Mathis Menzel. “We will also expand our team and create around 100 new jobs in production and administration in the medium term.”
The Germany-based motor manufacturer supplies electric motors to end-users. It is also a supplier and partner of drive manufacturers, distributors and maintenance companies.
Germany/Nigeria: Germany-based Kreisel is sending a RDG 2000 type self cleaning rotary valve for the eventual use by client at a cement plant in Nigeria. The product weighs nearly 25t and has material flow rates of up to 570t/hr. The supplier says it is one of the largest self-cleaning rotary valve products that it provides. Such products are used to discharge typically wet or sticky bulk materials with a constant volume flow rate.