Displaying items by tag: Italy
Italy: Bedeschi has finalised a new contract to supply Buzzi Unicem’s Guidonia integrated cement plant with a double-stage crushing unit. Each machine has a capacity of 750t/hr with two 315kW power systems installed. The system will receive limestone lumps of up to 600mm in diameter and will output limestone lumps below 50mm. No value for the order has been disclosed.
Buzzi reveals 2023 financial results
02 April 2024Italy: Buzzi reported a net profit of €967m in 2023, more than doubling from €459m in the previous year. The company's consolidated revenue rose by 8.1% to €4.3bn, despite a fall in cement and concrete sales volumes of 7% and 12.7% respectively. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached €1.2bn, marking a 40.7% year-on-year increase.
Sustainable concrete project launched in Rome
21 March 2024Italy: Scientists Gregory Chass and Kun Tian have developed a sustainable concrete from wet waste materials through their company Mesoscale Engineering Halcyon. This 'green concrete' concept was conceived in Garbatella and will first be tested on the district's pavements. The concrete, made by combining and recycling industrial CO₂ emissions with brine from saltworks, is part of the Clean Energy Transition Partnership. It is also central to the BUCK$$$ project, led by Kun, focusing on carbon capture and utilisation. This project, with €2.54m in funding, involves 13 partners from seven countries.
This innovative concrete arises from 'mineralised CO₂', which is similar to mollusc shells made of calcium carbonate, as well as materials derived from saltwork brine, desalination, and industrial wastewater. Both currently underused products are expected to become crucial in the cement and concrete industries, particularly in Italy.
Heidelberg Materials Italy signs sustainable energy deal
20 March 2024Italy: Heidelberg Materials Italy, formerly Italcementi, has entered into a seven-year supply agreement with Ox2. Under the deal, Ox2 will sell up to 70% of the energy generated at the Stornarella wind farm in Foggia. The farm was developed in partnership with Nuveen Infrastructure.
The Stornarella wind farm will be constructed in 2024. Once operational, it will provide an average of 37 - 51GWh/yr of clean energy from 2025 to 2032. Nuveen Infrastructure has purchased the wind farm, which will feature six turbines with a total installed capacity of 27MW and an estimated output of 73GWh/yr.
Stefano Gallini, CEO of Heidelberg Materials Italy, said "Energy is a fundamental component of our industrial process and represents one of the main levers of decarbonisation for the entire cement sector. The electrical component can also contribute significantly to this purpose, and we have identified reliable partners like Ox2 and Nuveen to accompany us on this journey."
Cementir Holding raises earnings in 2023
12 March 2024Italy: Cementir Holding’s sales were Euro1.69bn in 2023, down by 1.7% year-on-year from Euro1.72bn in 2022. Its operating costs were Euro1.44bn, down by 8% from Euro1.33bn. As a result, the company increased its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 23% to Euro411m from Euro335m. Cement and clinker sales volumes fell by 1.6% year-on-year to 10.7Mt due to a general market slowdown, though they rose in China and Türkiye.
Chair and CEO Francesco Caltagirone said “Despite an increasingly uncertain macroeconomic scenario due to growing geopolitical tensions and more restrictive monetary conditions, in 2023 the group demonstrated significant resilience, setting new records thanks to an even more diversified geographical and product mix. The general weakness in volumes, with the exception of Türkiye and China, was balanced by the improvement in operational efficiency.”
Cementir reports earnings growth in 2023
13 February 2024Italy: Cementir's full-year 2023 results show sales of Euro1.69bn, down by 1.7% year-on-year from full-year 2022 levels. Nonetheless, the company’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 23% to Euro411m. The company more than doubled its net cash position to Euro218m. Under its Plan 2024 – 2026, Cementir aims to raise its sales by 18% to Euro2bn, its EBITDA by 3.4% to Euro425m and to more than double its net cash position again to Euro600m in two years.
Chair and chief executive officer Francesco Caltagirone said "Despite an increasingly uncertain macroeconomic scenario due to growing geopolitical tensions and more restrictive monetary conditions, in 2023 the group demonstrated significant resilience, setting new records thanks to an even more diversified geographical and product mix. The general weakness in volumes, with the exception of Türkiye and China, was balanced by the improvement in operational efficiency. The new industrial plan to 2026 continues to place sustainable organic growth at the centre of our strategy, confirming all medium and long-term objectives and continuing on our path towards decarbonisation."
Buzzi grows sales in 2023
12 February 2024Italy: Buzzi recorded consolidated sales of Euro4.32bn in 2023, up by 8.1% from Euro4.32bn in 2022. This came in spite of a 7% year-on-year drop in the company’s cement sales volumes, to 26.3Mt. In its domestic market of Italy, Buzzi raised its sales by 13% to Euro818m. In the US, sales grew by 9.5% to Euro1.74bn, in Mexico by 33% to Euro1.03bn, in Germany by 9.2% to Euro872m, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia by 1.8% to Euro205m, in Poland by 11% to Euro157m and in Ukraine by 43% to Euro85.6m. On the other hand, Buzzi’s sales fell by 5.6% in Luxembourg and the Netherlands, to Euro214m, by 2% in Russia to Euro285m, and by 1.6% in Brazil to Euro394m.
The company said “The increasingly evident effects of monetary restriction, the worsening of consumer and business confidence, and the uncertainties dictated by the growing geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East continue to weigh on the international economic framework. In fact, in the last part of 2023, global economic activity weakened further, with international trade contracting in the third quarter.”
Italy: Utilities provider Snam says that it has begun selecting partners for its upcoming Ravenna carbon capture and storage (CCS) transport network. The network will connect hard-to-abate industrial facilities in Ravenna with 500Mt of CO2 storage space in the Mediterranean Sea. The total cost of infrastructure for the project is Euro350m.
CEO Stefano Venier said "The cement industry will be a central partner in this project. A partnership with Heidelberg will be announced in a few days."
Italy: Cementir Holding raised its sales by 0.5% year-on-year during the first nine months of 2023, to Euro1.3bn. It sold 7.93Mt of cement, down by 3.1% year-on-year from 8.19Mt in the corresponding period of 2022. Cementir Holding attributed the decline to reduced demand, primarily in Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, Malaysia and the US. This offset an increase in consumption in China and Türkiye. The group’s operating costs dropped by 6.6% to 1.01bn, while its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 33% to Euro321m.
Colacem appoints Armis for cybersecurity services
16 October 2023Italy: Colacem has selected US-based Armis’ Armis Centrix AI-based cyber exposure management platform to protect online assets in its cement plants. Italian Industry News has reported that protected assets include IT equipment, operational technologies and internet of things (IoT) devices.
Colacem security manager Luca Salemmi said “We requested support from Armis because we realised that we did not have visibility on all devices. What we immediately liked about Armis Centrix is its ability to evaluate the level of vulnerability of each device and to provide a priority order for immediate intervention so that it resolves the most critical risks.”