Displaying items by tag: Closure

Georgia: HeidelbergCement Georgia plans to close a kiln at its Rustavi cement plant due to imports from Iran. It will also reduce production at the Dedoplitskaro limestone quarry, according to GBC Daily News. The Georgian Cement Association has lobbied the government to enact anti-dumping measures against Iranian imports.

China: Austria’s Semperit has closed its Sempertrans Best (Shandong) Belting plant in Shandong. The decision was made as part of review of the group’s production footprint. The plant had a higher margin than other sites. The closure is also expected to reduce the complexity of operations at the group level. 120 employees will be affected and the shutdown is expected to burden the group’s earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) by Euro10m in 2018.

The groups subsidiary in Shandong was founded by Semperit as a joint venture with the state-owned energy company Wang Chao Coal & Electricity Group in 2010. The Chinese partner currently holds a 16.1% stake. The production site manufactures textile and steel cord belts and has served the export markets and the Chinese market so far.

Uruguay: The Administración Nacional de Combustibles, Alcoholes y Portland’s (ANCAP) Minas cement plant has been shut for two months due to union action. The cement producer has been forced to supply cement from its Paysandu plant instead, according to the El Pais newspaper. If the situation continues then ANCAP may need to buy cement from its competitor Cemento Artigas.

ANCAP’s cement division has accumulated debts of US$207m since the early 2000s. Revenues have been reportedly lower than costs since 2004. ANCAP started a restructuring plan at the cement producer in 2017.

Tanzania: The government has given Tanzania Portland Cement two months to reduce its dust emissions or face closure. Alphaxard Kangi Lugola, the Deputy Minister of State in the Vice President's Office (Union and Environment), said that dust from the plant was causing health issues with local residents, according to the Citizen newspaper. The National Environment Management Council will monitor the plant for compliance. The cement producer said that the plant would work on reducing its emissions.

Mexico: Cruz Azul has been forced to partially close its cement plant in Tula, Hidalgo due to a lack of an active environmental clearance certificate. Personnel from the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection made an inspection of the facilities at the cement plant. When verifying the documentation, they found that it lacked the current authorisation issued by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. In this situation, the temporary partial closure of the plant was imposed as a safety measure.

US: Refractory manufacturer HarbisonWalker International has decided to close its plants at Oak Hill, Ohio and Sproul, Pennsylvania as it opens a new US$30m refractory plant at South Point, Ohio in early 2018. The closures will affect around 88 employees. Previously in 2016 the company negotiated an end to eleven months of industrial action at the Oak Hill site.

Iceland: Iceland Cement has started demolishing its cement plant at Akranes. The 9 hectare site in the town will be used for housing and other projects, according to the Iceland Review magazine. FLSmidth originally built the plant and it was in operation since 1958 before it stopping manufacturing cement in 2012 when the company switched to imports from Norcem. Germany’s HeidelbergCement is the majority owner of the company.

Brazil: Wellington Dias, the governor of Piauí, is seeking the reopening of the Itapissuma cement plant. Owners João Santos Group closed the plant in March 2017 due to an 80% drop in sales caused by the country’s poor economy. Around 500 employees were laid off, according to the state government. The cement producer planned to make a final decision on the future of the plant by the end of September 2017. However, the governor has intervened to try and coordinate the purchase of the plant by a local business consortium.

Zimbabwe: PPC Zimbabwe has hinted that it may be looking to shut down its Colleen Bawn Cement plant in Gwanda, citing pressure from cheaper imported clinker as well as smuggled cement coming over the border. If it decides to close the plant, the move would represent a significant blow for PPC Zimbabwe and PPC’s wider activities outside of its native South Africa.

The management has appealed to the government for protection, stating that, unless measures are put in place to curb cheap imports, the firm risks losing its investment at Colleen Bawn. It estimates that a wider community of around 4000 rely indirectly on the plant for their livelihoods. The plant has been in operation for more than 70 years.

Country managing director Mr Kelibone Masiyane said, “The cost of production is very high in Zimbabwe when compared to the rest of the region. Our competitors are importing clinker at cheaper cost and they are jumping the production process. The biggest challenge here at Colleen Bawn is that we incur huge costs producing clinker and because of this there is a risk of closure of the plant and opting to import clinker as well.”

However, Masiyane expressed confidence that the engagements PPC Zimbabwe was having with the government would result in ‘fruitful’ interventions that would protect the firm and avert negative effects. He said that the company’s major cost driver was electricity costs, which are much higher than in neighbouring countries.

In response Deputy Minister Mabuwa said that the government appreciated the strategic economic role of the cement manufacturing sector and would address the plight of PPC. She concurred that, while cement was removed from the open general import license, continued clinker imports were having a negative effect on the value chain.

India: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has ordered three cement plants to stop operation and issued show-cause notices to 11 other units in Telangana. Kakatiya Cements in Nalgonda, Mancherial Cements in Mancherial and the government owned Cement Corporation of India at Tandur have been issued with closure notices, according to the new Indian Express newspaper. Around 240 cement factories across the country have been sent either closure or show-cause notices.

The campaign follows an initiative asking selected industries to install online pollution monitoring systems which are to be connected to the CPCB as well as State Pollution Control Board servers to ensure real-time monitoring of pollution emission of industries. Cement plants have also been sent show-cause notices for failing to meet new emissions standards set by the CPCB.