Displaying items by tag: Product
Holcim Philippines launches Excel cement marketing campaign
08 October 2020Philippines: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Holcim Philippines has launched a new social media marketing campaign for its flagship general purpose Excel brand cement. The Business Mirror newspaper has reported that the campaign uses the words “support and lift” in relation to the attributes consumers most associate with Excel cement.
The company said, “Holcim Philippines has sold over 1bn bags of Excel since 2000. This reflects the trust of local contractors, who in turn have used this to build many of the things that benefit us today. This campaign is a reminder that Excel will continue to be reliable partner in building a better Philippines moving forward.”
LafargeHolcim celebrates Ebimpé Olympic stadium inauguration
07 October 2020Ivory Coast: LafargeHolcim Côte d'Ivoire says that it is proud to have contributed 60,000t of its Bélier Extra cement to the construction of the Ebimpé Olympic Stadium. Chief executive officer (CEO) Serge Gbotta said, “It is a real honour for all our teams to see their products accomplish international wonders. This is what we are working hard for. We are satisfied to see that, for its quality, Bélier Extra cement remains undeniably the first choice of construction and public works players.”
Nicknamed the ‘Arc de Triomphe,’ the Olympic Stadium will be the official home of the Ivory Coast national football team.
SSI launches new Pri-Max primary shredder
06 October 2020US: SSI has announced the launch of the Pri-Max, a primary shredder “built to reduce the volume of bulky materials while achieving processing rates of up to 150t/hr.” The product design incorporates new patented technologies, including “a new method for maintenance and replacement of wear parts as well as major assemblies.” The company says that this will “substantially decrease maintenance costs and improves ease of use.”
Director of sales and marketing Dave Fleming said “The Pri-Max is typically the first step in large processing systems, making it a critical component to customer productivity and success. Customers wanted longer service intervals and more flexibility in how they could choose to maintain wear parts in their machines.”
Adelaide Brighton adopts Mondi water-resistant cement bags
02 October 2020Australia: Adelaide Brighton says that it has begun bagging its cement in water-resistant bags developed in partnership with packaging supplier Mondi, which supplied its Advantage Protect White water-resistant sack kraft paper product, and local bagging solutions provider Pope Packaging.
Adelaide Brighton is promoting the high tensile strength and water repellent surface of the bags, which it says can withstand rain for up to six hours and exposure to damp for 120 hours, earning them the nickname ’rain barriers.’ The company said, “After being actively involved in testing and developing the new product, Adelaide Brighton is the first business in the country to market the new innovative product. We are in the process of converting all of our cement and hydrated lime paper bags, manufactured in South Australia and the Northern Territory, across to rain barrier bags.”
Solidia Technologies partners with Chryso to further develop Solidia concrete product
15 September 2020US: Solidia Technologies and France-based Chryso have announced a collaborative partnership for the further development of the Solidia ‘ultra-low’ CO2 concrete product. The companies plan to use their “combined expertise to improve the sustainability performance and material properties” of the concrete.
“Incorporating Chryso’s exclusive water-reducing admixtures adapted to the specific chemistry of Solidia Concrete, will further reduce water consumption in the curing process,” said Tom Schuler, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Solidia Technologies.
Standard matters
09 September 2020The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has warned local cement producers to rein in their more outlandish claims. In a letter reported upon by the Economic Times newspaper this week, the government department has accused some manufacturers of making both objective and subjective claims about their products that strained credulity and didn’t fit the corresponding official standards. One industry source from the newspaper blamed the crackdown on some producers claiming that their cement products helped protect people from Covid-19! In their view the bureau was now over-enforcing its rules in retaliation. Given the severity of the outbreak in India - it has the second highest number of reported cases in the world this week - the response of the authorities is understandable to say the least.
The distinction between objective and subjective exaggeration that the BIS makes it worth looking at in more detail. For example, objective or supposedly fact-based claims the BIS cited included: ‘Protect Steel in Concrete’; ‘Protect Concrete from Corrosion’; ‘Corrosion Resistant’; ‘Weather Proof’; and ‘Damp Proof.’ Then, there were subjective, or more emotionally evocative, claims along the lines of ‘strong’ or ‘high performance.’ The BIS then outlines the specific ways in which objective and subjective assertions can be used. Objective claims should be avoided on marketing and packaging material. Subjective claims should, “explicitly indicate that such claims are not covered under the scope of BIS licence granted to them and the responsibility of such claims lies with them.”
Marketing is a big part of standing out in the crowded Indian cement market with producers sponsoring major sports teams. This might seem odd to readers elsewhere in the world but it demonstrates the target market, the importance of cement as a commodity to the general public and the power of brand awareness. Amubja Cement’s logo of a man with a Charles Atlas style physique cuddling a building sums up the message they want to convey: strength. No wonder producers are wary of the BIS wading in.
Standards also appeared in another news story this week with the announcement that Taiwan Cement Corporation (TCC) had obtained the first cement product carbon footprint label issued by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in the country. Its products will be marked with carbon footprint labels from the fourth quarter of 2020.
This shows a general trend in cement products towards showing sustainability credentials from putting environmental footprint data in front of specifiers for large projects towards making it a more basic retail selling point. Lots of other cement producers around the world have done and/or are doing similar things, from the dedicated slag cement manufacturers to the larger producers routinely releasing and promoting new low-CO2 products. To pick one example from many, in July 2020 LafargeHolcim France introduced ‘360Score CO2 emissions reduction ratings’ to its bagged cement range. The score, between ’A’ and ’D,’ corresponds to the factor of CO2 compared to CEM-I Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), with ‘A’ products producing less CO2 than ‘D’ products in their overall creation.
To look at an older example of the need for standards generally, building collapses in Nigeria appeared to increase post-2000, with the misuse of lower-grade cements blamed for the situation. The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) took action in 2014, local producers introduced higher strength cements and the problem was reduced. Given the intangible nature of measuring sustainability in cement products there is a need for reliable standards. Unlike performance metrics, such as a strength or durability, the CO2 footprint of a cement product will generally remain utterly intangible for most end-users. The effects of CO2 emissions are continually analysed and debated, but the negative climate effects of cement products are more akin to someone else’s house flooding on the other side of the world 50 years later, than one’s own house falling down a decade later due to using the wrong strength cement. So, some form of trustworthy enforcement for sustainability standards is crucial. Standards may represent ‘boring’ bureaucratic red tape at its most officious but we need them. In India and elsewhere though, the debate on enforcement continues.
Taiwan Cement awarded first product carbon footprint label
09 September 2020Taiwan: Taiwan Cement has been awarded the first product carbon footprint label by the local Environmental Protection Administration (EPA). It follows its completion of the structure of product category rules (PCR) in early August 2020 and inspection by the EPA. TCC's products will be marked with carbon footprint labels from the fourth quarter of 2020. The Taiwan-based cement producer has also announced support for the Global Cement and Concrete Association’s (GCCA) 2050 Climate Ambition plan.
TCC started its Science-Based Target project in 2019 and says it became the first cement company in the Greater China region to complete target setting and was approved by Science-Based Target initiatives (SBTi) in June 2020. Following the science-based methods promoted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from the United Nations, TCC set a target to reduce carbon emissions by 11% in 2025, using 2016 emissions as the base. TCC completed carbon footprint certification for the most popular cement products, Portland Type I cement and Ready-Mixed Concrete 3000psi, in July 2020.
Bureau of Indian Standards warns of product description rule changes
08 September 2020India: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has warned producers to avoid the use of objective product descriptions which may subsequently be proven as false claims. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the advice follows an internal circular of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution detailing plans for a tightening of standards around the use of objective terms such a ‘corrosion resistant,’ ‘weather proof’ and ‘damp proof’ by cement producers.
Schenck Process launches CONiQ Control
03 September 2020Germany: Schenck Process has launched CONiQ Control, a control and automation system “with many options for use in industrial measuring, weighing and automation technology in the cement industry,” according to the company. It says that the product “standardises the use of a common controller platform for a wide variety of processes” through a Reddot Intuitive Design Award 2019-winning web-based interface.
JK Cement rebrands JK White Cement as WhiteMaxX
01 September 2020India: JK Cement says that it will sell its white cement, formerly JK White Cement, under the new name ‘WhitemaxX.’ The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the new name “strengthens JK Cement’s core commitment to delivering the maximum to its consumers and partners with a focus on consistent and premium product quality,” according to the company.
JK Cement is the world’s third largest white cement producer and it exports WhiteMaxX to 43 countries.