Displaying items by tag: GCW168
Scotland’s Cement Industry
17 September 2014Tomorrow (18 September 2014) the residents of Scotland, one of the UK's four 'home nations', will vote in a referendum. The question will be whether or not the country should leave the UK and become fully independent. Rival 'Yes' and 'No' campaigns have spent the best part of two years trying to convince the electorate of the benefits of either leaving or staying in the UK.
Leaving the political discussion to one side, where would a 'Yes' vote leave the Scottish cement industry? The only cement plant in Scotland is the 1Mt/yr Lafarge Tarmac plant at Dunbar, East Lothian, so on the face of it, Scotland's cement industry would be 100% owned by one operator. At this stage, however, it is (hopefully) fair to assume that relations between Scotland and the rest of the UK should be cordial enough to allow normal supply chains and contracts to continue over the border. Lafarge Tarmac, or any future operator, should expect business as (mostly) usual.
However, there are potential issues when it comes to the ongoing UK Competition Commission's (CC) investigation into competition in the UK cement and blast furnace slag markets. The removal of Dunbar from the list of UK cement assets is small but significant. Would the CC come to the same conclusion regardless of the outcome of the Scottish vote? And (how) would any decisions filter into the EU-wide investigations into the LafargeHolcim merger disposals?
Part of the discussion around Scottish independence has been the suggestion that Welsh nationalists might ask for a similar referendum in the event of a Scottish 'Yes.' In our cement plant thought experiment, this has much more of an effect on the current UK situation, with two Welsh plants at Mold, Flintshire and Aberthaw, Roose, which is also a Lafarge Tarmac plant. This would really re-shape the former UK's cement industry and pose new questions for regulators. Elsewhere, Northern Ireland's only cement plant is also a Lafarge Tarmac facility.
Also, a 'Yes' for Scotland has the potential to reverberate around the rest of the European Union (EU). Catalonia, the autonomous region in Spain, has a long-standing and separate identity to the rest of Spain. By contrast to Scotland, its cement industry is massive, with Ciment Català listing eight plants across four operators. If it left Spain, there would be 30 plants in the country instead of 38.
More provocatively, Belgium is a country that, while at the centre of Europe, is often divided at home. French-speaking Wallonia has all five of Belgium's cement plants, but separation between this region and the Dutch-speaking Flemish region would require a number of unlikely changes.
Elsewhere, there are calls to separate the north of Italy from the south, although cement plants are roughly in proportion throughout the country. In France, Brittany also has its fair share of nationalist sentiment. However, any moves here would not trouble the French operators - there are no cement plants in Brittany. Normandy is in the same situation, although a Breton would probably claim that Normandy is 'just part of France.'
The above is only a scratch on the surface. A quick internet search for 'separatist movements in Europe' leads to a large number of hits. The most illustrative of the links is this map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_separatist_movements_in_Europe#mediaviewer/File:Active_separatist_movements_in_the_European_Union.png
It appears that many EU residents would like the map of Europe redrawn.
Looking outside of the EU, the cement industry of Texas has the largest cement industry of all US states. With huge oil reserves, a large and growing population and fast development, Texas' cement industry would thrive in the event of its secession. Discussion of this was particularly strong following the re-election of President Barack Obama in 2012.
Of course, much of the above is hypothetical... or is it? Just two year's ago nobody was talking about Scottish independence. We will find out tomorrow if Europe will get a new (Scottish) cement industry.
HeidelbergCement India’s director Bernd Scheifele resigns
17 September 2014India: HeidelbergCement has announced that Bernd Scheifele has tendered his resignation from the position of director of HeidelbergCement India with effect from 10 September 2014. Scheifele remains chairman of HeidlerbergCement's managing board.
Ashaka Cement stake changes hands
17 September 2014Nigeria: Lafarge Group has sold 58.6% of its stakes in Ashaka Cement to Lafarge Africa for US$252m.
Ambuja Cements launches Ambuja Plus in Gujarat
17 September 2014India: Ambuja Cements Ltd, a Holcim subsidiary company, has launched Ambuja Plus, a cement product, in the State of Gujarat. The product is created with an 'advanced' formula and offers 20% more strength than ordinary cement. Ambuja Plus is aimed primarily at small consumers and individual house builders.
Raysut Cement and Barwaaquo to build a cement terminal in Somaliland
17 September 2014Somaliland: Oman's Raysut Cement Co has signed a joint venture agreement with Barwaaquo Cement Co to build a terminal at Berbera port in Somaliland for the packaging and distribution of cement. Salim bin Alawi bin Mohammed Baabood, Raysut Cement's CEO, signed the agreement with Ismail Saeed Hussain, chairman of Barwaaquo Cement.
"Pursuant to this agreement a terminal shall be constructed for the packaging and distribution of bagged and bulk cement using the latest technology at Berbera Port with a storage capacity of 12,000t," said Baabood. He added that the total investment cost of the project is about US$7.5m.
Siemens to supply CMS Cement plant with drive and automation technology
17 September 2014Malaysia: Christian Pfeiffer has contracted Siemens to supply an integrated drive system and automation technology for the new CMS Cement plant in Kuching, Sarawak State.
CMS Cement is adding a new grinding mill to its existing clinker production plant to turn the facility into an integrated cement plant, increasing its capacity to 2.75Mt/yr. Christian Pfeiffer is acting as the general contractor and will supply the new mill. Contracts have already been announced for the new silo and packaging facilities.
The Siemens' Integrated Drive System to be supplied to the plant consists of low and medium voltage motors together with the associated Sinamics drives, including the required converter transformer, starter, compensation system and gearbox. The supply package contains a slip ring motor of 5.6MW for the cement mill's main drive and 500kW, 400kW and 160kW motors for the process gas fan, separator and mill filter fan, respectively. The motors will be driven using Sinamics G150 converters.
Siemens has also supplied a Flender girth gear (DMG2), including drive couplings and auxiliary drive with extremely high performance density. Process control and monitoring will be taken care of by the Cemat process automation system. Based on Simatic PCS 7, this allows comprehensive transparency throughout every phase of the cement manufacturing process.
Once the production process has stabilised following commissioning, CMS Cement will take over additional control functions using Advanced Process Control technology components. Installation monitoring, commissioning and staff training will be carried out on site by Siemens Malaysia.
Reliance Mutual Fund buys 3.26 million shares in Sanghi Industries
17 September 2014India: Reliance Mutual Fund has bought 3.26 million shares in Sanghi Industries for US$0.732/share via a bulk deal. Prior to the deal, Reliance Mutual Fund owned 71% of the shares, while institutions and non-institutions held 3.50% and 25.5% respectively.
Rail-mounted Siwertell unloader for new cement plant in Myanmar
17 September 2014Myanmar: Cargotec's Siwertell has received an order from CITIC Heavy Industries Co Ltd (CITIC) for a rail-travelling ship unloader. The ST-640 M-type unloader has been ordered to support the energy production requirements for a new cement plant in Myanmar and will unload coal from barges at a rate of 800t/hr. The plant is being built as part of a collaboration between CITIC and Siam Cement's subsidiary, Mawlamyine Cement Ltd (MCL).
Cementos Argos to boost Colombian capacity with new 2.3Mt/yr line
16 September 2014Colombia: Cementos Argos plans to expand its Sogamoso cement plant, located in the Boyacá department of Colombia, with a new 2.3Mt/yr line, involving an investment of US$450m.
The strategic location of the Sogamoso plant will enable Cementos Argos to serve the Bogota market as well as growing demand in the centre of Colombia, where around 70% of cement consumption for the country's infrastructure plant will be concentrated. As well as Bogota, the location of the plant allows for efficient access to the Eastern Plains, Santander and North Santander.
"This investment reflects our confidence and commitment to the development of Colombia," said Jorge Mario Velásquez, Argos' CEO. "Factors such as institutional and regulatory strengthening for infrastructure development; the important 4G projects for more than US$25Bn and greater resources for housing development, will drive the growth in cement consumption in the next few years. As a Colombian company, we are committed to assisting the country in its development."
The new project will boost Argos' installed capacity in Colombia from 9.5Mt/yr to 11.8Mt/yr, an increase of 24%. Completion of the Sogamoso expansion is scheduled for 2018. Argos said that up to 40% of fossil fuels would be replaced with alternative fuels. Water and fuel consumption will be 24% and 18% lower than at standard plants, respectively, while emissions of particulate matter will be 67% below the national limit. Cementos Argos will also invest in developing the local community's educational infrastructure.
"The intensive infrastructure programmes carried out in neighbouring countries such as Panama, Peru and Ecuador, have propelled the simultaneous decrease in unemployment rates and upsurge in home construction, creating a virtuous cycle to improve people's quality of life, which we wish to see in Colombia," added Velásquez.
Lafarge sells Russian cement plant to Buzzi Unicem to cut debt
16 September 2014Russia: Lafarge SA has sold one of its Russian cement plants to Buzzi Unicem as part of its effort to cut debt. The Ural Cement plant in Korinko, Chelyabisnk was sold for Euro104m. Lafarge aims to reduce its debt to below Euro9bn from Euro11.2bn. The plant sale requires regulatory approval.