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Two stories from the US have drawn our attention this week, even with a US$1.3bn cartel fine in Brazil, more new business in Africa, the possible closure of CBR's white cement plant in Belgium and strange metrological goings-on in India also in the headlines.

Firstly, it was announced that Colombia's major cement producer Cementos Argos has agreed to acquire Vulcan Materials' building material assets in Florida. Argos, active in the US since June 2011 when it acquired its Harleyville and Roberta plants from Lafarge, will more than double its capacity in the country from 2.7Mt/yr to 6.2Mt/yr and go from a small player to a significant force in the western US.

Argos may have moved at just the right time. Despite suffering disproportionately in what is often termed the 'Great Recession' in the US, Florida's cement market is fundamentally solid, with significant residential construction and a good commercial construction baseline. If the PCA's expectations that the US will consume 80Mt/yr of cement in 2014 and a release of that much talked-about 'pent-up demand' are realised, Argos could be in a position to make good sales.

Indeed, Argos' move takes on even more significance in the light of the second US story from this week, which sees Texas Industries (TXI) taken over by Martin Marietta. The acquisition, which comes on the back of a failed bid by Martin Marietta for Vulcan Materials in 2012, also makes perfect sense for the company. Indeed, Martin Marietta's chief executive, C Howard Nye, said, "We like the Texas market a lot."

And well they should. Developments around the Eagle Ford shale gas reserves in the centre of Texas have led to a building boom in terms of both new constructions and oil well cement. Despite this, TXI announced a loss of US$17.6m in the quarter to 30 September 2013, although it saw higher sales. It blamed interest repayments. There are obviously clear gains for Martin Marietta in buying TXI, but it had better have a plan to sort out TXI's finances.

For all the talk of major restructuring in China , and mergers and acquisitions in India, it is the US cement industry that is showing the most movement so far in 2014. Could this be the year when things finally look up?

US: The Board of Directors of National Cement Company, a subsidiary of Vicat Group, has elected James E Rotch as Chairman of the Board of National Cement Company. Rotch will continue in the practice of corporate law with the firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, a regional law firm with offices throughout the Southeast, including Birmingham, Alabama, in addition to his duties as Chairman of the Board.

Romania: The Romanian unit of Swiss cement producer Holcim has announced that Francois Petry will be appointed as its director general as of 1 February 2014. Currently the general manager for aggregates at Holcim France, he joined the Swiss firm in 2008. He will replace Daniel Bach.

Bach has recently been appointed Area Manager for South East Asia and will be in charge of the Holcim subsidiaries from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, according to a statement from Holcim Romania.

"Romania is one of the most important markets of Holcim Group in Europe, with significant growth potential," said Petry. "It's not going to be an easy job, as the economy is still recovering from the global crisis, but I know that we have here all that is needed to continue on the same successful path: talented and devoted people as well as modern and efficient production facilities."

Holcim Romania operates two integrated cement plants.

Turkey: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is providing Çimko a financing package that includes a US$40m loan for its own account and a US$25m syndicated loan from BNP Paribas Fotris mobilised by the IFC. The long-term financing will support Çimko's investment in energy-efficiency and in the ready mix concrete market, the IFC said in a statement.

The Turkish cement producer's investments will strengthen its overall competitiveness, increase employment in southeastern Turkey, enable the company to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, continue to supply more cement to the domestic market and export more cement to Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Çimko is a joint venture between local Sanko Group and Italy's Cementerie Aldo Barbetti.

Peru: Sources close to the Peruvian cement sector have reported that the shareholders of Cementos Portland (Cempor), a joint venture between Peru's Portland Investment World Cement Group, Brazil's Votorantim Cimentos and Chile's Cementos Bío Bío that was due to construct a cement plant close to the Peruvian capital Lima, did not reach an agreement on its agenda items. They are now to resolve their differences in an international commercial arbitration, which will probably take place in France. Issues came to a head at a meeting on 27 January 2014 due to a disagreement over financing.

Sri Lanka: Holcim Lanka has launched its fourth 'Holcim Village' in Akmeemana, Galle, in the south of the island nation. Holcim said that by laying the foundation for this new Holcim Village, it demonstrates its commitment towards its 'triple bottom line' of economic return, social responsibility and environmental protection. The village at Akmeemana follows three previous projects carried out in Medirigiriya, Eluwankulama and Puttalam.

The Holcim Village in Galle specifically addresses the needs of the community surrounding Ruhunu cement works. The US$900,000 project will house 13 homeless families in fully fledged housing units with electricity, water and access roads, upon completion.

Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Zhongxin intends to build a cement plant in Masvingo at an estimated cost of US$50m. The company initially wanted to construct the plant in Chimanimani but had to relocate to Masvingo where 'substantial' limestone deposits were found.

Zhongxin Coking is the controlling shareholder in Zimbabwe Zhongxin with a 70% stake, while a local consortium, Qualisave Minerals Investments, owns a 30% stake. The project may commence during the first half of 2014 once the company has obtained all of the regulatory permits. The project has potential to create 400 jobs.

In terms of complying with the indigenisation and empowerment laws, an unnamed source stated that "the Chinese investors are bringing in capital close to US$49.5m and the contribution from the locals is quite insignificant for them to have a controlling interest. As such, negotiations are ongoing with the relevant authorities. The proposal is that the Chinese investors will gradually release some of the shares to the local partners in the coming years."

Zimbabwe's cement market is looking bright, with demand expected to increase thanks to various infrastructural projects on the cards, some of which are already underway. With an infrastructure backlog of US$14bn, the cement demand is expected to grow significantly in the medium to long term.

Tanzania: Loesche GmbH has received an order from Tanga Cement Company Ltd in Tanzania for the supply of two vertical roller mills.

The order covers engineering and supply of two Loesche vertical roller mills, one LM 41.4, which will grind 200t/hr of cement raw material with a fineeness of 15% R 90μm, one LM 19.2 D coal mill with a grinding capacity of 20t/hr. and a fineness of 12% R 90μm. Included in the scope of supply is a rotary star feeder for the raw meal mill and a coal screw feeder for the coal mill. The delivery of the mill key parts is planned for July 2014.

This is Tanga Cement's first order from Loesche. Tanga Cement's plant, which was commissioned in 1978, has a production capacity of 3000t/day.

India: The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), a local residents association in Assam, laid claim to land that belongs to a cement manufacturing company in Assam, India, on 24 January 2014.

KMSS chief, Akhil Gogoi, claimed that Topcem India Ltd had breached an agreed land occupancy by possessing the 55,100m² of farmland. A panel will prepare a list of farmers, to whom the land will be distributed, by the end of January 2014.

The KMSS has also threatened to occupy land belonging to another cement company. The Federation of Industry and Commerce of the North East Region has condemned the move.

Update 29 January 2014

US: US construction materials giant Martin Marietta has agreed to purchase Texas Industries (TXI), which has 6Mt/yr of cement capacity and a raft of ready mix concrete facilities in Texas and California, for US$2.7bn.

Martin Marietta's chief executive, C Howard Nye, said, "We like the Texas market a lot. This augments the position we have in Dallas - Fort Worth. The Texas market, for the long term, is one of the most dynamic in the country."

Original story

US: Construction materials maker Martin Marietta Materials is in advanced talks to acquire Texas Industries. Texas Industries currently has a market capitalisation of US$2.15bn. A deal is expected as early as February 2014.

Reports in mid-December 2013 revealed that the owners of Texas Industries were exploring a sale of the company and were working with Citigroup to find a buyer. Texas Industries' largest shareholders, Southeastern Asset Management and NNS Holding, have been seeking to sell their stakes in the company for some time. Combined, the two investors own more than 51% of the company.

Texas Industries has a 6Mt/yr cement production capacity that is expected to grow to almost 8Mt/yr in the next few years. The company reported a second quarter net loss of US$17.6m in January 2014, despite a growth in net sales from US$168m in the second quarter of 2013 to US$209 for the same period of 2014. The net loss was blamed on higher interest expenses.