Displaying items by tag: Holcim
Staff movements at Holcim
19 September 2012US/Switzerland: Holcim US has announced that its president and CEO, Bernard Terver, will join the executive committee of the company's parent Holcim Ltd.
As part of the 'Holcim Leadership Journey,' an initiative which streamlines and strengthens operations, Terver will also assume responsibility for the new group region of North America, comprising Holcim US, Holcim Canada, Aggregate Industries (US) and Aggregate Industries UK. Filiberto Ruiz will serve as deputy chief executive officer of Holcim (US) and Aggregate Industries US. Prior to his promotion, Ruiz was senior vice president of sales and marketing for Holcim US.
"I'm confident that these management changes will reinforce our commitment to customer excellence and to the development of our employees as they become the next generation of leaders," said Bernard Terver, president and CEO of Holcim US. "Filiberto's experience makes him an excellent choice for this new role and I am looking forward to collaborating as the company advances."
"I am honoured to have been appointed to lead US operations," said Filiberto Ruiz, deputy chief executive officer of Holcim (US) and Aggregate Industries US. "Holcim US and Aggregate Industries US are solid organisations and I look forward to continuing to build on the work that has taken place under Bernard's leadership."
Terver has been president and CEO of Holcim US since October 2008 and Aggregate Industries US since 2010. In the same year he also became area manager. He joined Holcim in 1994 when his employer CEDEST was acquired by Holcim France. In 1999, he became chief executive officer of Holcim Colombia and in 2003 was appointed area manager for the Andes nations, Central America and the Caribbean.
Ruiz began his career with the Holcim Group in 1986 as electrical supervisor with Holcim Apasco in Mexico, later becoming plant manager. In 1999 he became regional vice president for manufacturing at Holcim US. He returned to Holcim Apasco as cement operations, vice president and moved back to Holcim US in 2006 as senior vice president for manufacturing. He has been in his current role, senior vice president for sales and marketing, since 2010.
Bulgarian Holcim unit announces waste recycling plant
19 September 2012Bulgaria: The Bulgarian unit of Swiss building materials maker Holcim has announced the construction of a new waste recycling installation worth Euro6.5m at its cement production site in the village of Beli Izvor, in the country's northwest. Some Euro1.6m the total investment costs were covered by the EU-funded operational programme Competitiveness, according to Holcim Bulgaria.
The recycling plant for sorted solid household waste will increase the volume of recovered combustible waste by more than 35,000t/yr, which Global Cement infers may be included in the plant's cement kiln as an alternative fuel. With the launch of the waste recycling installation, Holcim Bulgaria completed a six-year investment programme worth Euro80m that targeted technological upgrades, an increase in production capacity and the mitigation of environmental risks.
Holcim US announces new deputy chief executive officer
05 September 2012US: Holcim US has announced that Filiberto Ruiz will serve as its deputy chief executive officer of Holcim and Aggregate Industries US as part of its 'Leadership Journey.' Prior to his promotion, Ruiz was senior vice president, sales & marketing for Holcim US.
Ruiz began his career with the Holcim Group in 1986 as electrical supervisor with Holcim Apasco, Mexico, later becoming plant manager. In 1999, Filiberto became regional vice president, manufacturing for Holcim US. He returned to Holcim Apasco as cement operations, vice president, and moved back to Holcim US in 2006 as senior vice president, manufacturing. He has been in his current role, senior vice president, sales & marketing, since 2010.
EPA signs rule to cut Montana’s haze pollution
20 August 2012US: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a new measure meant to help approve US state Montana's levels of haze pollution. The signing follows widespread criticism by industry, conservationists and even other federal agencies.
The proposal aims to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that cause haze. It details US$85m in upgrades needed at the state's major contributors of small particles that contribute to park haze, mainly at the Colstrip coal power plant. Holcim's cement plant near Three Forks requires selective non-catalytic reductions totalling US$1.32m to achieve annual NOx emissions reductions of 556t/yr. Ash Grove cement plant near Montana City requires selective non-catalytic reductions and low NOx burners totalling US$1.19 to achieve annual NOx emissions reductions of 1088t/yr.
Many of the commenters, including Holcim and Pennsylvania Power and Light, questioned the computer models used to calculate the effect of various technologies on emissions. Companies also complained that the EPA underestimated the costs required to retrofit their plants with new equipment. In response to a Holcim comment, the EPA decided that Holcim did not have to install lime injection and scrubbers because the reduction in emissions didn't justify the cost. The total price tag for Holcim was originally estimated at US$6.2m.
Under the Clean Air Act, the air in national parks and wilderness areas in the US is supposed to be as clean as possible. To achieve that goal, regional haze programmes in several states set pollution limits on industries. The goal is to restore visibility to natural conditions in national parks and wilderness areas from Idaho to North Dakota by 2064.
Switzerland: As part of its 'Holcim Leadership Journey', the Swiss cement multinational has announced a series of personnel changes to save at least Euro1.25bn by 2014.
The group's Europe region (excluding the UK) will be consolidated and led by current member of the Holcim Executive Committee Roland Köhler. The North America and UK region will report to Bernard Terver who has been appointed member of the Holcim Executive Committee.
Corporate functions that directly contribute to the programme to strengthen customer excellence and cost leadership will be led within the newly created project management office for the 'Holcim Leadership Journey' by Urs Bleisch. He has been appointed corporate functional manager and member of the senior management of Holcim. He will be reporting directly to the CEO of Holcim, Bernard Fontana.
Member of the Holcim executive committee Urs Böhlen will leave the executive committee and act as an advisor to the CEO of Holcim until his retirement in 2013. Members of the executive committee Benoît-H. Koch and Patrick Dolberg will leave the group.
Holcim H1 profit rises by 9% despite European woes
15 August 2012Switzerland: Holcim's net income has risen by 9% for the first six months of 2012. Despite this, the world's second-largest cement maker plans to cut costs and raise cement prices to meet its financial targets. These have been both hit by poor demand Europe and high-energy costs.
The company's net income attributable to shareholders rose to Euro324m in the January 2012 to June 2012 period from Euro267m in the same period of 2011. Net sales rose by 2%, to Euro8.62bn from Euro8.45bn. Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose by 1.9%, to Euro1.61bn from Euro1.60bn. Sale volumes of cement rose by 4%, to 74Mt from 70.9Mt. Second quarter results for the April 2012 to June 2012 period supported these overall trends.
By region, Holcim's Asia Pacific and Latin America areas showed steady growth while Europe continued its decline. In Asia Pacific sales of cement rose by 8% for the half year, to 41.2Mt from 38.1Mt. In Latin America sales rose by 3.3%, to 12.1Mt from 11.7Mt. In Europe sales fell by 4.1%, to 12.3Mt from 12.8Mt, mainly due to poor performance in the first quarter of 2012. In North America sales rose by 8.6%, to 5.4Mt from 5Mt. In Africa and the Middle East sales rose by 2.7%, to 4.5Mt from 4.4Mt.
"While demand in North America should beat the previous outlook, Holcim now expects a decline in Europe," the Holcim said. The firm's construction industry customers, especially those in southern Europe at the heart of the debt crisis, are suffering as governments slash spending in an attempt to get budgets under control. Analysts at Bank Vontobel said that while Holcim's overall outlook was almost unchanged, the contribution of Europe compared with North America was three times bigger, making this effectively a 'reduction of the outlook'.
The Swiss cement maker said that its spending cuts were under way and would result in an additional operating income of at least Euro125m in 2012.
India: Two of Holcim's Indian subsidiaries have reported rises in their second quarter 2012 profits. Ambuja Cement has reported a 35% growth in net profit for the quarter ending 30 June 2012 due to increased sales, to US$84.6m from US$62.8m in the same period of 2011. Net sales by the company rose by 17.9% to US$463m during the quarter from US$392m in 2011. Ambuja Cement attributed this to a 7.3% rise in sales volume, to 5.54Mt from 5.16Mt.
During the quarter, absolute Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the company rose by 22.8% to US$133m. However Ambuja Cement declared that higher operational expenses impacted upon this rise. Total expenses for the company, including raw material and power costs, rose by 15.7% to US$354m from US$306m. The company expects that profit margins are likely to remain under pressure due to steep rise in cost driven by higher raw material prices and rise in distribution and freight costs.
Meanwhile, ACC has reported a 26% rise in consolidated net profit for the second quarter of 2012 due to strong revenue growth, to US$74.8m from US$59.2m in the same period in 2011. Total consolidated turnover for ACC in the quarter rose by 15% to US$526m from US$458m in 2011. The company sold 6.05Mt of cement during the quarter compared to 5.93Mt in the same period in 2011.
Like Ambuja Cement, ACC mentioned 'steep' escalations in most of its key input costs including slag, fly ash, gypsum and power. The company also commented that the increase in railway freight rates with effect from March 2012 substantially impacted both inward and outward costs.
Both Ambuja Cement and ACC were fined in June 2012 by the Competition Commission of India for their alleged involvement in a price-fixing cartel. Ambuja Cement was fined US$210m and ACC was fined US$207m. ACC is currently taking steps to appeal against the fine.
Holcim completes Baku plant construction
10 July 2012Azerbaijan: Switzerland's Holcim has completed construction of new cement line at is plant in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The new dry kiln will be operated by its local subsidiary OJSC Holcim Azerbaijan, previously known as Garadagh Cement, which currently runs three older wet kilns on the same site.
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, officially opened the new plant today in the Garadagh district of the capital. Holcim has invested US$370m on its construction. The plant's capacity has risen to 1.7Mt/yr as a result of the investment.
ACC to invest over US$900m in new plant
04 July 2012India: Holcim-controlled Associated Cement Companies (ACC) is mulling a US$913m integrated cement complex in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The company is planning a 5Mt/yr integrated cement complex, along with an 8Mt/yr cement grinding unit and a 100MW captive power plant at Gollapalli village in Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh. To support the cement plant the company is also creating a 7Mt/yr captive limestone mine.
While ACC has made no official comment, industry insiders have expressed surprise that ACC is planning further cement capacity in south India, which is already reeling under excess capacity. ACC has already announced its plans to increase its capacity by 5Mt/yr through brownfield expansion at its Jamul plant in Chattisgarh.
Jaypee under the hammer
18 June 2012India: India's biggest cement producer, Jaiprakash Associates, says that it is planning to sell its cement units in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh as a part of its divestment plan. In a move that is very similar to those of debt-ridden European and North American cement producers, local media has reported that Jaiprakash has been in talks with at least two different investors, including domestic group Aditya Birla and Lafarge from France. It is looking to sell its 'Jaypee Cement' unit plants, which are already run as a separate company.
Birla and Lafarge have finished their first round of talks with Jaypee. Final bids will be completed in two months. Jaypee wants to exit the cement production business in order to focus on its core activities.
Earlier, it was also reported that Switzerland's multinational Holcim Ltd. was prepared to spend up to US$1.6bn on the three plants, which have a joint capacity of 9.8Mt/yr.