Displaying items by tag: Holcim
Nigeria: Finland-based Wärtsilä has extended its operation and maintenance agreement with Lafarge Africa by another five years. The agreement covers the 100MW Ewekoro power plant, which provides a dedicated supply of electricity to the company’s concrete and cement manufacturing processes. The extension of the deal was signed in July 2021 and it follows a previous 10-year agreement. The scope of the agreement includes the operating crew, performance guarantees, plant availability and spare parts.
The captive Ewekoro plant was supplied and commissioned by Wärtsilä in 2011. It consists of six Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines, operating primarily on gas, but with the flexibility to automatically switch to liquid fuel in case of a disruption to the gas supply. The engines are also designed to function efficiently with a low-pressure gas supply, a necessity given the region’s vulnerability to supply interruptions.
“We have benefited significantly from the efficient way by which Wärtsilä has operated and maintained this plant for the past 10 years, and we had no hesitation in extending the agreement for a further five years. An uninterrupted reliable supply of electricity is essential to our production, and having our own power plant, built, operated and maintained by Wärtsilä, gives us this assurance,” said Lanre Opakunle, Strategic Sourcing Director, Power & Gas, Middle East & Africa, Holcim.
Wärtsilä has also supplied Lafarge Africa with another 100MW power plant located in Mfamosing.
Holcim Azerbaijan’s sales and profits drop in 2020
28 September 2021Azerbaijan: Holcim Azerbaijan recorded sales of US$59.2m in 2020, down by 16% year-on-year. Turan Information Agency News has reported that the producer’s net profit was US$24.5m, down by 23%. During the year, the company reduced its debt by 14% to US$67m from US$78m.
Holcim acquires Polcalc and Utelite Corporation
27 September 2021Poland/US: Holcim has announced two new acquisitions in the area of raw materials and aggregates. In Poland, it has acquired granulated calcium carbonate producer Polcalc. The company employs 78 people. In the US, the group has acquired Utah-baed Utelite. The company produces lightweight aggregates and employs 40 people.
CEO Jan Jenisch said “We are pleased to welcome the employees of Utelite and Polcalc and look forward to their experience and capabilities. These two bolt-on acquisitions strengthen our presence in two important growth markets while contributing to Holcim’s overall strategy to expand our range of low-carbon products and solutions.”
Poland: Lafarge Poland has laid the foundation stone for the Euro100m new kiln line at its Małogoszcz cement plant. The replacement of the three existing kilns and installation of an alternative fuel (AF) line aims to reduce the plant’s CO2 emissions by 20% and its energy consumption by 33%. The company, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim, aims to make the cement plant into one of the European Union’s most modern. China National Building Material (CNBM) subsidiary Nanjing Kisen International Engineering will carry out the work, which is scheduled for completion in early 2023.
Project director Krzysztof Byczyński said “One of the three kilns has already been demolished and in its place a new kiln will be built with the necessary installations. Preparatory works for the construction of a new kiln are currently underway.”
CSN goes big in Brazil
15 September 2021Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) Cimentos was confirmed this week as the agreed buyer for Holcim’s Brazilian cement business for US$1.03bn. The deal includes five integrated cement plants, four grinding plants and 19 ready-mix concrete facilities. CSN is now poised to become Brazil’s third-largest cement producer by production capacity after Votorantim and InterCement. Or second place if you believe CSN’s cheeky claims about a competitor’s idle capacity!
Figure 1: Map of cement plants included in CSN Cimentos’ deal to buy LafargeHolcim Brazil assets. Source: CSN Investor Relations website.
CSN originally started out in steel production and this remains the major part of its operations to the present day. In 2020 it reported revenue of US$5.74bn. Around 55% of this came from its steel business, 42% from mining, 5% in logistics and only 3% came from its cement segment. CSN’s path in the cement sector started in 2009 when it started grinding blast furnace slag and clinker at its Presidente Vargas Plant at Volta Redonda in Rio de Janeiro state. It then started clinker production in 2011 at its integrated Arcos plant in Minas Gerais. Not a lot happened for the next decade, publicly at least, as the country faced an economic downturn and national cement sales sunk to a low in 2017. From around 2019, CSN Cimentos then started talking about a number of new proposed plant projects elsewhere in Brazil, dependent on market growth and an anticipated initial public offering (IPO). These included plants at Ceará, Sergipe, Pará and Paraná and expansion to the existing units in the south-east. Then CSN Cimentos agreed to buy Cimento Elizabeth for US$220m in July 2021.
It is worth noting that the Holcim acquisition is subject to approval by the local competition authority. For example, the Cimento Elizabeth plant and Holcim’s Caaporã plant are both in Paraíba state and within about 30km of each other. If approved, this would give CSN Cimentos two of the four integrated plants in the state, with the other two operated by Votorantim and InterCement respectively. CSN also stands to pick up four integrated plants in Minas Gerais from Holcim to add to the one it holds at present. Although this would seem to be of less concern due to the high number of plants in the state.
Holcim has made a point of saying that its divestment in Brazil is part of its strategy to refocus on sustainable building solutions with the proceeds going towards its Solutions & Products business following the Firestone acquisition that completed in early 2021. It has also stated previously that it wants to concentrate on core markets with long term prospects. In this context a major steelmaker like CSN diversifying into cement is a contrast. Both industries are high CO2 emitters so CSN is hardly moving away from carbon-intensive sectors. Yet the two have operational, economic and sustainability synergies through the use of slag in cement production. This puts CSN Cimentos in company with Votorantim in Brazil and JSW Cement in India, two other steel manufacturers that also produce cement. Whatever else happens at the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference (COP26) in November 2021, it seems unlikely that global demand for steel or cement is likely to be significantly reduced. CSN Cimentos is now going to resume its IPO of shares to raise funds for the Holcim acquisition.
Acquisitions are all about timing. The CSN Cimentos-Holcim deal follows the purchase of CRH Brazil by Buzzi Unicem’s Companhia Nacional de Cimento (CNC) joint-venture earlier in 2021. As mentioned above, the cement market in Brazil has been doing well since it started recovering in 2018. The coronavirus pandemic barely slowed this down due to weak lockdown measures compared to other countries. The current run of sales growth may be tapering off based on the latest National Cement Industry Association (SNIC) figures for August 2021. Rolling annual totals on a monthly basis had been growing since mid-2019 but this started to slow in May 2021. Annual sales will be up in 2021 based on the figures so far this year but after that, who knows? A CSN investors’ day document in December 2020 predicted, as one would expect, steady cement consumption growth in Brazil until at least 2025, based on correlated forecast growth in the general economy. Yet fears of inflation, rising prices and political uncertainty ahead of the next general election in late 2022 may undermine this. InterCement, for example, cancelled a proposed IPO in July 2021 due to low valuations amid investor uncertainty. CSN Cimentos may encounter similar issues with its own planned IPO or face over-leveraging itself when it picks up the tab for LafargeHolcim Brazil. Either way, CSN decided to take the risk on its path to becoming Brazil’s third largest cement producer.
LafargeHolcim US to convert Midlothian plant to Portland Limestone Cement production
15 September 2021US: LafargeHolcim US says that the integrated 2Mt/yr Midlothian plant in Texas will become the first cement plant in the country to fully convert to Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) production. The unit will switch to producing the company’s OneCem product, a blended cement manufactured with up to 15% of finely ground limestone. The move is intended to help LafargeHolcim US and its customers meet sustainable construction goals and lower carbon emissions.
“This is an important, but not unique, step for us. We were the first to produce OneCem, a PLC product, in one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, and fuel our industry’s step towards a zero carbon future,” said Patrick Cleary, senior vice president of sales, LafargeHolcim US Cement.
The company is promoting OneCem as an alternative to Ordinary Portland Cement in terms of concrete workability, set time, durability and strength development. It can be incorporated into a broad spectrum of applications that will support foundational structures. The product is available in the Western and Southern regions of the US and the company plans to ‘rapidly’ expand production.
Brazil: Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) has agreed to acquire Switzerland-based Holcim’s Brazilian cement business for US$1.03bn. The business’ assets include five integrated cement plants, four grinding plants and 19 ready-mix concrete facilities. Holcim said that the deal strengthens its balance sheet by ‘significantly’ reducing its debt ratio. It will use the proceeds to invest in its solutions and products business, building its recently acquired subsidiary Firestone. Latin America remains a core strategic growth region, according to the company.
Cheif executive officer Jan Jenisch said “This divestment is another step in our transformation to become the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, giving us the flexibility to continue investing in attractive growth opportunities. We are pleased to have found a responsible buyer with CSN that will develop the Brazilian business over the long term.”
France: The Court of Cassation has denied Lafarge’s appeals against the charge of complicity in crimes against humanity in Syria. The court of last resort has reversed the decision by the Paris Court of Appeal in 2019, according to the Agence France Presse. The case has now been referred back to investigating magistrates for reconsideration along with another charge of ‘endangering the lives of others.’ In a statement Lafarge said that the decision by the Court of Cassation did not in any way presume any guilt on its part and that it would continue to cooperate fully.
The legal case relates to the conduct of Lafarge in Syria between 2011 and 2014. Lafarge and Holcim later merged in 2015 becoming LafargeHolcim. LafargeHolcim’s shareholders voted to change the company’s name to Holcim in May 2021.
Holcim to reduce water intensity of cement production by 33% before 2030
08 September 2021Switzerland: Holcim has announced further details of its ‘nature-positive’ 2030 biodiversity and water management strategy. The producer says that under the strategy it will implement a 33% reduction in its cement operations’ water intensity by 2030. It will reduce the water intensity of its ready-mix concrete operations by 15% over the same period. Across all its activities, it is aiming to achieve water positivity at 75% of its sites and install a water recycling system at every site. The company says that it will continue to develop and deploy its nature-based approach across its products and solutions.
Ambuja Cements launches Concrete Future Laboratories
07 September 2021India: Ambuja Cements has launched Concrete Futures Laboratories, a one-stop solution for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals. Eight laboratories across India will enable them to test various aspects of cement and concrete.
CEO Neeraj Akhoury said "Our strong credentials in research and development and innovation have helped us develop new products and services tailored to our customers' needs. We consistently work towards developing cutting-edge solutions for our stakeholders, and the Concrete Futures Laboratory is a testament to our efforts. We aim to create an ecosystem that is focused on collaboration and inclusive growth to build a better and sustainable tomorrow."