Displaying items by tag: Europe

France/Syria: The former Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont has taken the witness stand at the start of a hearing that will focus on the alleged financing of the Islamic State in Syria in the early 2010s. Lafont took the stand on 19 November 2025 to face questions from the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Paris Judicial Court, according to the Libération newspaper. He is on trial, along with several former senior executives, for financing terrorism in Syria.

At the heart of the trial is the continued operation of the former French multinational’s assets within Syria, a country embroiled in civil war between 2011 and 2014. Lafarge has since been absorbed into Switzerland’s Holcim.

Bruno Lafont joined Lafarge in 1983 and served as its CEO from 2007 to 2015. He maintains that, on a multinational scale, the Syrian plant, located in the city of Jalabiya, north of Raqqa, was not one of the group's most strategic assets. Lafarge nevertheless aimed to supply 30% of the country's cement needs and employ 1000 people, which Lafont conceded was a ‘significant investment.’ The plant only opened shortly before the onset of hostilities.

Explaining the decision to keep the plant running, Lafont asserted that Lafarge keeping the plant open was “a form of commitment to the local communities.” Lafont said that he and his subordinates were bound by a ‘moral obligation,’ stating “These assets were ours, but they also belong to the country, to the region.”

Questioned by the presiding judge, Isabelle Prévost-Desprez, and pressed further by representatives of the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office, Aurélie Valente and Olga Martin-Belliard, the former CEO mostly claimed he hadn't been informed about the situation at the Syrian factory. Prosecutors pointed out that Lafarge had received numerous warnings before the plant was invaded by Islamic State on 19 September 2014. They also pointed out the embassy closures, the mass departure of international companies and the removal of country directors from Syria, asking why these events did not attract the ‘curiosity’ of Lafarge’s CEO. In reply Lafont stated "Before Syria, we had experienced several Arab Springs… and they all stopped.” He also drew parallels to the situation in Egypt, which he described as ‘practically an insurrection.’

In a separate case in the US, Lafarge admitted in 2022 that its Syrian subsidiary paid US$6m to Islamic State and the Nusra Front to allow employees, customers and suppliers to pass through checkpoints after the civil conflict broke out in Syria. The group paid US$778m in forfeiture and fines as part of its plea agreement. Lafarge faces much lower fines in France if it is found guilty, but eight of the 10 individuals on trial face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

The trial in Paris continues.

Spain: Cement consumption grew by 18.5% year-on-year in October 2025 to reach 1.70Mt, 0.27Mt more than in October 2025, according to the latest data from Oficemen. "The sector has not reached a similar level of consumption since August 2011, an encouraging figure that allows us to anticipate a year-end total that exceeds 16Mt,” said Aniceto Zaragoza, CEO of Oficemen. “Even so, it would be necessary to maintain a stable consumption rate in the coming months to consolidate this trend and adequately meet the housing and infrastructure needs of our country.”

Cumulative consumption in the first 10 months of 2025 saw growth of 10.9% to reach 13.7Mt, 1.3Mt more than in the first 10 months of 2024. Cement exports in 2025 grew by 6.3% year-on-year to 403,782t. Over the first 10 months of 2025, exports fell by 7.4% year-on-year to 3.79Mt. Imports, however, grew by 28.6% over the same time interval, with an additional 0.4Mt imported so far in 2025 than in 2024. In light of rising imports and falling exports, Zaragoza insisted that "it is necessary to establish mechanisms to protect European countries from imports from third countries that have laxer environmental regulations that harm the competitiveness of our industry."

Sweden: Heidelberg Materials Sweden has said that it will ‘pause’ its carbon capture project at the Slite cement plant in Gotland after the Swedish Energy Agency rejected its application for co-financing under the Industrial Step programme. The producer said that the government is currently ‘not prepared’ to strategically prioritise funds for the project. The project aimed to reduce Sweden’s total CO₂ emissions by 1.8Mt/yr, or around 4% of the country’s total emissions. Heidelberg Materials said that, as production in Slite is not being given a way to adjust with secured long-term competitiveness, Sweden now risks becoming dependent on cement imports in the future and could face weakened security of supply.

Vice president Karin Comstedt Webb said “We have worked for a long time to implement one of the most powerful climate investments in Swedish industrial history with the aim of securing long-term competitiveness. But without the state's continued support for implementation, there are currently insufficient conditions to realise the project in Sweden.”

Global: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has launched its ‘Cement and Concrete Industry Net Zero Action and Progress Report 2025/6’, which reports a fall by 25% in CO₂ intensity of cementitious products since 1990 and sets out policy measures needed to accelerate decarbonisation. The report was launched at COP30 in Belem, Brazil.

The report highlights more than 60 decarbonisation projects across alternative fuels, alternative raw materials, carbon capture, renewable energy and recycled concrete. Examples include Fletcher’s Golden Bay plant and JSW’s Nandyal and Shiva plants. Publicly announced projects are collated and made available to see on the GCCA/LeadIT green cement technology tracker. The document also calls for policies enabling non-recyclable waste use in kilns, wider adoption of blended products, national carbon pricing mechanisms and the use of construction demolition waste as recycled raw materials.

GCCA president and Heidelberg Materials chair Dominik von Achten said “Our industry is collaborating and innovating across every aspect of our production - finding new ways to work and deploying exciting technologies that are already making a genuine step change. However, to achieve the industrial scale transformation that our world needs, we cannot do it by ourselves - our industry needs the support of governments, policymakers, stakeholders, and our allies across the built environment right now.”

GCCA chief executive Thomas Guillot said “The breadth of activity we are seeing across our membership is truly inspiring, with great examples of projects and work across all decarbonisation levers, where enabling policies exist. Cement and concrete are essential materials for the world, but we know they are also essential to decarbonise. Despite our progress, we know that firm policy action across the world is fundamental to enabling us to accelerate our reductions.”

Germany: Dyckerhoff has received general building authority approval for the use of CEM VI (S-LL) cement produced at its Lengerich plant. The German Institute for Building Technology granted the approval for the plant in October 2025 for almost all exposure classes. It combines clinker, granulated blast furnace slag and limestone to produce cement with a lower CO₂ footprint, low heat of hydration and low effective alkali content.

Germany: Gebr. Pfeiffer will supply an MVR vertical roller mill to Thomas Zement’s Karsdorf plant in Saxony-Anhalt, replacing the existing Horomill to reduce CO₂ emissions.

The order also includes the mill building, material dosing and transport systems to defined transfer points. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, with commissioning scheduled for mid-2027.

Italy: Cementir Holding’s cement volumes rose by 2% and aggregates by 5%, while ready-mix concrete remained stable at -0.3% in the first nine months of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. Revenue stood at €1.23bn, down by 0.7% from €1.24bn in the same period of 2024. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 3% year-on-year from €296m to €287m, while profit before tax dropped by 17% year-on-year from €210m to €174m. Despite geopolitical challenges and a weak macroeconomic environment, Cementir confirmed all full-year targets.

Francesco Caltagirone Jr, chair and CEO, said “The results for the first nine months of 2025 are in line with our expectations, with the third quarter showing an improvement in cement and aggregates volumes. We are effectively managing operational challenges while continuing to pursue our strategic objectives and growth path with determination. At the same time, we are accelerating our decarbonisation projects, particularly in carbon capture and storage technologies. While awaiting potential market opportunities, we remain committed to further strengthening our financial position.”

Serbia: Lafarge Srbija, part of the Holcim group, has officially changed its name to Holcim Srbija to align its corporate identity with the global group. Lafarge Srbija has been part of Holcim since 2015.“The name change completes the company’s corporate profile and represents an even more decisive step towards a future that is more sustainable, responsible and innovative,” said Dimitrije Knjeginjic, CEO of Holcim Srbija.

The company operates a cement plant in Beočin, along with several concrete facilities, and plans to build a new €112m cement plant in Belgrade’s Obrenovac municipality. The company acquired the Jazovnik stone quarry in Vladimirci, around 30km from the planned Obrenovac site, earlier in 2025.

France: Titan Group has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire Vracs de L’Estuaire, which operates a grinding plant at the port of Le Havre in northern France. The acquisition would strengthen Titan’s presence in the French market, building on its existing operations in Marseille. The transaction remains subject to customary legal procedures and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

Germany: Heidelberg Materials increased its revenue by €51m, representing 1%, year-on-year to €5.81bn in the third quarter of 2025, while its result from current operations (RCO) rose by €54m, or 5%, to €1.18bn. The company expects full-year RCO to be €3.3-3.5bn. Specific net CO₂ emissions per tonne of cementitious material are projected to decline slightly compared to 2024.

Chair of the managing board Dr Dominik von Achten said "We continued our growth trajectory in the third quarter of 2025, despite ongoing political and economic uncertainties. Our uncompromising focus on active price and cost management in all group areas contributed significantly to improving our result and further expanding our profitability in the third quarter.” He added “We remain confident about the year as a whole. Based on the business development to date, we confirm our positive outlook for 2025.”