Displaying items by tag: Poland
LafargeHolcim establishes new European Works Council
28 March 2017Switzerland: LafargeHolcim and employee representatives in Europe have established a new European Works Council (EWC). The forum for consultation and dialogue at a transnational level will bring together worker representatives from 19 countries with senior leaders from LafargeHolcim.
“People are essential to the success of LafargeHolcim and our commitment to social dialogue through the new European Works Council is testament to this. During a period of transformation, we recognise that ensuring the full commitment, mobilisation, and engagement of our employees is a key building block for success,” said Eric Olsen, chief executive officer of LafargeHolcim.
The EWC was established based on an agreement signed by Olsen and Executive Committee members Caroline Luscombe, responsible for Organisation and Human Resources and Roland Köhler, responsible for Europe, Australia / New Zealand and Trading as well as Sam Hägglund, General Secretary of the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers EFBWW, among other management and employee representatives. Chaired by Köhler, the EWC replaces the previous European Works Councils. Countries represented in the EWC include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
LafargeHolcim Kujawy cement plant in Poland to have chlorine bypass system upgraded by A Tec
17 February 2017Poland: LafargeHolcim has awarded a contract to A Tec to upgrade the chlorine bypass system at its Kujawy cement plant. A Tec will upgrade its existing Reduchlor bypass system to increase the rate to 10% from 5%. The upgrade will retain the system’s existing bypass filter and filter fan. The project will be commissioned in spring of 2017.
A Tec’s Reduchlor bypass system consists of a take-off chamber above the kiln inlet, specifically designed for each installation, and a specially designed quenching chamber, to which the chlorine condenses on and adheres to fine dust particles. After this condensation process the chlorine-enriched material is collected in a filter.
Polish cement producers to meet sales forecast in 2016
04 January 2017Poland: The Polish cement industry is expected to meet a sales forecast of 15.8Mt made by the Polish Association of Cement Producers (SPC). Jan Deja confirmed the prediction based on data for November and December 2016 from the Central Statistical Office (GUS) and the weather at this time in comments made to the Polish News Bulletin. He added that 2016 had seen a 'significant' drop in investments and that a boom in residential construction had compensated for a decline in infrastructure development. However, tenders for infrastructure projects have been launched suggesting that sales might reach up to 16.5Mt in 2017.
Royal Cement gains logistics base in Poland
02 September 2016Poland/Egypt: Royal Cement EU, the European arm of the Egyptian white cement producer Royal El Minya Cement, is planning to expand in the Gdansk-Kowale IV logistics centre in Poland, belonging to 7R Logistic. Querco Property acted as Royal Cement's advisor in finding and negotiating the deal.
Gorazdze to raise thermal substitution rate to up to 80%
11 February 2016Poland: Gorazdze Cement intends to cut costs partly by increasing its usage of alternative fuels, according to its CEO Ernest Jelito. As the Polish cement producer is currently operating at a 60 – 70% capacity utilisation rate it has no plans to increase its capacity. Gorazdze Cement has a thermal substitution rate of around 50% at present and it intends to raise this to 70 – 80%.
WTW & MHC Group celebrate multiple milestone anniversaries
11 December 2015Germany/Poland: MHC Engineering Fördertechnik GmbH in Cologne, Germany celebrated the 10th company anniversary in November 2015. Its sister company WTW Engineering MiUP Sp.z o.o in Wroclaw, Poland has also celebrated its 20th company anniversary recently.
MHC Egineering Fördertechnik GmbH was founded in 2005 and immediately made an impact by acquiring WTW Engineering MiUP Sp. Z.o.o. located in Poland, as well as WTW Americas Inc. located in Canada.
The three companies together form the WTW & MHC Group, a prominent supplier of: silo and bunker discharge technology for all bulk materials, discharge capacities and silo diameters; complete turnkey systems or individual components for the reception, storage, discharge and transport of alternative fuels; materials handling in general; laboratory testing of bulk materials.
"We are not so much interested in short-term and quick profits but in long-term trusting and cooperative relationships with our clients," said managing director Marek Lewicki. "Our success, even through the highs and lows of the material handling market due to fluctuations in the world economy, is confirmed every day by our loyal clients in the cement, power and metallurgical industries," Added managing director Aaron Reid.
Poland: A blueprint for the rest of Europe?
21 October 2015Gorazdze Cement has been approved this week by the local authorities to buy Duda Kruszywa and Duda Beton. Aggregate and concrete acquisitions are outside the remit of this column, but Poland still deserves attention as a European country that has seen construction growth in recent years.
Approval by the Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) for the Gorazdze purchase is relevant due to cartel fines that were issued to seven cement companies, including Gorazdze Cement, in 2013. At that time Lafarge had its fine absolved, Gorazdze's was reduced but the other producers had to pay 10% of their annual turnover. As part of the Duda purchase, Gorazdze is expected to sell a concrete unit in Olszowa to avoid market overlap.
Polish cement production hit a high of 18.6Mt in 2011 according to Polish Cement Association (SPC) data. In its annual report for 2011, Lafarge attributed the surge to European Union (EU) funding for infrastructure projects and a deficit in housing. The multinational cement producer reported a 27% increase in domestic sales that year. Since then production fell to a low of 14.5Mt in 2013 before picking up. Cement production for the first nine months of 2015 is a little ahead of 2014 year-on-year.
Poland's cement production capacity is 16.8Mt/yr. The industry comprises 11 cement plants that are run by eight producers. As mentioned in the Global Cement Lafarge-Holcim Merger report, the country already has two cement plants from a CRH subsidiary, Grupa Ożarów. This is pertinent because the country offers a view of how LafargeHolcim might act in competition with CRH in a national environment.
In 2014 CRH noted that cement volumes grew by 6% in the country and its Europe Heavyside sales increased by 4% year-on-year to Euro3.93bn. In the first half of 2015 CRH reported selling 'non-core' businesses from its Europe Heavyside division in Poland amongst other territories. It also reported that whilst a solid general economy and construction growth helped sales, it was under price pressure in all of its main product lines.
Interestingly, LafargeHolcim announced in late September 2015 that it was implementing a new three-year strategy in Poland. The plan is to offer its clients logistic, design and consulting services in addition to cement, concrete and aggregate sales. The choice of Poland to test this strategy in with its clear competition from CRH is instructive as this situation is now duplicated in several markets throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Lafarge too reported a 'competitive' environment in its first quarter results for 2015 before the merger with Holcim completed. Yet it noted that its cement volumes had contracted compared to the same period in 2014. This is in contrast to the SPC data for the first quarter of 2015 that suggests that cement production rose slightly compared to the same period in 2014. However, Lafarge did expect construction activity to pick up for the rest of 2015 due to infrastructure tenders based on a new EU infrastructure plan. SPC data on cement production suggests that this may be correct. LafargeHolcim's and CRH's cement plants are in slightly different parts of the country which may also explain reported differences in sales volumes in 2015.
So, we have a picture of CRH streamlining its business in Poland to help grow profits. LafargeHolcim, meanwhile, is broadening its offer with 'soft' businesses to complement its heavy divisions. The results will be worth watching.
Poland: The Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) has approved the acquisition of Duda Kruszywa and Duda Beton by Gorazdze Cement provided that Gorazdze sells the concrete unit in Olszowa to avoid limiting market competition. Both Duda Kruszywa, which is an aggregate producer, and Duda Beton, a producer of ready-mixed concrete, are currently owned by the Opole-based firm JD.
Cement production creeps up in Poland
07 October 2015Poland: Cement production in Poland increased by 1.3% year-on-year to to 1.58Mt in September 2015, while sales edged up by 0.1% to 1.66Mt, according to Poland's Cement Producer Association. In the first nine months of 2015, production grew by 1.4% year-on-year to 11.9Mt and sales were up by 1.8% to 12.2Mt.
Poland to act as test bed for LafargeHolcim services
29 September 2015Poland: LafargeHolcim is implementing a new three-year strategy in Poland. Going forward, the company will not only sell cement, concrete and aggregates but will also offer its clients a range of services including logistics, design and consulting services amongst others.
If the strategy proves to be successful it will be implemented in other countries where LafargeHolcim is present. Because the company will be focused on the new strategy, it is not planning any major acquisitions in Poland, apart from the possible takeover of an aggregate mine.