Displaying items by tag: GCW118
Refratechnik Group takes over Burton
17 September 2013Germany: The Refratechnik Group, a manufacturer of ceramic refractory products to the cement and various other industries, has acquired the facilities of Burton GmbH & Co. KG located in Melle, near Osnabrück, Germany. Burton will continue business operations under the name Refratechnik Ceramics GmbH with immediate effect, maintaining the jobs at the Melle site.
As a result of this strategic takeover, Refratechnik Ceramics will become a market leader and global supplier of refractory products for industrial furnaces in the ceramics industry. In this field, the product range covers wall, roof and car systems as well as furniture for tunnel kilns, in which products such as refractory ceramics, roof tiles, sanitary ware and other ceramic products are fired. Burton Kiln Furniture in Hungary, which was also taken over by Refratechnik Ceramics, primarily produce cast refractory materials.
Refratechnik Group says that Burton's industrial customer base and product portfolio is a contribution to Refratechnik's constant expansion of its business operations, in particular in the fields of primary aluminium and waste incineration.
With the acquisition of Burton, the Refratechnik Group now has 18 sites on four continents. Nine of these are state-of-the-art production facilities for burnt, shaped, and unshaped refractory products. Two other sites are in the raw materials business.
Semen Indonesia reports 16% cement sales increase to 16Mt
16 September 2013Indonesia: Indonesia's largest cement producer, Semen Indonesia has reported a 16% increase in cement sales year-on-year for the period January to August 2013 to 16Mt. This increase was supported by a 15% sales growth in the domestic market to 15.8Mt. Exports rose by 373% to 191Mt.
Semen Indonesia President Director Dwi Soetjipto said that the sales increase was also supported by the operations of its cement plants, Tuban IV and Tonasa V. In the first eight months of 2013 Semen Indonesia grew its market share to 44% from 40.2% in the same period in 2012. Semen Indonesia contributed to the majority of sales at 51.2%, followed by its subsidiary Semen Padang at 27.5% and Semen Tonasa at 21.2%. Semen Indonesia reported that its profit rose by 22.9% year-on-year to US$227m for the first eight months of 2013. Revenue rose by 31.9% year-on-year to US$1bn.
In 2013, Semen Indonesia aims to increase its cement production by 23.1% to 27.7Mt/yr from 22.5Mt/yr.
Venezuela considers Jamaican cement payment for oil
16 September 2013Venezuela/Jamaica: Venezuela's Minister of Petroleum and mining Rafael Ramirez is 'listening' to a proposal Jamaica has made to pay for its debts to Petróleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA). Jamaican minister Phillip Paulwell made the offer to tackle debts of US$350m raised under the Petrocaribe agreement between the nations where Venezuela supplies oil. However, Caracas-based newspaper El Nacional has reported doubts that Caribbean Cement Co would be able to meet the level of cement exports to Venezuela required to meet the Gran Mision Vivienda state housing programme.
PDVSA currently ships 26,000 barrels/day of oil to Jamaica's state energy company Petrojam. The Petrocaribe agreement includes Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas, Belice, Cuba, Dominica, Granada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haití, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic Dominicana, San Cristóbal & Nieves, San Vicente & Granadinas, St Lucia and Suriname.
Lafarge Pakistan and Saif Holdings sign refuse derived fuel deal
16 September 2013Pakistan: Lafarge Pakistan and Saif Holdings have signed an agreement to manufacture refuse derived fuel (RDF). The agreement was signed between Pavel Cech, Lafarge's regional vice president of industrial ecology, and Hoor Yousafzai, director of Saif Group.
CIFA celebrates 85 years of business
16 September 2013Italy: Construction equipment and machinery manufacturer CIFA celebrated its 85th year of business on 12 September 2013. In attendance at a ceremony held at the company headquarters in Senago were the company's senior management, the CEO of CIFA Davide Cipolla and the President of Zoomlion Zhan Chunxin.
Highlights of the celebration included the inauguration of a company museum and showroom and the publication of a history of the company entitled 'CIFA: The winning anomaly.' The company also inaugurated the TEC (Testing European Centre), a centre where experimental activities and tests are carried out on machine bodywork and components. Other on-going activities for the anniversary included an in-house design centre that was launched earlier in 2013 as part of the anniversary and a facelift of the company headquarters due for completion in the autumn of 2013.
PCA forecasts US cement consumption to grow by 9.7% from 2014
13 September 2013US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has forecast that cement consumption will increase by 4% in 2013, followed by 9.7% in 2014 and 2015.
"Nearly two-thirds of the anticipated growth in 2013 cement consumption will be caused by gains in the residential construction market," said PCA chief economist Ed Sullivan. "Home inventories are declining, signalling that it is time to start building, while the lingering effects of damaged credit due to foreclosure activity have created a robust apartment demand."
According to the PCA's forecast, consumer and business attitudes are expected to increasingly focus on the recovering economy rather than political uncertainty. However Sullivan hoped that the US House of Congress would avoid the political brinksmanship shown during the fiscal cliff crisis of early 2013 during future debt limit discussions.
Sullivan predicts that an increase in local spending on public construction starting in the 2016 financial year will drive a recovery in cement consumption in the US. Due to the high level of cement usage in road construction a rise of 11% in cement is forecast for 2016.
Cimentos Mozambique order US$8m filter from American Air Filter
12 September 2013Mozambique: Cimentos Mozambique has signed a contract for the manufacture and installation of a filter to reduce the emissions from its cement plant in the southern city of Matola. The US$8m order has been placed with American Air Filter for installation in 2014.
"Protecting the environment and the health and well-being of the residents of Matola and the surrounding area was one of the first points on the agenda of the new management of the factory. We are convinced that we will be in a much better situation when the new filter is installed next year," said Cimentos Mozambique spokesman Sergio Bandeira.
Cimentos Mozambique is Mozambique's largest cement producer. In late 2012 Brazilan cement producer InterCement took over the company from Cimpor.