September 2024
Environmental agency orders Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe to shut Harare plant due to dust emissions 19 August 2020
Zimbabwe: The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has ordered Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe to stop operations at its integrated Harare plant due to abnormal dust emissions. As part of the order the plant has been requested to notify local stakeholders and the community of any new developments or incident that may affect them, according to the NewsDay newspaper. It will also be required to report daily dust emissions readings to the EMA every two weeks.
The cement producer said it experienced an unexpected surge in dust emissions during a trial of using saw dust as an alternative fuel at the plant between July 30 and 1 August 2020. It added that immediate action was taken to control and contain the emissions and the incident was reported to EMA in line with regulatory requirements.
Tangshan Jidong’s first-half profit drops by a third in 2020 19 August 2020
China: Tangshan Jidong’s net profit in the first half of 2020 was US$140m, down by 33% year-on-year from US$210m to US$246m. Cement sales fell by 14% to US$1.58bn from US$1.83bn, while clinker sales fell by 11% to US$218m from US$246m. The Hebei Province-based group attributed the sales fall to the effects of the coronavirus lockdown in early 2020.
Holcim Philippines announces digital platform partnership 19 August 2020
Philippines: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim Philippines says that it has partnered with digital news platform providers Pinoy Builders. The commercial partnership involves Holcim Philippines providing Pinoy Builders with its cement, concrete and health and safety expertise.
Marketing and innovation senior vice president Ram Maganti said, “The Philippines is a very digitally-savvy country and the majority of professionals in the Philippines' construction industry are millennials who are 'digital natives.' With its steadily-growing number of subscribers and followers, Pinoy Builders is helpful in our efforts in engaging and positively influencing the construction industry. We are excited in continuing to contribute to this platform to let Filipino building professionals know how our offerings and solutions can help them in their projects.”
Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan produced 1.56Mt of cement in the first half of 2020, representing a 2.7% year-on-year decline from 1.60Mt in the half of 2019. Concrete sales increased by 6.5% to 0.83Mt from 0.78Mt, while the total value of construction materials sales fell by 4.8% to US$251m from US$264m.
Tunisia: The Ministry of Industry and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises has issued a decree authorising the use of polypropylene cement bags, with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of Tunisian cement against rival Turkish products on the Libyan market. The Economiste Maghrebin newspaper has reported that the loss of a valuable exporter market following Algeria’s attainment of a cement surplus led the ministry to enact the cost-cutting policy. In January 2020, Algeria enacted a progressive prohibition on this type of packaging with a view to a blanket ban from 1 January 2021.
Minister of Industry and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Salah Ben Youssef says that his department “submitted a report on the impacts of the use of polypropylene packaging for cement to the Ministry of the Environment in May 2020 and received no reply,” but implemented the initiative because it was the only viable alternative to kraft bags, which he says are “overpriced due to monopolies in raw materials and assembly.” Ben Youssef said that polypropylene bags, which are permitted for use in food, lime, animal feed and fertilisers packaging, are “both recyclable and reusable,” and would enable the Tunisian cement industry to become self-sufficient in serving its bagging needs. As a further cost-cutting measure, Ben Youssef proposed that the government establish a solar power plant in order to reduce cement companies’ total energy bills by US$5.13m/yr.
The 16Mt/yr-capacity Tunisian cement sector, which includes international companies such as Carthage Cement and Brazil-based Votorantim Cimentos subsidiary La Cimenterie de Jbel Oust, produced 11Mt of cement in 2019 against a domestic demand of 7.0Mt.
Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos recorded a loss of US$94.0m in the first half of 2020, up by 99% year-on-year from US$47.2m in the first half of 2019. Sales fell by 8% to US$680m from US$739m. During the period Votorantim Cimentos and its subsidiary St Mary’s Cement increased the balance withdrawn from credit facilities by US$247m, in order to “strengthen liquidity as protection within the current crisis context due to the Covid-19 pandemic and to cope with the seasonality that recurrently affects North America.” The group says that it will reduce the value of its 2020 investments by 25% to US$545m from a planned US$726m, down by 6.3% year-on-year from US$581 in 2019.
Vietnam: Producers have reported a 5.4% fall in value of cement and clinker exports to US$732m in the first seven months of 2020 from US$774m in the corresponding period of 2019. Volumes increased by 11% to 19.5Mt from 17.6Mt. Dautu Online News has reported that Bangladesh, China and the Philippines were among import markets for Vietnamese cement.
The Ministry of Construction maintains its 2019 projection of 32Mt – 33Mt of cement and clinker exports in 2020.
Philippines: Aboitiz Group food and agriculture subsidiary Pilmico Foods says that it has developed a waste ash-based concrete mix that contains 20% less cement than its previous mix and that “can be used for all of the company’s construction needs.” The Manila Bulletin newspaper has reported that the ash is sourced from burnt rice husks, a fuel source for Pilmico’s food production and itself a by-product of its operations. Central Maintenance Department mechanical supervisor Michael Cayabyab said, “When we started using the biomass boiler almost two years ago, we saw process improvements and reduced costs. But in Pilmico, we know that the challenge does not stop there." The company has yet to commercialise the concrete, however it hopes to inspire others with its “demonstration of the circular economy demolishing the divide between industries.”
India: Birla Corporation has launched a promotional video entitled ‘Never Will I Ever’ that celebrates the idea of home as somewhere with room for everyone. The video, launched to coincide with Independence Day, consists of inspiring coronavirus lockdown stories. Marketing vice president Suvadip Ghosh Mazumdar said, “Construction is not only about brick and mortar. In the last few months, we have seen many occasions of relationships being built and bonds of togetherness being created. The film is our salute to this spirit of togetherness and coming together of people."
Cemex supplies major car park project with concrete 18 August 2020
Mexico: Cemex says that 70,000t of its concrete has been used in the construction of Park Garage, a 10,000 vehicle-capacity multi-storey car park in Heroica Veracruz, Veracruz State. The company used a 500m3/day Vince Hagan batching plant and 12 mixing trucks to distribute concrete throughout the complex. Mexico regional president Ricardo Naya said, “We supplied specialised high-resistance concrete to counteract the severe salinity conditions that prevail due to the edifice’s proximity to the sea. Park Garage is yet another example of our ability to offer the highest quality products and services designed to meet our customers’ most demanding requirements."