Displaying items by tag: National Cement

Tanzania: ARM Cement has repaid all creditors of Tanzanian subsidiary Maweni Limestone to which it owed money. The East African newspaper has reported that the group used the proceeds from its sale of Maweni Limestone to Huaxin Cement for US$102m to pay off the debts. It paid US$74.4m to creditors and US$4.6m to the Tanzanian tax authorities.

In its native Kenya, ARM Cement sold its assets to National Cement Company (NCC) for US$42.7m. It has paid secured creditors there US$42.6m of a total US$68.7m due. It also owed unsecured creditors US$98.4m.

US: Switzerland-based Elex has completed a cold start-up of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) it has supplied to National Cement’s Ragland plant in Alabama. The ESP will be used for primary dedusting and it has a separation area of approximately 7000m². The cement plant, owned by France-based Vicat, is currently building a new 5000t/day production line that is due to be commissioned in mid-2022.

Kenya: Cement companies are in the process of expanding their total clinker production capacity by 70% to 10.7Mt/yr by 2023 from 6.3Mt/yr. The Business Daily newspaper has reported that six producers – Bamburi Cement, East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), Karsan Ramji & Sons, National Cement, Rai Cement and Savannah Cement – will add a total of 4.4Mt/yr to their clinker capacities.

Global Cement News previously reported that Kenya faced a 3.3Mt/yr national clinker shortage on 13 October 2021. Domestic producers are in the process of lobbying the government to raise the duty on imports of clinker to 25% from 10%.

Kenya: National Cement has awarded a contract to Sinoma International Engineering for the construction of power plants with a total capacity of 35MW. Gelonghui News has reported that the supplier will provide a biomass-fuelled power plant and waste heat recovery (WHR) plant with a combined capacity of 10MW and a further 25MW power station. It previously delivered a WHR system for the producer in 2019.

Mozambique: Adil Cement, África Cement Factory, Maputo Cement, National Cement, Limak Cement Factory, Royal Cement and Suneira Cement Fonte have written a letter to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce complaining about ‘unfair’ pricing by Dugongo Cement. They allege that the pricing of their Chinese-backed rival breaks local competition law and has caused harm to their businesses, according to Moçambique Media Online. The price of cement has reportedly dropped by as much as 70% since Dugongo Cement’s new plant opened in May 2021.

Kenya: Athi River Mining (ARM) Cement is preparing for liquidation and delisting from the Nairobi exchange following the failure of its administrators to revive operations. The East African newspaper has reported that PricewaterhouseCoopers advised liquidation in a letter of 19 April 2021. The joint administrators reached their conclusion based on the understanding the producer will not otherwise be able to settle in full with its creditors. The company plans to liquidate on 30 September 2021.

ARM Cement went into administration in August 2018 following a default on a loan. Its operations in Kenya were sold to National Cement in October 2019. China-based Huaxin Cement acquired its Tanzanian subsidiary Maweni Limestone in May 2020. In 2019 ARM Cement’s administrators fought an attempt by minority shareholders to buy out its majority stake in South Africa-based Mafeking Cement. In January 2021 the administrators received approval from the Rwanda Development Board’s Registrar-General to commence the liquidation of Kigali Cement.

US: France-based Vicat subsidiary National Cement Company of Alabama has completed the installation of a new 5000t/day clinker line at its Ragland, Alabama cement plant. The line has a raw meal capacity of 13,000t.

Vicat engineering senior vice president Jean-Claude Brocheton congratulated the installation team on the ‘major step’ and on completing the work ahead of schedule.

Rwanda: Kenya-based National Cement has begun selling its Simba brand cement on the Rwandan market. The New Times newspaper has reported that the company is aiming to compete against importers from further afield with cement produced at its Nakuru cement plant in Salgaa, Nakuru County in Kenya, thereby alleviating supply chain bottlenecks.

National Cement reportedly selected the market due to the “pace of development and infrastructure establishment,” and is offering its cement at a promotional price.

US: Vicat subsidiary National Cement has received a fine of US$148,000 from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) for exceeding mercury emissions regulations over a 123-day period between May 2019 and February 2020 at its integrated Ragland plant in Alabama. The Daily Home newspaper has reported that unexpectedly high mercury levels in coal and other raw materials burned as fuel during that time caused the breach, which the company immediately reported to ADEM.

National Cement president Spencer Weitman said, “The issue took several months to fix.” Multiple upgrades and operational changes solved the issue, including installation of a US$400,000 mercury absorption carbon injection system. ADEM said, “National Cement did not economically benefit from the emissions violations.”

In January 2020 National Cement began work on construction of a new US$250m kiln line, due for completion in 2022.

US: National Cement has broken ground on its US$250m upgrade to the Ragland plant in Alabama. City, county and state officials attended the ceremony, according to WBRC. The subsidiary of France’s Vicat is building a second kiln at its 1.9Mt/yr plant in Alabama. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.