Displaying items by tag: Italy

Greece/Italy: The Hercules international research project, which has 27 partners from 10 countries, has been launched officially at Milan Polytechnic, Italy. Hercules, an acronym for ‘Heroes in Southern Europe to decarbonise industry with CCUS’ will test new solutions in the CO₂ capture, transport, use and storage value chain and transform them into a scalable industrial process. Buzzi Unicem and Titan Group are two of the 27 partners, alongside waste-to-energy players and developers of advanced CO₂ capture equipment. This includes ‘calcium looping’ technology from Finnish Sumitomo SHI FW and cryogenic purification technology from TPI in Italy.

A part of the pure CO₂ flow will be destined for use in production processes. These include the production of new cementitious materials that could replace conventional concrete, as well as uses in the technical gas sector. Hercules will also investigate the transport of CO₂ from the industrial capture sites to geological storage sites at Ravenna (Eni) and Prinos (Energean). The gas will be handled by Air Liquide and Titan Cement.

Italy: Buzzi Unicem recorded consolidated sales of Euro4bn in 2022, up by 16% year-on-year from 2021 levels. The producer's earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 22% year-on-year to Euro288m. The earnings figure is 33% higher than Buzzi Unicem's previous full-year 2022 EBITDA forecast of Euro216m.

Buzzi Unicem said that group cement sales fell by 9.2% to 28.3Mt, and volumes contracted in Italy, Eastern Europe and the US. The producer noted logistical issues disrupting sales in the US.

Italy: Cementir Holding has appointed Roberto Marazza as its Group Chief Financial Officer with effect from 15 March 2023.

Marazza, graduated in business administration and accounting from Genoa University, started his career in IBM as accounting manager and then covered roles of increasing responsibility, including the position of CFO in fuel and energy and renewable energy companies such as Total ERG and Italiana Petroli (API Group).

Italy: General Sistem has inaugurated its new 300,000t/yr Venice cement terminal. The facility is equipped with four cement silos with a total capacity of 20,000t, and will be able to receive 150m-long ships. CITIT News has reported that the Bahamas-registered Nordanvik was the first cement transport ship to dock at the terminal, on 10 January 2023. The Venice terminal will receive up to 50 cement ships annually.

Italy: Holcim announced its acquisition of Nicem, Italy's ground calcium carbonate market leader. The group said that it plans to use Nicem's ground calcium carbonate as raw material in production of its ECOPact and ECOPlanet reduced-CO₂ cement and concrete range.

Holcim's Europe regional head Miljan Gutovic said “Nicem complements our existing operations perfectly and allows us to further leverage our expertise in green formulation, opening a new source of alternative materials to decarbonise our ready-mix concrete. I look forward to welcoming the employees of Nicem to the Holcim family, whose valuable expertise will help us accelerate green growth.”

Ghana: Italy-based Bedeschi has installed handling equipment and conveyor lines for a clinker, bauxite and manganese project at the Port of Takoradi. The initiative is now at the commissioning stage. Bedeschi supplied five conveyor belts with a total length of 3km, two A frame type 50/1400 shiploaders and one eco-hopper. The shiploaders and the eco-hopper were delivered fully erected from the manufacturer’s shipyard directly to the client jetty with a dedicated heavy-lift vessel.

Italy: Vecoplan has announced the inauguration of its new Ferraro service and sales office in Emilia-Romagna. The supplier says that the facility has sufficient space for it to work on entire machines. In the future, it will also offer welding services for special components, including rotors.

Vecoplan's services head Jochen Pfeil said “The new warehouse will enable us to increase the availability of our machines and plants."

Italy: Buzzi Unicem's board of directors has elected to exercise an option of early repayment on a Euro500m bond loan. Italian Collection News has reported that the producer will make the payment on 28 January 2023. The bonds have a coupon of 2.1% and will mature on 28 April 2023.

Italy: Colacem has issued notices of dismissal to the remaining seven employees at the site of the former Maddaloni cement plant, now a cement storage facility. The Il Mattino newspaper has reported that the producer has offered all workers bonuses in exchange for their resignations.

Cement production at the Maddaloni site in Campania ceased in late 2021, after a period of grinding-only operations following the shutdown of the kiln in 2019.

Italy: Buzzi Unicem’s net sales rose by 18% year-on-year to Euro3.00bn in the first nine months of 2022 from Euro2.54bn in the same period in 2021. Its cement sales volumes fell by 6% to 21.9Mt from 23.4Mt. Its ready-mixed concrete sales volumes dropped by 3% to 8.80Mm³ from 9.05Mm³. The group reported a general slowdown in demand during the third quarter of 2022, particularly in Italy, Eastern Europe and Ukraine. This trend was weaker in the US and sales volumes improved in Central Europe. Buzzi Unicem added that it increased its prices in all regions in the third quarter.