September 2024
UK: Construction company Milestone Infrastructure used cement-free concrete supplied by DB Group subsidiary Cemfree to lay kerbs for a new road in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. The work consisted of a road widening in order to create new cycle and bus lanes with floating bus stops and an innovative cycle roundabout. Milestone Infrastructure built 13,000m2 of new paths and cycle lanes, diverted 74 underground utilities and resurfaced 18,000m2 of road. The project begun in February 2020.
Grasim Industries’ shareholding changes 26 November 2021
India: Grasim Industries has reported a change to its shareholding arrangements. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has concluded its sale of a 2% of stake in the company. LIC retains 9.8% of shares.
Ramco Cements wins National Conclave on Mines and Minerals’ Five Star award for two mines 26 November 2021
India: The 5th National Conclave on Mines and Minerals has granted its Five Star mine management award to two Ramco Cements limestone mines. These are the Melavenkateswarapuram mine and Pudupalayam and Periyangalur mine in Tamil Nadu. This is the fourth successive year that the company has won a Five Star award for its mining operations in the state.
Ramco Cements commissions new 5MW waste heat recovery system at Jayanthipuram cement plant 25 November 2021
India: Ramco Cements has commissioned a new waste heat recovery (WHR) unit on Line 3 of its Jayanthipuram cement plant in Andhra Pradesh. The company said that the system consists of two boilers and that the first on the line’s cooler has been started. A second boiler situated at the line’s preheater will be commissioned in June 2022. The new installation increases the Jayanthipuram plant’s WHR capacity by 31% to 21MW.
Breedon Group increases ten-month sales in 2021 compared to 2019 25 November 2021
UK: Breedon Group has told investors that its consolidated sales in the first ten months of 2021 were Euro1.24bn, up by 31% compared to their levels in the corresponding period of 2020. The group said that its ‘layered hedging policy’ mitigated key commodity cost pressures during the period. As such, it raised its 2021 full-year underlying earnings before interest, depreciation and taxation (EBIT) forecast to more than Euro145m.
Holcim Philippines launches ECOPlanet slag cement 25 November 2021
Philippines: Holcim Philippines has announced the launch of its ECOPlanet slag cement. It says the product has a 30% lower carbon footprint than other general purposes products. The company will sell 40kg bags of cement in both paper and plastic bags.
Holcim Philippines president and chief executive officer Horia Adrian said, “Winning with purpose requires delivering our customer promise while also caring for the planet.” He added, “We see a growing interest in building greener structures in the Philippines. ECOPlanet enables us to provide our partners with the best balance of delivering strength and durability while helping make construction more respectful of the environment. It is another key step in our promise to build greener, smarter and for all in the Philippines.”
Siam Cement Group acquires stake in Indonesian retail chain 25 November 2021
Indonesia: Thailand-based Siam Cement Group (SCG) has completed its acquisition of a 13% stake in building materials retailer Caturkarda Depo Bangunan (CKDB). SCG made the purchase through a joint venture its runs with Siam Global House. The cement producer said that the acquisition was intended to support its strategic expansion in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region and that it might increase its stake at a later date. CKDB is headquartered in Surabaya, East Java.
Holcim launches DYNAMax concrete 25 November 2021
Switzerland: Holcim has launched the DYNAMax range of high-performance concretes. The producer says that the range offers higher compressive strength, rigidity and durability than its other concrete products. In 2022, it plans to begin marketing DYNAMax in ten markets in its Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America regions.
Chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said “I’m excited by the launch of our DYNAMax high-performance concrete, advancing our global range of innovative and sustainable building solutions. With today’s population and urbanisation trends, DYNAMax is an ideal material to build smarter cities. It offers high performance to build more with less with no compromise on aesthetics and functionality.”
Update on Holcim, November 2021 24 November 2021
Holcim’s investors’ event last week confirmed the changes the company has been making to its sales mix. At its Capital Markets Day it revealed its commitment to expand the net sales of its Solutions & Products division to 30% of the group total by 2025. This division covers products such as roofing, mortar, precast concrete and asphalt. At the same time it is reducing the proportion of sales from its cement division. Graph 1, below, from a presentation given by chief executive officer Jans Jenisch, hints at what group may be aiming for: roughly a third of its sales from cement; a third from aggregates and ready mixed concrete; and a third from the Solutions & Products division in 2025.
Graph 1: Forecast growth of sales by Holcim’s Solutions & Products division to 2025. Source: Holcim Capital Markets Day 2021 presentations on website.
To give readers an idea of the scale of change in Holcim’s cement business since the merger with Lafarge in 2015, just look at the figures. In 2015 LafargeHolcim sold 256Mt of cement and it had a cement production capacity of 374Mt/yr. In 2020 it sold 190Mt of cement and it had a cement production capacity of 288Mt/yr. However, the ratio of sales from cement has remained consistent at just below 60%.
This all changed in January 2021 when Holcim announced it was buying roofing and building envelope producer Firestone Building Products for US$3.4bn. Instead of trimming down the business to make synergistic changes as it had been for the previous five years the group significantly changed its sales mix. As noted in ‘2021 in Cement’ in the December 2021 issue of Global Cement Magazine, Holcim remains the world’s largest non-Chinese cement producer. Yet its acquisitions in 2021 have consisted of ready-mixed concrete and aggregate companies in mature markets, and Firestone. Its divestments have been cement subsidiaries. Since 2019, and including the agreed Brazilian sale, planned to complete in 2022, the group has generated US$4.1bn in these divestments. Almost as if to reinforce this change of direction the group also switched its name to Holcim in May 2021.
Aside from the focus on expanding the scope of the Solutions & Products division over the next few years, the group said at its recent investors’ event that it wants to lead in sustainability and innovation. It also reminded investors that growth remains in building materials markets. Once Jenisch had established the potential the construction market has in the coming years it was all about so-called ‘green’ growth. On the sustainability side this includes promoting the group’s Science Based Targets initiative net-zero targets by 2050, pushing sales of its low-carbon concrete products and working on increasing the uptake of construction and demolition waste in Europe. The group has a target of reaching 25% or higher for sales of its ECOPact ready-mixed concrete product by 2025. Holcim reported Scope 1 CEM specific CO2 net emissions of 555kgCO2/t in 2020 and it has target of 475kgCO2/t by 2030. This is broadly in line with its peers. Cemex has also committed to 475kgCO2/t or lower and HeidelbergCement is currently aiming for 500kgCO2/t or lower by 2030.
Simultaneously promoting sustainability and growth in products that release CO2 during their manufacture is quite the balancing act for all cement producers. The way Holcim appears to be squaring this particular circle is by heading elsewhere. Back in January 2021 we asked whether Holcim would leave it with the Firestone acquisition or go further. This question has now been answered with Holcim’s intent to increase the share of its Solutions & Products to 30% by 2025. Other large cement producers don’t seem to be diversifying their sales mix at the same speed but similar strategic thinking along supply chains can be seen from the proposed buyer of LafargeHolcim Brazil, Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) Cimentos. CSN is a steel manufacturer and buying cement assets gives it somewhere to use its slag. Fittingly, Holcim’s investors’ day ended with a night out at a museum holding an exhibition on the history of concrete. For now at least concrete looks set to remain a key part of the business.
David Clemmitt appointed as Chief Engineer of Carbon8 Systems 24 November 2021
UK: Carbon8 Systems has appointed David Clemmitt as Chief Engineer. He will be responsible for leading the engineering direction and execution of Carbon8 Systems’ Advanced Carbonation Technology (ACT) across global markets. As part of the role, he will have ownership of growing and developing the engineering function of the company in the carbon capture and utilisation sector. Clemmitt will join the board of Carbon8 Systems and will work closely with Paula Carey, the co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of the company.
Clemmitt joins the company from Baker Hughes, a global energy technology company, where he was Global Engineering Leader of their UK business from 2017. Prior to this, he held senior engineering roles at Meggitt, Schlumberger and Spirax Sarco Engineering. Clemmitt is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a member of the UK Engineering Council.