Displaying items by tag: Expansion
Northern Cement's Jordanian unit to add new clinker line
02 March 2015Jordan: Northern Cement Co said that Northern Cement-Jordan, in which it holds 99.35%, has decided to install an additional clinker production line. In preparation for the expansion project, it will carry out feasibility and environmental studies. Northern Cement reported a net profit of US$62.5m in 2014, almost unchanged from US$62.6m in 2013.
Charlevoix cement plant expansion cleared
02 February 2015US: The Charlevoix County Board of Commissioners has approved the proposal by St Marys Cement to expand its cement plant in Michigan State. St Marys Cement, part of Votorantim Group, is planning a US$130m upgrade to the Charlevoix plant, which would increase its production capacity from 1.3Mt/yr to nearly 2Mt/yr.
According to local press reports, in a 5:1 vote that followed the hearing, the county board approved the upgrade plan. Commissioner George Lasater provided the lone vote in opposition. He said that he simply wanted to do more research on the proposal. Other commissioners described their votes in support as important to sustaining the economy in Charlevoix County.
The proposal now moves to the state Department of Environmental Quality for final approval. If the Charlevoix plans were rejected, St Marys officials have said they will seek to reopen the Illinois plant.
Ecuador: Cementera Nacional (33.5%) has formalised a strategic partnership with Cementos Yura (63.5%) to expand its installed production capacity for cement and clinker at the Riobamba cement plant. The US$230m investment project will extend over the next 40 months. Ecuador presently imports more than 1Mt/yr of clinker. The expanded Riobamba plant will have a 2400t/day of clinker production capacity, allowing foreign exchange savings of US$75m.
Cemex continues Central American building spree
19 December 2014Costa Rica: Cemex, has announced that its subsidiary, Cemex Latam Holdings, will invest US$35m over the next three years to increase the capacity of its plant in Colorado, Costa Rica. The news comes only a few days after the firm announced the resumption of a capacity upgrade at its Tepeaca plant in Mexico.
The project in Costa Rica will increase cement production capacity at the Colorado plant by about 25% and also includes construction of a new grinding mill. By 2017, the plant will have the capacity to produce 1.1Mt/yr of cement.
"We are confident that infrastructure projects will continue driving demand for building materials over the medium-term," said Alejandro Ramirez, director of Cemex Latam Holdings in Costa Rica.
Cemex to grow at home with Tepeaca expansion
09 December 2014Mexico: Multinational cement giant Cemex has announced that it will invest US$200m in an expansion project at its Tepeaca plant in Puebla. The expansion will allow the company to increase its Mexican capacity by 16.7% up to 30Mt/yr. Cemex is confident national cement demand will go up thanks to projects seen in the Plan Nacional de Infraestructura (PIN), energy reform and civil construction.
Oyak Group eyes LafargeHolcim assets amid expansion
14 November 2014Turkey: Oyak Group, Turkey's military pension fund, has US$2bn in cash for acquisitions and may spend some of it on assets being divested by Lafarge and Holcim.
Oyak is interested in Holcim and Lafarge businesses in countries including Romania, Serbia and Hungary, according to Celal Caglar, Oyak's head of the cement and automotive unit. Holcim and Lafarge need to sell units to gain regulatory approval for their planned merger to form LafargeHolcim. In Europe, regulators have set a 15 December 2014 deadline to either approve the deal or open a deeper investigation.
"We are interested in bidding as Oyak or together with a European group," said Caglar. Oyak has US$2bn in cash for acquisitions and can leverage it more than five times if needed, he added. "We are closely following the sale process."
On 10 November 2014 Oyak completed the purchase of Turkey's Denizli Çimento from Ireland's CRH and Turkey's Eren Holding AS for between US$400m and US$450m, as part of Oyak's expansion plans. Oyak has a cement production capacity in Turkey of 20.1Mt/yr, or 19% of the country's market share, through its six plants, including Denizli. It has a clinker production capacity of 10.3Mt/yr, or 15% of Turkey's total. Oyak expects Turkey's cement market to grow by 5% in 2015 after an estimated 6% in 2014, helped by projects including highways, a road tunnel under the Bosporus, stadium constructions and new metro lines.
Thang Long Cement to construct a second 2.3Mt/yr line
13 November 2014Vietnam: Semen Gresik is reportedly preparing to double the annual production capacity of 2.3Mt/yr of the Thang Long Cement plant in Hoanh Bo District, Quang Ninh Province, through building the second production line. The Thang Long Cement 2 project is on the list of projects approved by the prime minister in 2011 for investment during the 2016 - 2020 period and features in the country's sectoral master plan. Semen Gresik acquired a 70% stake in Thang Long Cement for US$157m in 2012.
Cimerwa to increase cement production by 500,000t/yr
03 November 2014Rwanda: Rwanda's sole cement producer, Cimerwa, plans to increase its production capacity to 600,000t/yr when ongoing expansion works are completed early in 2015, according to Busi Legodi, Cimerwa's CEO. Legodi said that over 94% of the US$170m works have already been completed, with electrical installations and some minimal mechanical works remaining.
"The plant should be ready by the end of the first quarter of 2015," said Legodi. "Once completed, our production capacity will increase from the current 100,000t/yr of cement to 600,000t/yr." Market demand for cement currently stands at about 500,000t/yr and the country depends mostly on imports.
Meanwhile, Cimera has rebranded its corporate identity as it marks 13 years of existence. According to Sam Kasule, the Cimerwa commercial manager, the new corporate identity reflects the direction the firm is headed.
"Our new corporate identity is significant and suits the company's future plans and business focus as we look to expand our production capacity in coming months. We are also looking at growing our external markets in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi," said Kasule.
He noted that the firm would also deepen its corporate social investment programmes, thanks to partnership with its strategic investor PPC, to deliver technical expertise, ensure sustainable production and meet market demand.
US: Mitsubishi Cement is seeking to expand its import terminal at the Port of Long Beach, California, for the more efficient handling of operations. Port officials have released a draft report reviewing the potential environmental impacts of the project being proposed by Mitsubishi Cement. A hearing for the draft is set to place take on 22 October 2014.
Mitsubishi Cement wants to reconfigure a cement import facility on Pier F into the space that was formerly used by the Pacific Banana facility. The project calls for adding storage for 40,000t of products, new ship unloading equipment and a new air pollution control system. It would also feature up to two additional truck-loading lanes that would be built underneath the silos. Each new silo would be up to 60ft in diameter and 160ft tall and would have a storage capacity of 10,000t and be capable of being loaded directly from a ship.
If approved, construction could begin as early as 2016, according to Lou Baglietto, spokesman for the project. Baglietto said that while the company is expanding its footprint, it is not expanding its throughput. The project would allow Mitsubishi to handle operations more efficiently. However, the move would position Mitsubishi for expected rises in cement demand as more residential and public works project come online.
"The economy is cyclical and I think there will be a demand for that," said Baglietto. "We want to be ready for that."
JSW eyes up Kerala for new business
08 October 2014India: JSW cement, the largest producer of slag cement in India, is reported to be eyeing up the coastal state of Kerala as a location into which to expand. The company is aiming at 9 - 10% growth from states in southern India in 2014, according to Pankaj Kulkarni, Director of JSW Cement Ltd.
It says that the focus will be on selling its Portland slag cement (PSC), which is highly-resistant to corrosion both from the soil and sea. This perfectly matches conditions in Kerala, which has a long coastline and severe monsoon.
The company is also looking at expanding its clinker production capacity in the near future by setting up a plant in Chittapur in Karnataka. Growth in cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kochi will lead the way in the Southern market, according to Anil Kumar Pillai, CEO of JSW Cement Ltd. He added that JSW Cement, part of JSW Group, has made significant investments into cement manufacturing and will continue to add capacity to serve the burgeoning cement market.