Displaying items by tag: Production
Gabon: Data from the Directorate General of Economy and Tax Policy shows that national cement production rise by 10.6% year-on-year to 0.54Mt in 2019. The improving trend has been attributed to better use of existing manufacturing equipment and the resumption of activity at the CimGabon plant in Ntoum, according to the L’Union newspaper. Clinker imports also grew, by 14.6% to 0.44Mt. Overall cement sales increased by 8.5% to 0.53Mt.
Pakistan: Producers dispatched 3.52Mt of cement in April 2020, down by 24% year-on-year from 4.61Mt in April 2019. Domestic consumption was 3.27Mt, down by 19% from 4.04Mt due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Business recorder newspaper has reported that cement producers were already ‘struggling to survive due to extremely high input costs.'
The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said, "The decline in construction activities around the world, including in Pakistan, contributed to a downfall in demand, however, the cement sector even otherwise was operating under acute distress."
Austria: RHI Magnesita has published a trading update in which it says that ‘the difficult market environment of the second half of 2019 continued into the first quarter of 2020, with limited impact from the COVID-19 outbreak.’ Demand remained consistent year-on-year, with its industrial division continuing to perform well, particularly in cement.” The company noted lower raw material costs due to ‘reduction in overall demand and uninterrupted supply from China.’ RHI Magnesita has increased its focus on cost management, temporarily closing one Mexican and three European plants, introducing short-time working and deferring at least Euro45.0m of capital expenditure in 2020.
In the second quarter 2020, RHI Magnesita said, “The trading environment has become increasingly challenging” as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, which caused a drop in ‘customer activity and order book levels.’ In spite of this, cement sector sales ‘remained relatively resilient,’ with some producers ‘accelerating maintenance work in shutdowns,’ partially offsetting the effects of project postponements.
Spain: HeidelbergCement subsidiary HeidelbergCement Hispania has informed clients that its plants remain open ‘in order to continue to provide required products and services, combining this availability with the mandatory security measures.’ Deliveries and collections continue, subject to the requirements of its Prevention and Safety protocol. In the interests of safety, HeidelbergCement Hispania’s service team has replaced most site visits with additional telephone services.
Turkmen producers to produce basalt cement
04 May 2020Turkmenistan: Cabinet of Ministers’ Deputy Chair Shamuhammet Durdylyev has announced plans for the country to produce a new grade of cement. Turkmenpor News has reported that the cement, designated 500-G20-K, will contain basalt porphyries. Durdylyev has said that the Ufra deposit in the Balkan region of western Turkmenistan will supply the basalt porphyries, adding, “These mineral substances significantly improve the quality of cement.”
The move’s aim is reportedly to boost Turkmen cement plants’ productivity without increasing the reliance on imports.
Peru: Total cement volumes in March 2020 were 0.42Mt, down by 51% year-on-year from 0.86Mt in March 2019 and down by 51% month-on-month from 0.85Mt in February 2020. Clinker volumes fell by 51% to 0.35Mt from 0.71Mt in March 2019 – down by 55% month-on-month from 0.78Mt in 2020.
Peru’s March cement exports were 6200t, down by 46% year-on-year from 11,400Mt in March 2019 and 55% month-on-month from 13,700Mt in February 2020. Imports in March 2020 were 102,000t, down by 3.6% year-on-year from 106,000t and up by 2150% month-on-month from 5000Mt.
Domestic demand fell by 47% year-on-year and 48% month-on-month to 0.49Mt, from 0.92Mt and 0.94Mt respectively.
Hanson team makes sign to thank National Health Service
27 April 2020UK: A team of Hanson employees has produced a sign from recycled materials from around the company’s 1.0Mt/yr Purfleet slag cement grinding plant. The 6m-long luminous sign, which reads ‘NHS Thank You,’ has been installed at the plant on the mill three tower overlooking the QE2 Dartford Crossing. Hanson Purfleet plant manager Warren Scott said, “The team wanted to show their appreciation for the NHS and key workers and came up with and executed this idea in their own time.”
Hanson has kept ‘a number of key sites’ open through the coronavirus outbreak in order ‘to supply key national infrastructure projects or to provide maintenance materials to critical sectors.’ Hanson has furloughed part of its staff under the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Demand down as production partially resumes in India
24 April 2020India: Both Germany-based HeidelbergCement and Aditya Birla subsidiary UltraTech have responded to the government’s partial lifting of the coronavirus lockdown for rurally-located continuous industries by resuming ‘partial operations in some production facilities.’ Orient Cement subsidiary CK Birla said, “We are in the process of partially resuming our operations at our plants in Karnataka and Maharashtra.” Producers require the permission of the relevant state government to restart plants. In Telangana, where the government has not lifted the lockdown, CK Birla’s facilities remain shut.
The Economic Times newspaper has reported that ‘limited transportation facilities, higher than usual inventory and stricter rules regarding labour safety’ have added a note of caution to resumed operations. Shree Cement managing director Hari Mohan Bangur said, given the continuation of restrictions on construction in cities, “We expect just 10% of normal consumption, with hopes of a gradual increase.”
Cement and Concrete Association of Malaysia welcomes return to cement production and lobbies for construction to resume
24 April 2020Malaysia: The Cement and Concrete Association of Malaysia (CCA) has praised the government’s decision to grant an exception to cement plants in order to allow production to resume in the third phase of the country’s lockdown, beginning on 28 April 2020. The Straits Times newspaper has reported that the current and previous stages of the lockdown have exacerbated the cement sector’s losses over the past two years.
The CCA said that the development ‘will have a multiplier effect on the economy.’ CCA chair Datuk Yeoh Soo Keng said that 100,000 jobs ‘depend either directly and indirectly on cement production,’ including many ‘in small and medium enterprises’ that will not survive the outbreak without it. “Cement is the fundamental building material of our country’s wealth,” he added. The CCA thanked the government for the ‘welcome reprieve’ and urged it to allow ‘related sectors to slowly and gradually resume operations, for the industry to effectively function.’
Salonit Anhovo suspends production
24 April 2020Slovenia: Salonit Anhovo suspended production from 20 April 2020 to 4 May 2020. SeeNews has reported the reason for the suspension as a lack of demand from its usual Italian and Slovenian markets amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Salonit Anhovo management board member Dejan Zwitter said, "We expect domestic sales to stabilise as the government is providing incentives for construction activities."
The company will continue to serve its customers with deliveries of it products.