Displaying items by tag: Czech Republic

Nigeria: Abia Cement, Russian-based Drobmash and Energomotor and Czech-based PSP Engineering signed a memorandum of understanding for construction of a 2.0Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Abia province at the first Russia-Africa Summit on 2 November 2019. The latter companies will supply equipment to the development, while Abia cement will receive an export loan from Russia’s Roseximbank.

Italy: Buzzi Unicem sales revenue grew by 13.6% year-on-year to Euro1.52bn in the first half of 2019 from Euro$1.34bn in the same period in 2019. Its net profit rose by 27% to Euro135m from Euro123m. Its cement sales volumes increased by 7.1% to 13.9Mt from 12.9Mt but ready-mixed concrete sales fell slightly to 5.8Mm³.

The building materials producer said that ‘lively’ activity levels in the US had driven its sales so far in 2019. This was mainly caused by falling imports in the face of weak domestic demand and ‘considerable production and logistical difficulties’ in June 2019 caused by flooding of the Mississippi river. A slight recovery in Italy was also noted with growing cement sales volumes and strengthening prices. Elsewhere, growth was recorded in most territories apart from Luxembourg, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Czech Republic: Lafarge plans to invest around Euro2m on upgrades to clinker and cement production at its Cizkovice integrated cement plant, according to the Česká Informační Agentura. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim is also planning rebuild an access road to the plant, improve noise protection and work on fire protection measures. The cement producer is anticipating an increase in cement production in 2019.

Germany/Czech Republic: Gear unit specialists Flender and Wikov Industry have announced a service cooperation deal for gear units from other manufacturers. Both companies will add gears from other producers to their service portfolio with the aim of becoming a global ‘one-stop-shop’ in the industry. The intention is to reduce the complexity that end-users can encounter when components from multiple manufacturers are deployed in a single application.

The agreement will allow customers to benefit from Flender's service network with more than 50 repair centres around the world. Wikov holds experience regarding spare parts for gear units from other manufacturers.

Both companies will continue to offer their service portfolio for their original products.

Czech Republic: Cement Hranice’s sales grew in 2018 due to demand for building materials. Its sales rose by 10% year-on-year to Euro65.8m in 2018, according to the Czech News Agency. Its profit rose by 16% to Euro19.9m. As in previous years it supplied fellow subsidiaries of Buzzi Unicem in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Uzbekistan: Akhangarancement, part of Russia’s Eurocement, has installed a new Wikov gearbox on the rotary kiln at its plant in Akhangaransky as part of a US$1.5m upgrade project. Other work included upgrades to the clinker conveyors, the sludge line, the cooler, the heat exchanger and other equipment. A new production line is currently being built at the 2Mt/yr plant. It is scheduled for commissioning in 2020.

US/Europe: US refractory manufacturer Plibrico has entered into a distribution partnership with the Pli Group Europe, a refractory distributor contractor based in Vienna, Austria. Under the new alliance, Pli Group Europe will provide full-service distribution of Plibrico’s Plico brand refractories in Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria, with immediate effect.

“Adding Pli Group Europe to our ranks of Pli Partners allows Plibrico to reinforce its expertise, enhance its service offering and strengthen the value chain offered to customers throughout Europe,” said Brad Taylor, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Plibrico.

Czech Republic: The Czech Cement Association reports that production grew by 2.5% year-on-year to 4Mt in 2017. Cement consumption grew by 3.5% to 3.95Mt in the same period, according to the Czech News Agency. Exports fell by 6.5% to 0.55Mt. The majority of this output went to Slovakia, a minority to Germany and the remainder to Poland and Austria. Imports increased by 19.2% to 0.55Mt, mostly coming from Slovakia and Poland.

Association members include Ceskomoravsky Cement, Cement Hranice na Morave, Cemex and Lafarge Cement. Each of these companies operates integrated plants locally.

Czech Republic: Lafarge Cement’s sales in Czechia increased by almost 7% to Euro38.2m in 2017 but its profit dropped by 25% to Euro5.9m, according to spokeswoman Milena Hucanova.

Czech construction registered only moderate growth in 2017, which was reflected in the company's sales. Operating profit was comparable with the level from 2016.
"The company's net profit was mainly as a consequence of changes in the volume and appraisal of inventories, higher consumption of carbon credits and the firming up of the Koruna / Euro (exchange) rate after the Czech National Bank’s interventions," said CFO Jan Mencl.

Investments by the company in 2018 are planned to amount to Euro3.8m. Hucanova said that half of this had already been spent on the conversion of an electrostatic precipitator to a baghouse at the company’s Čížkovice plant.

Czech Republic: Lafarge Cement, LafargeHolcim’s local subsidiary, has launched a new range of Standard Plus cement products under the trademark Český Čížkovický Cement. The range has a standardised compressive strength of 32.5MPa after 28 days. The products are sold in 25kg bags and are available in bulk.