Displaying items by tag: Denmark
FLSmidth to accelerate digitisation
05 June 2020Denmark: FLSmidth has said that, following the appointment of Mikko Tepponen as its chief digital officer (CDO), it is embarking on an acceleration of digitisation projects and an expansion to its portfolio based on ‘direct collaboration and co-creation’ with customers. FLSmidth said that this aims at ‘increasing productivity in the cement industry through optimisation and efficiency, including by reduction of fuel and raw material consumption and of process heat, time and emissions, security enhancement and many other areas’ that would benefit from a digitally integrated approach.
Tepponen said, “Digitisation and sustainability go hand in hand. When you succeed in digitising key processes in any large-scale industry, you tend to see clear benefits in areas such as energy consumption, waste reduction and resource use. Without a serious focus on digitisation, it will be impossible for us at FLSmidth to reach our MissionZero sustainability ambitions.”
FLSmidth’s first quarter revenue rises in 2020
28 April 2020Denmark: FLSmidth’s revenue in the first three months of 2020 was Euro607m, up by 2.5% year-on-year from Euro592m in the corresponding period of 2019. FLSmidth’s cement division’s sales were Euro240m (40% of total revenue), down by 2.6% from Euro246m. The company said that the coronavirus outbreak impacted results, especially in March 2020, when ‘customer hesitation on large investments intensified, particularly in cement,’ and customers increasingly deferred large investments. It added, “Demand for spare and wear parts is relatively stable, whereas technical services are challenged by restricted access to sites.”
FLSmidth says that it aims to ‘carry out business as usual’ throughout the coronavirus outbreak, with an increased reliance on ‘remote monitoring, maintenance and support.’
FLSmidth’s 2020 financial guidance remains suspended.
Saudi Arabia: Denmark-based FLSmidth has announced that it has secured an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Yanbu Cement for a ‘massive’ efficiency-increasing upgrade to reduce the heat and power consumption of the 5.9Mt/yr integrated Yanbu cement plant in Al Madinah Province.
FLSmidth previously supplied the Yanbu cement plant with an automation upgrade and burner system retrofit in 2018. It concluded a service agreement with Yanbu Cement in 2019.
LafargeHolcim proposes two new board members for AGM
22 April 2020Switzerland: The board of directors of LafargeHolcim will request its shareholders to approve the appointment of Philippe Block and Kim Fausing as new members at its annual general meeting (AGM), due to be held on 12 May 2020. The appointments are intended to add perspectives from academia and the building industry to the board.
Block, a Belgian national born in 1980, is a Professor of Architecture and Structure at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland. He is the founder and co-director of the Block Research Group at ETH where his research focuses on the analysis of unreinforced masonry structures, structural design, computational form finding and new construction techniques. Since 2014 he has served on the Academic Committee of the LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction.
Fausing, a Danish national born in 1964, began his professional career with the Hilti Group in Denmark 1990. He went on to run its operations then took over country operations in Austria and Japan before becoming Division President at its headquarters in Liechtenstein. In 2007 Fausing moved to the Danish Danfoss Group to assume the role of chief operating officer. In January 2008 he became a member of its executive committee, which he has chaired since July 2017 as president and chief executive officer (CEO).
Except for Paul Desmarais, Jr, all other existing members of the Board will stand for re-election, with Beat Hess remaining as chairman. Hess said, “on behalf of the entire Board of Directors I would like to thank Paul Desmarais, Jr, for his generous contributions over the past years. He will be missed. At the same time I am glad we can propose these two outstanding candidates. I’m confident they would strengthen our board’s expertise by adding vast experience from multinational corporations as well as the perspective of a renowned academic who has focused on creating sustainable solutions.”
Vostokcement employees attend FLSmidth workshop
16 April 2020Russia: Denmark-based FLSmidth has held an equipment installation and maintenance workshop for Vostokcement employees at Vostokcement subsidiary Spasskcement’s 3.2Mt/yr integrated plant in Primorsky Krai. Employees of Spasskcement, Teploozerskcement and Yakutcement were in attendance, along with employees of Vostokcement partner company Betonych JSC. The workshop focussed on the use of FLSmidth equipment in material handling equipment monitoring and breakdown response, including kiln shell repair optimisation, vibration diagnostics and flaw detection and pneumatic conveying applications.
ScanChain opens new Polish plant
27 March 2020Poland: Denmark-based chain specialist ScanChain has announced that it will be producing and distributing chains from a new facility located in Poznan in the province of Greater Poland. The company says it has ended its partnership with a partial ownership by UK-based John King Chains.
Scan Chain said “Over the past three years we have seen a great growth in new markets. We are pleased that both ScanChain and John King Chains wish to establish a strong link going forward.”
FLSmidth reports coronavirus disruptions
24 March 2020Denmark: FLSmidth has reported ‘increasing disruptions to customers’ and its own operations’ and higher costs due to ‘more complex logistics and a weaker fixed cost absorption’ following the coronavirus outbreak. It says that around half of employees are working remotely.
FLSmidth continues its business improvement initiatives launched in 2019 and has implemented a capital expenditure (CAPEX) reduction, salary adjustment postponement and hiring freezes.
Carthage Cement alleges false testimony by FLSmidth lawyer
24 February 2020Tunisia: Carthage Cement has submitted a statement to Tunisian police in which it alleges false testimony by FLSmidth’s lawyer who advised the Danish supplier in a criminal case which saw one employee sentenced to five years for illegal payments to Carthage Cement’s owners in 2017. Ritzau Finans newspaper has reported that FLSmidth’s management admitted to knowledge of the payments on 21 February 2020, something it had denied to authorities when under investigation prior to the trial, which concluded in November 2019.
FLSmidth grows cement revenue in tough market conditions
12 February 2020Denmark: FLSmidth has increased the sales from its cement division despite ‘challenging’ marketing conditions. Its revenue grew by 3% year-on-year to Euro1.13bn in 2019 from Euro1.10bn in 2018. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 28% to Euro65m from Euro51m. It achieved this despite its order intake falling by 16% to Euro1bn from Euro1.19bn. It attributed its revenue increase to high order backlog conversion and positive currency exchange effects. Internal efficiency measures and a ‘selective’ approach to large projects were also said to have helped.
“We were pleased to see that the financial performance of our Cement business showed a positive development despite challenging market conditions,” said FLSmidth Group chief executive officer (CEO) Thomas Schulz. He added that sustainability and digitalisation would be key differentiators in the coming years and that the engineering company was ‘well-positioned’ in both areas.
Vicem and FLSmidth target sustainable cement production
10 February 2020Vietnam: The Vietnam National Cement Corporation (Vicem) and Denmark-based supplier FLSmidth have announced a cooperation agreement with the aim of radically reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from cement production and improving air quality. The cooperation will consist of Vicem implementing solutions pioneered by FLSmidth. FLSmidth said that a key focus of the cooperation will be Vicat’s use of ‘municipal and other waste streams as alternative fuel sources,’ with the aim of achieving 100% substitution using FLSmidth solutions, in accordance with FLSmidth’s ambition ‘to enable cement companies to operate with zero emissions by 2030.’