Displaying items by tag: GCW643

Philippines: The Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP) has warned that cement sector workers could be laid off due to competition from imports from Vietnam. It stated that local demand for cement has fallen and that the production capacity of the cement industry far exceeds expected demand in 2024, according to the Business World newspaper. The association noted that the cement industry employs 130,000 personnel both directly and indirectly.

CEMAP said in a statement, "As it stands, the Philippine cement industry has been forced to downscale operations as imports continue to cannibalize the market and, in certain cases, lay off workers due to the worsening market situation. With the projected increase of cement imports, manufacturers will be forced to further downscale operations until demand recovers or importers cease dumping and exploiting the local market."

National cement production capacity is reported to be 53Mt/yr in 2024 compared to anticipated demand of 34.5Mt. CEMAP says that 7Mt of cement was imported in 2023 despite selected anti-dumping tariffs. It expects this to rise in 2024 due to a contraction in the Vietnamese market.

South Africa: Mining and materials company Afrimat says that further regulatory conditions as part of its ongoing acquisition of Lafarge South Africa have been met. The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa has consented in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, the Financial Surveillance Department of the South African Reserve Bank has approved the acquisition in terms of the Exchange Control Regulations and the respective Competition Authorities in Botswana and eSwatini have approved the implementation of the acquisition. Approval by the Competition Commission is still outstanding but it recommended the transaction to the Competition Tribunal in November 2023. However, the Competition Commission highlighted ‘horizontal overlaps’ in the aggregates and ready-mix concrete sectors and recommended that the parties be required to divest assets across the affected sectors.

Afrimat first announced in June 2023 that it had agreed a share purchase agreement with a Holcim Group subsidiary, Caricement, to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Lafarge South Africa. The proposed acquisition will become unconditional and be implemented once approval by the Competition Tribunal has been obtained.

Morocco: NovaCim joined the national cement association, the l’Assemblée Générale de l’Association Professionnelle des Cimentiers (APC), in late December 2023. The cement producer operates a 1.6Mt/yr plant at Oulad Ghanem in El Jadida Province.

APC represents Asment Temara, Heidelberg Materials subsidiary Ciments du Maroc, Ciments De L’Atlas (CIMAT), LafargeHolcim Maroc and NovaCim. The companies operate 14 integrated cement plants and seven grinding plants between them with a total production capacity of just under 25Mt/yr.

Denmark/Sweden: FLSmidth Cement has sold its MAAG gears and drives business to the Sweden-based investment company Solix Group for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2024 and includes all related assets, including intellectual property, technology, employees and customer contracts. FLSmidth said that the divestment was is in line with its Green'26 strategy, which in combination with a greater strategic focus on the service business includes focusing the product portfolio on the core technologies required for a potential green transition in the cement industry.

The MAAG product range includes a wide range of industrial gear solutions for all types of mills and kilns, gear solutions for bucket-wheel excavators and belt conveyors, as well as many other heavy-duty applications used in the cement, mining and other industries. The business has an average turnover of around Euro55 – 65m/yr.

Christopher Ashworth, the president of FLSmidth Cement, said “The divestment is fully aligned with our ongoing transformation efforts and supports our Green'26 strategy. I would like to extent my gratitude to the dedicated employees in the MAAG business for their unwavering commitment to supplying high-quality solutions and services. I wish all the MAAG employees and Solix the very best going forward."

China: Switzerland-based Maerz has commissioned two lime kilns for Guizhou Gangli Xinmin New Material’s plant in Guizhou province. The new plant includes a 600t/day R4S kiln and an 800t/day R5S kiln. Both kilns are coal fired. This is the first time Maerz has supplied kilns to Guizhou Gangli. As part of the project, Maerz supplied engineering and key equipment as well as technical support services for the commissioning and firing of the kilns. Maerz’s long-standing local partner Shanghai Maiyao built the turnkey plants and will operate them on behalf of the customer for the next few years.

Germany/US: Concrete production equipment supplier TopWerk Group has formally endorsed Partanna Global's carbon-negative binder as a replacement for cement in the production of concrete using its equipment. Partanna plans to install TopWerk equipment at its four upcoming production plants, under an exclusive three-year agreement. The endorsement is intended to help shift TopWerk's global customers from using cement to using Partanna Global’s binder.

Partanna Global CEO Rick Fox said “TopWerk's endorsement of Partanna represents a major vote of confidence in our technology from one of the most respected names in global construction. We’re humbled and proud that one of the world’s leading concrete machinery producers has given us their backing. We hope this signals to the industry that Portland cement is no longer the only solution in town, and that the days of burning rocks are fast coming to an end.”

TopWerk CEO Robert Gruss said "We believe our exclusive partner Partanna has come up with a truly impressive solution that can contribute to putting this polluting practice to an end. The company’s carbon negative binder is one of the most exciting innovations we have witnessed in our industry for decades. It is the most advanced alternative binder solution in the market and the only credibly carbon negative solution that has the potential to scale globally. Over the last two years, we have rigorously tested their formula and have validated its application as a direct replacement solution for Portland cement. In many ways, their binder actually performs better than the legacy solution.”

The endorsement follows Saudi Arabia-based property developer ROSHN's announcement of an upcoming carbon-negative concrete plant that will use Partanna Global's technology earlier in January 2024.

Nigeria: Investor Femi Otedola has reported making a ‘significant acquisition’ of shares in Dangote Cement. The Premium Times newspaper has reported the value of the newly acquired shares as US$6.73m.

Femi Otedola said “Dangote Cement's unique position with two export terminals offers a substantial opportunity to earn foreign exchange, crucial for Nigeria's economy. This, along with the company's pan-African presence, makes it an ideal investment choice."

North America: Aker Carbon Capture and MAN Energy Solutions have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and CO₂ compression opportunities in North America. The collaboration will combine Aker Carbon Capture's amine capture technology with MAN Energy Solutions’ compressor technology to provide standardised and modularised solutions, with optimised energy consumption and delivery time. Both parties are currently participating in the Brevik capture and storage project with Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe in Norway. Rystad Energy has forecast potential capture capacity across North American industries of 200Mt/yr by 2030.

Aker Carbon Capture head of North America Jonah Margulis said "This agreement will strengthen our position to remove and reduce carbon emissions from industries and energy solutions, which is supported by strong incentives from the US government."

MAN Energy Solutions head of sales and project management, carbon capture and storage, Marco Ernst said "We are delighted to work with Aker Carbon Capture, which appreciates our comprehensive expertise in compressor solutions in general and in the area of CO₂ compression in particular. We feel encouraged by the high level of interest in our technical solution concepts that we are on the right path towards sustainable decarbonisation of the industries that have previously had particularly high emissions."

Nepal: The Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department of Mines and Geology and non-governmental organisation Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA) for the adoption of limestone calcined clay (LC3) cement in Nepal. The parties say that LC3 cement can reduce CO₂ emissions by 40% and reduce coal consumption in cement production. Enewspolar News has reported that the Swiss Development Cooperation has previously supported the diffusion of the technology in the global cement sector.

Uzbekistan: Cement production was 11.1Mt nationally from January to November 2023, up by 2.5% year-on-year, according to Statistics Agency of Uzbekistan data. Trend News has reported that Uzbek Building Materials Producers’ Association expects annual production to eventually rise by 3Mt/yr after China Energy International Group Samarkand Cement commissions its upcoming Samarkand cement plant.