Displaying items by tag: Canada

Canada: Sparta Manufacturing has appointed Terri Ward as Vice President of Business Development. Ward brings nearly three decades of industry experience to the role having previously worked for SSI Shredding Systems. Sparta Manufacturing is an integrated engineering and manufacturing company specialising in recycling system design and development.

Canada: Sparta Manufacturing has appointed Rutger Zweers as Vice President of Sales Engineering. Zweers brings 20 years of industry experience and engineering expertise to Sparta. Over the course of his career he has worked on recycling system projects and brings experience in construction and demolition and single stream systems development.

Sparta Manufacturing is an integrated engineering and manufacturing company specialising in recycling system design and development. Sparta has a 35-year track record integrating best-available technologies with their portfolio of machinery. Providing turn-key system development and retrofit expertise, Sparta has an install base across North America that includes construction and demolition systems, single-stream, organics and commercial waste processing.

US: The first ship from McInnis Cement’s plant in Canada has docked at the company’s terminal in the Bronx, New York. The NACC Alicudi docked at the terminal in mid-June 2018. The event follows the start of commercial production at McInnis Cements’ plant in Port-Daniel–Gascons, Quebec in June 2017.

Canada/France: Canadian pension companies La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) completed their acquisition of a minority stake of France’s Fives in late May 2018. The equipment manufacturer will remain controlled by its management, with Ardian as another minority shareholder. The group said that the new investment would enable it to expand and to explore research and development programs that aim to improve energy efficiency and a lower environmental footprint.

Canada: NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers (NACC) has bought a 25% stake in JT Cement. It joins Norway’s KGJ Cement Holdings (KGJ) and Sweden’s Erik Thun (Thun) in ownership of the cement company, which operates a fleet of seven smaller specialised pneumatic cement carriers. The investment is intended to expand NACC's global footprint into the Northern European market where KGJ and Thun have a strong presence. The daily operations of the JT Cement fleet will not change as a result of the NACC investment, with the vessels continuing to be commercially managed by KGJ's office in Bergen, Norway.

"This investment will allow us to each apply our experience and knowledge in the pneumatic cement carrier market to create additional shipping solutions to meet the needs of customers," said Ken Bloch Soerensen, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Algoma Central Corporation. NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers is a 50/50 joint venture company between Algoma Central Corporation and Luxembourg’s Nova Marine Holding.

In January 2016 Nova Marine Carriers and Algoma Central Corporation created NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers. The fleet comprises pneumatic cement carriers that utilise a compressor and pump system to load and unload cement powder.

Algoma Central Corporation operates a fleet of dry and liquid bulk carriers on the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Waterway, including self-unloading dry-bulk carriers, gearless dry-bulk carriers and product tankers. Algoma also owns ocean self-unloading dry-bulk vessels operating in international markets.

Canada: CSL Group has agreed to buy 50% of Eureka Shipping, SMT Shipping agreement for CSL to acquire 50% of Eureka Shipping, SMT’s pneumatic cement vessel business. The new joint venture will allow Eureka and CSL to expand services to customers in the seaborne cement powder and fly ash transportation markets around the world. CSL’s Australian cement shipping business is not included in the joint venture.

“The joint venture represents an important step in CSL’s strategy to increase its presence in the global construction material sector,” said Louis Martel, President and chief executive officer (CEO) of CSL Group.

The companies say that the partnership is a strong strategic fit, leveraging the companies’ respective strengths in the shipping and handling of dry bulk cargos. There will be no change in the day-to-day management and operation of vessels in the Eureka fleet. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed by the end of June 2018.

Eureka Shipping operates a fleet of self-unloading cement carriers in the Baltic Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean and Asia. SMT Shipping Group has, over the past 30 years, built a fleet of about 45 vessels through a number of joint venture companies operating in various bulk commodities markets, focusing on geared bulk carriers, floating storage/transhipment terminals and belt-unloaders.

Canada: Lafarge Canada, University of Calgary, Queen’s University, and Pembina Institute have started a study on the environmental benefits of introducing lower carbon fuels at the Exshaw Cement Plant in Alberta. Eight lower carbon fuels will be researched, including construction renovation and demolition waste, non-recyclable plastic, carpets and textiles, shingles, treated wood products, wood products, rubber and tyre-derived fuels. These sources of fuel have been successfully used at other LafargeHolcim cement plants in Canada.

“Lab simulations, environmental studies, economics and logistics reviews are already underway. All research will be finalised by December 2019 with regular updates provided to the neighbouring communities via a Public Advisory Committee,” said Jim Bachmann, the plant manager of Exshaw .

Additional research by the partners will measure the environmental components associated with the sourcing, processing and full-scale commercial operation of each lower carbon fuel compared to fossil fuels. The project will also measure the benefits of diverting materials from landfills and determine optimal points in the cement manufacturing process to inject each fuel.

In addition to Lafarge’s support, research funding is being provided by Alberta Innovates, Ontario Centres of Excellence, Emissions Reduction Alberta and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. It includes research by Millennium EMS Solutions Ltd., Geocycle, and WSP Global Inc.

As part of its 2030 Sustainability Plan, LafargeHolcim aims to replace 30 - 50% of fossil fuel use at its Canadian cement plants with lower carbon fuels by 2020.

Canada: Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), the owner of McInnis Cement, has hired advisors to consider options for the cement producer including a sale or bringing in a new investor. No final decision has been made and the pension investment management company may decide to keep McInnis Cement, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg. CDPQ took control of the McInnis Cement project in 2016 following cost overruns and delays. The plant eventually opened in mid-2017.

Canada/France: Pension investment management companies La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) have each purchased a minority stake in France’s Fives. CDPQ and PSP Investments will each acquire a ‘significant’ minority stake in Fives, which will remain controlled by its management, to support its next development phase. Ardian, an investment house, will continue to be part of the new shareholding structure, as a minority co-investor. The completion of the transaction remains subject to approval by relevant regulatory authorities. No value for the deal has been disclosed.

“We are very enthusiastic to enter a new phase of our development with CDPQ and PSP Investments. Their long-term approach to investment, their deep valuable industrial insights and their strategic vision aligned with that of the management team make them ideal partners for the group, allowing Fives to take advantage, at a global scale, of the full potential of our diversified operations,” said Frédéric Sanchez, chief executive officer (CEO) of Fives Group.

Founded in 1812, engineering company Fives designs and supplies machines, process equipment and production lines for industries including cement, minerals, aluminium, steel, glass, automotive, aerospace, logistics, energy and sugar. The group is located in over 30 countries and it has nearly 8400 employees.

Canada: The Cement Association of Canada has supported emission reduction schemes in Alberta and Ontario. The Albertan provincial government has released its overarching policy framework for the Output-based Allocation System and the Ontario government has run its fourth and final cap and trade auction before formally linking with California and Quebec in 2018.

The introduction of an Output-based Allocations (OBA) System in January 2018 will transition Alberta’s regulated facilities from the current Specified Gas Emitters Regulation (SGER). The OBA will set an industry specific performance benchmark for emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industries (EITEs), which includes the province’s two cement plants, Lafarge in Exshaw and Lehigh in Edmonton. The benchmark combined with output-based allocations is intended to drive best-in-class performance while maintaining the competitiveness of industries in Alberta.

Ontario raised US$330m bringing total proceeds from the system to date to around US$1.5bn. The proceeds are to be reinvested into initiatives that will further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“From the cement industry’s perspective, the framework demonstrates that the Alberta government understands the pressures EITE industries face to remain competitive in the global market. Climate change is the single most important issue facing our society today and Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan lays the foundation for industries to play a major role in assisting government in meeting its 2030 targets and transitioning to a low carbon economy,” said Michael McSweeney, President and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Cement Association of Canada.

With respect to Ontario he added that the Canadian cement industry believes that cap and trade systems are the most effective means of delivering environmental results while putting a price on carbon. “Linkage with California and Quebec is also an important feature of the Ontario system: the broader the market, the more likely it will be that price will reflect the true incremental cost of reducing emission,” said McSweeney.