Displaying items by tag: GCC

US/Mexico: Growing cement sales volumes and higher prices in the US and Mexico drove Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua’s (GCC) sales in 2018. Its net sales rose by 7.2% year-on-year to US$883m in 2018 from US$824m in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 6.7% to US$256m from US$240m. However, its net income fell by 24.2% to US$63.5m from US$83.7m. US sales rose by 7.1% to US$883m and Mexican sales rose by 7.2% to US$237m.

“We completed a purchase-sale transaction exchanging GCC’s ready-mix plants in Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas, which were not integrated into our cement distribution network, for a cement plant in Montana representing a strategic addition to our system that will also improve our profitability. This plant, along with the completion of capacity expansion at our South Dakota cement plant in Rapid City, will enable us to continue to benefit from the robust pace of growth in the US economy,” said Enrique Escalante, GCC’s chief executive officer.

Mexico: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua’s net sales rose by 11% year-on-year to US$667m in the first nine months of 2018 from US$610m in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 16.3% to US$199m from US$171m. It attributed the growth to building demand and rising prices in both the US and Mexico. Notable events in the third quarter of 2018 included: the operational integration of the Trident cement plant in Montana; completion of construction of the Rapid City, South Dakota plant expansion and start of the tie-in process; and reactivation of two idled kilns in Chihuahua to meet growing demand in the US and Mexico.

US: Staff members from Ash Grove Cement, Argos USA and Lehigh Hanson have won awards at the Portland Cement Association’s (PCA) 2018 John P Gleason, Jr Leadership Awards. The awards recognise PCA members who have exhibited leadership in advancing industry programs and initiatives. The scheme is named after John ’Jay’ Gleason who served as PCA president from 1986 until his retirement in 2007.

Steve Minshall, Corporate Director, Safety and Health at Ash Grove Cement won the Business Continuity award. He has served on the PCA Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Committee for two decades, where the PCA say he has proven to be a strong safety leader in implementing many programs and initiatives to reduce workplace injuries. He has led efforts to better partnership with regulatory agencies in pursuit of the common goal of safety. Finalists in this category were Brett Lindsay, Environmental & Energy Manager at Salt River Materials Group, and Steve Wilcox, Cement Technical Director at Argos USA.

Lori Tiefenthaler, Senior Director of Marketing at Lehigh Hanson won the Market Development award. As chair of the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) in 2017, Tiefenthaler led efforts to better align the missions of allied cement and concrete associations, including an effort to launch PavementDesigner.org, which is a joint project between PCA, ACPA and National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. She has served on the executive board for the National Concrete Consortium, through which she has helped improve connections and outcomes for the cement and concrete industries with federal and state departments of transportation and academia. Finalists in this category were Bill Asselstine, Vice President Sustainability at St. Marys Cement/VCNA, and David Gray, Market Manager at GCC of America.

Gina Lotito, Vice President, Energy & Environmental, GCC of America won the Young Leaders award. She is an active member of the PCA Environment & Energy Committee, where she has been chair and vice chair of the Sustainable Manufacturing Subcommittee, and served on the Sustainable Development Committee. She has proven a leader in promoting the use of clean alternative fuels for cement production, and in federal advocacy efforts to lower regulatory barriers for using such fuels under the Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials Rule. Finalists in this category were Ed Griffith, Vice President Sales & Marketing, US at St. Marys Cement/VCNA and Adam Posly, Production Manager at LafargeHolcim US.

US: CRH has completed the sale of cement and ready-mix assets to Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) following its acquisition of Ash Grove Cement. Ireland's biggest company sold the Trident cement plant in Montana to GCC for US$107.5m.

The move comes less than a month after CRH received regulatory approval from the US Federal Trade Commission to acquire cement manufacturer Ash Grove Cement for US$3.5bn in a deal first announced in September 2017.

As part of the transaction with GCC, CRH acquired most of the ready-mix plants and transportation assets belonging to GCC in Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas for US$118.5m. GCC will continue to own and operate four ready-mix plants in the Fort Smith, Arkansas area and own an office building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which it will lease to CRH.
The purchase and sale amounts have been paid in full but are subject to final inventory valuation adjustments, which are expected to be completed within 90 days.

US: Rapid City Fire Department crews quickly extinguished a potentially dangerous fire inside a coal hopper at the GCC Dacotah Cement Plant on 21 November 2017.
The plant suffered little damage and no injuries were reported. According to fire department spokesman Jim Bussell, crews attended the plant at 07:40.

The first crew found dark smoke coming from inside a building containing the coal hopper. Due to the inherent volatility of coal dust, the firefighters made a careful entry into the building and quickly dealt with the fires. Bussell said that GCC Dacotah's comprehensive emergency response plan, implemented after a review by both the cement plant and fire department officials in mid 2016, helped to minimise the effects of the fire. "This open dialogue and communication was key to a safe, quick response and resolution of the incident," Bussell said in a release.

Bussell added that GCC Dacotah expected no disruption to plant operations because the fire was in a part of the plant that is in the middle of a US$90m expansion project.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has announced the winners of the 2017 John P Gleason Jr Leadership Awards, honouring individuals who have exhibited leadership in association activities in support of member company objectives and operations. The awards will be presented at the PCA’s Fall Congress in Chicago.

Daniel Nugent, Senior Vice President, Technical Services and Government Affairs, Buzzi Unicem USA won the award for Business Continuity for his leadership role in industry regulatory and legislative initiatives, including greenhouse gas emissions and other significant issues that impact cement manufacturing operations. He serves on a variety of PCA committees, including the Energy and Environment Committee and Government Affairs Council. Finalists for this award included Hamid Farzam, Vice President of Technical Services and Quality Assurance for Cemex USA and Steve Regis, Senior Vice President of Corporate Services for CalPortland Company.

Matthew Wood, Sustainable Products and Promotion Manager, Ash Grove Cement Company, won the award for Market Development for the promotion of cement-based products at the national and local level, such as roller-compacted concrete and full-depth reclamation paving solutions. He is also a member of the PCA’s Sustainable Development Committee and LEED Accredited Professional. Finalists for this award included David Gray, Market Manager for GCC of America and Larry Rowland, Manager of Marketing and Technical Services for Lehigh Hanson.

Ruben Guerrero Jr, Director of Corporate Affairs, Salt River Materials Group won the award for Young Leaders for his active engagement in the PCA’s network of public policy and communications committees, including the Government Affairs Council, Industry Communications Committee and State Government Affairs Task Force. Finalists for this award included Desirea Haggard, Environmental Manager, CalPortland Company and William Kissel, Senior Environmental Manager, Titan America.

US: The GCC (Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua) Dacotah cement plant in Rapid City has started a US$90m upgrade. The project will include new kiln equipment, provision for co-processing alternative fuels and improvements to the plant’s shipping operations, according to the Rapid City Journal. The upgrade will increase the plant’s cement production capacity to 1.3Mt/yr.

The plant was founded by the South Dakota state in the 1920s and sold into private ownership in 2001. It employs 130 full-time employees. The upgrade is expected to create 13 new full-time jobs.

Mexico/US: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) is ready to grow its operations in the USA and make an acquisition in Central and South America after refinancing its debt and improving its earnings margins via a cost cutting programme, according to local business daily El Universal.

Luis Carlos Arias, director of corporate treasury at GCC, explained that the company currently has only one syndicated bank loan of US$194m, which has been refinanced. As such, it has a more flexible credit structure, which allows it to take advantage of different growth opportunities.

In the US, GCC will invest US$90m in 2015 - 2018 to boost production capacity at its plant in South Dakota by 60% to 1.2Mt/yr. GCC has six cement plants, 117 concrete plants and 21 distribution centres from the north of Mexico to the north of the USA.

According to Arias, GCC is looking for opportunities to expand its business to Central and South America in order to have alternative revenues during the harsh winter in North America, which does not allow production during the coldest months. The company has not decided in which country it could make an acquisition as the cement market is highly concentrated in a few big companies. "There are not many opportunities, we are looking at the region as a whole," said Arias.

Mexico/US: Grupo Cementos Chihuahua (GCC) has announced plans to increase its sales in the US and reach a double digit rate by 2018. The company has estimated 6% income growth in the Mexican market and 8% growth in the US by the end of 2015. GCC has predicted that the cement sector in Mexico will slow down in the upcoming years. At present, 70% of the company's revenue comes from US, while 30% is obtained in the domestic market. GCC also aims to increase its production capacity in the US from 4.6Mt/yr to 5Mt/yr in the mid-term.

Mexico: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) expects its sales growth to decline in 2015 after record revenues in 2014 as low oil prices constrict demand in the US, the company's top market. GCC treasurer Luis Carlos Arias said that after a nearly 20% sales spike in 2014, the company expects only single digit growth in the US in 2015, which accounts for about 70% of total sales. Demand in Mexico is expected to fall slightly.