Displaying items by tag: Holcim
Lafarge Algeria exports 2.6Mt of cement in 2021
23 February 2022Algeria: Lafarge Algeria says it exported 2.6Mt of cement in 2021, more than double the 1.18Mt it exported in 2020. It aims to export over 3Mt in 2022. The subsidiary of Holcim also announced that it will carry out two new large simultaneous shipments from the port of Oran, one of 35,000t of cement in bulk, and the other of 30,000t of white cement in big bags. Both shipments will be exported to the Americas.
Ivory Coast: Société de Ciment de Côte d’Ivoire has inaugurated its second grinding plant in Abidjan. The producer says that the new facility doubles its installed cement production capacity to 3Mt/yr. The Afrique Sur 7 newspaper has reported that it will create 3000 new direct and indirect jobs.
ACC commissions expanded Tikaria grinding plant
15 February 2022India: ACC has commissioned its Tikaria grinding plant in Uttar Pradesh after completing work to expand its capacity by 69% to 3.91Mt/yr. The plant will help ACC to serve the country’s increasing demand and increase its presence in Central India, according to the producer. The United News of India newspaper has reported that the company commenced the project in January 2021.
CEO and managing director Sridhar Balakrishnan said "ACC's strong belief and resilience in these difficult times enabled the team to commission the additional capacity at the Tikaria grinding plant. Meticulous planning and the collaborative approach of the Tikaria team has been the driving force in ACC’s setting a new benchmark in these unprecedented times."
ACC buys Kannur limestone block
11 February 2022India: ACC has announced its successful purchase at auction of the Kannur limestone block mineral reserve in Wadi, Kalaburagi District, from the Karnataka government. The producer plans to use the block to supply limestone for its Wadi cement plant.
Catalan court orders closure of LafargeHolcim España’s Montcada i Reixac cement plant
10 February 2022Spain: The Catalonia government has received a court order to close down LafargeHolcim España’s Montcada i Reixac cement plant in Barcelona. The Spanish Collection newspaper has reported that the plant failed to conform to new environmental regulations. LafargeHolcim España has appealed the decision.
The Montcada i Reixac plant currently employs 300 people. A union involved in the issue said that the alleged breach is formal rather than substantive and that an administrative error by the regional government caused the plant to breach the regulations.
TransAlta Corporation to supply Lafarge Canada’s Exshaw cement plant with wind power
09 February 2022Canada: TransAlta Corporation has secured a contract to supply 100Gwh/yr of wind power to Lafarge Canada’s Exshaw, Alberta. The power will cover an estimated 25% of the plant’s electricity needs.
Lafarge Western Canada’s head of sustainability and environment Cailee Ellis said “This agreement, first of its kind for Lafarge in Alberta, is an important step to utilising higher amounts of renewable electricity at our facilities.”
Bamburi Cement orders two solar power plants
09 February 2022Kenya: Bamburi Cement has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Momnai Energy to set up two solar plants. One 14.5MW unit will be situated next to its integrated Mombasa plant and the other 5MW unit by its Nairobi grinding plant. This will account for up to approximately 40% of the cement producer’s total power supply. Construction of the solar power plants is scheduled to begin end of 2022, after requisite regulatory approvals with expected completion within a year.
“We are elated to be making this step towards switching to more affordable and clean energy that will not only lead to a significant reduction in power costs but also bring us closer to our goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions,” said Miriam Ngolo, Bamburi Cement’s Strategy and Business Development Director.
Other recent sustainability work by the subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim has included substituting heavy fuels with alternative fuels like biomass, including rice husks, and other waste material such as waste tyres and waste oil in its operations.
Lafarge Cement Malawi rebrands as Portland Cement Malawi
08 February 2022Malawi: Lafarge Cement Malawi, which Huaxin Cement acquired from Holcim in December 2021, has renamed itself Portland Cement Malawi.
The Nyasa Times newspaper has reported that company secretary Constance Musopole said "Portland Cement Malawi will remain the home of our trusted brands which include DuraCrete, SupaSet, Kumanga and Khoma. We wish to inform the general public that the reputable legacy and the superior quality of goods and services that have been built over 65 years of existence in Malawi will indeed continue and also improve.” She added "Huaxin is among the 10 largest cement manufacturing companies globally with 115Mt/yr in capacity. We are excited to begin this new chapter in the legacy of the company."
Holcim Mexico invests in gas and diesel-powered concrete trucks
07 February 2022Mexico: Holcim Mexico has replaced 11% of its concrete truck fleet with 61 new natural gas and Euro V diesel-fuelled Sinotruk vehicles worth US$6.2m. The company says that some of the trucks run on 100% natural gas, reducing both their CO2 and particulate emissions by 25%. Parent company Holcim hopes eventually to roll out Sinotruk vehicles throughout operations in its Latin American region. Each truck has an 8m3-greater capacity than Holcim Mexico’s previous models, and also generates less noise.
LafargeHolcim Bangladesh increases sales and profit in 2021
04 February 2022Bangladesh: LafargeHolcim Bangladesh’s full-year sales were US$243m in 2021, up by 27% year-on-year. Its net profit was US$45.8m in 2021, up by 64%, according to the New Nation newspaper.
During the year, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh launched its new Water Protect and Shokti cements and continued to accelerate alternative fuel (AF) co-processing across its cement plant network.