Displaying items by tag: Spain

Spain: Molins has reported that a cement market slowdown, exacerbated by tariffs and adverse weather in Spain and Argentina, affected its financial performance during the first quarter of 2025. The company reported sales of €327m, a 3% year-on-year decline compared to the same period of 2024, although like-for-like sales rose by 6%.

Molins’ earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came to €87m, a 3% decline compared to the same period of 2024. Again the like-for-like result was a 9% improvement.

Molins reported that higher average sales prices and lower costs due to ongoing efficiency plans, mitigated the unfavourable impact of exchange rates, particularly the Mexican and Argentine Pesos.

Anhui Conch Cement held an event in Wuhu, China, this week showcasing its new artificial intelligence (AI) model for the cement sector. The cement company and Huawei started the project in April 2024 with the support of the China Building Materials Federation. The companies say they have now identified over 200 “promising AI application scenarios across 15 categories” across the entire production process from quarrying to packaging and logistics. Conch has set up an AI training centre using the Huawei Cloud Stack product. It is using Huawei’s Pangu prediction, computer vision (CV) and natural language processing (NLP) models to create an AI operating system that integrates central training, edge inference, cloud-edge synergy, continuous learning and ongoing optimisation.

Thankfully Huawei gave some examples of what this actually meant for operators in the real world. The model is able to give real-time recommendations of key quality features enabling the prediction of three-day and 28-day clinker strength. The predicted strength values closely match test results, with deviations within 1MPa and an accuracy rate exceeding 85%. Other benefits include reducing kiln fuel consumption by 1%, monitoring and managing various components and machines along the production line, staff safety gains and creating a ‘smart digital assistant’ that can answer technical questions from employees.

Little of this seems particularly novel, so far, compared to what other companies are already doing in this field. For example, ABB said in early 2022 that it was using machine learning to predict 28-day strength on the day of sampling and in 2023 that it was doing it using production data provided every two - three hours. Another example is the work that Inform does using AI-based software to support logistics for heavy building materials. Plenty of other western-based companies also offer production optimisation and/or predictive maintenance products.

Conch’s use of an NLP model to create a knowledge base assistant does seem new for the cement sector. Although how specific the software running it might be to one business or industrial area remains to be seen. One could easily imagine this kind of product being sold to lots of different kinds of industries in the manner of current enterprise style software. Along these lines though, Juan Beltrán, digital manager of global sales excellence at Holcim, told McKinsey in an interview about Holcim’s pilot project in Spain testing an AI-enabled copilot customer-ordering assistant via WhatsApp.

Recent events in AI for the cement sector include ABB’s agreement to work with UK-based Carbon Re in late 2024. This collaboration was intended to combine ABB's expertise in automation and process control with Carbon Re's AI and machine learning technologies. It followed a pilot at a cement plant in the Czech Republic. On the producer side, Holcim said in mid-2024 that it was preparing to expand the use of AI-based software to 100 production plants by 2028. It noted that it had installed the system at 45 plants so far at the time of this announcement and that it was using a predictive maintenance solution from software supplier C3 AI. Titan Cement said that it had invested in Spain-based AI software supplier Optimitive in February 2025. Then, Cemex announced this week that it too had invested in Optimitive, via its corporate venture capital arm Cemex Ventures. Molins has also worked with Optimitive.

What isn't being disclosed much are the examples of the mistakes of introducing AI into cement production. These are valuable learning opportunities for any company implementing this kind of software. However, the developers and cement producers are extremely unlikely to admit anything publicly. Global Cement Weekly has heard off-the-record information previously about AI projects at cement plants that have gone wrong but we can’t reveal it either. To his credit though Beltrán mentions an incident, in his interview with McKinsey, where the WhatsApp ordering assistant was tricked during testing into almost placing an order for a truck of gazpacho soup!

We’re still watching how AI is being deployed in heavy industries such as cement. The announcement by Conch is exactly the kind of thing its peers are doing around the world. So far what they’ve done is impressive but not unique. Yet, China’s large but shrinking cement sector and its determination to develop its own AI-based software sector may start to deliver more cutting-edge advances in the future. Companies elsewhere are also pressing ahead to find out how AI products will deliver efficiency gains.

President Trump said he was going to do it… and he did. The US announced tariffs on most imports on 2 April 2025 that took effect from 5 April 2025. So, once again, we ask what the consequences of this might be upon the cement sector.

Table 1: Estimated burden of US tariffs on selected countries importing cement based on 2024 data. Source: Based on USGS data.

Global Cement Magazine Editorial Director Robert McCaffrey posted a similar table to the one above on LinkedIn on 4 April 2025. It applies the new import tariffs to the value of imported hydraulic cement and clinker to the US in 2024 as reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). As such it gives us a starting idea of how the new tariffs might change what happens in 2025. For an idea of the volumes of cement imported to the US in recent years refer to the graph in GCW695.

However, a couple of key caveats were pointed out by commentators to that LinkedIn post. Marty Ozinga noted that the values from the USGS are customs values. Crucially, he said that the tariffs will be charged upon the FOB value of cement at the point of origin and not on the transport costs. This is significant because the cost of moving the cement can sometimes be more than half the total values reported in the table for certain countries. Another commentator wanted to make it clear that tariffs on imports are imposed upon the supply chain and are paid somewhere along it, typically by end users, rather than the originating country. Elsewhere, the feeling was very much one of waiting to see what would happen next and how markets would reorder.

Taken at face value, the first takeaway from Table 1 is that the variable tariffs disrupt the competitiveness of the importers. Any importer from a country with the lowest rate, 10%, now has an advantage over those with higher ones. Türkiye seems to be the obvious winner here as it was both the largest importer of cement in 2024 and it has the lowest rate. Vietnam appears to be a loser with a massive 46% rate. Canada and Mexico may have problems with a 25% tariff but how their cement gets to the US market may make a big difference as Ozinga mentions above. And so it goes down the list. What may be significant is how the order of the importers further down the list changes. For example, Algeria has a 30% rate compared to Egypt’s 10%. Both nations exported a similar volume of cement to the US in 2024.

The first casualty of the last week has been market certainty. The US announced the tariffs and stock markets slumped around the world. They started to revive on 8 April 2025 as the US government made more reassuring noises about trade talks but this was dampened by renewed fears of a US - China trade war. The orthodox economic view is that the US tariffs are increasingly likely to cause a recession in the US in the short term regardless of whether they have a more positive effect on the longer one. This view can be detected in former PCA economist Ed Sullivan’s latest independent report on the US economy. He acknowledged the fairness argument the US government has made, but warned of stagflation.

On the US construction market, prices look set to rise in areas that previously relied on imports or are near to them. Cement companies in the US should be able to sell higher volumes as some level of domestic production outcompetes imports. The sector produced 86Mt in 2024 and has a capacity of 120Mt/yr giving it a utilisation rate of 72%. It imported 20 - 25Mt of cement in 2024. One sign of this happening might be renewed investment in local capacity through upgrades, new lines and even new plants. However, a recession would reduce overall consumption. On the equipment side, there is likely to be a similar readjustment between local and foreign suppliers. Certainly, if the tariffs stick around then more non-US companies may be tempted to set up local subsidiaries and /or manufacturing bases if conditions permit. For example, note JCB’s doubling in size this week of a plant it is building in Texas. One interesting situation might occur if a US cement company wants to build a new production line. All the likely suppliers, at present at least, appear to be based outside of the US.

Finally, despite everything, Holcim declared this week that it had completed a $3.4bn bond offering ahead of the impending spin-off of Amrize in the US noting “strong investor interest in the future company.” It wants to shore-up confidence ahead of the creation of the new company at some point in the first half of the year. Holcim’s CEO said previously that he didn’t expect any blowback from tariffs as the company was a local business in the US. What may be worth watching for is whether the current disruption to stock markets causes any delays to the creation of Amrize.

The current situation with the tariffs is prompting a rapid-revaluation of the US construction market and the wider economy. US-based building materials companies look set to benefit but there may be disruption along the way. Foreign companies supplying the sector may well experience sharp changes in circumstances depending on how tariffs reorder supply chains. Prices for end-users look set to rise. We live in interesting times.

For Ed Sullivan’s take on the US cement sector read his article in the May 2025 issue of Global Cement Magazine

Spain: Holcim, IGNIS P2X and Exolum have launched Eco2fly, a project to convert industrial CO₂ emissions into sustainable aviation fuel at Holcim’s Villaluenga de la Sagra plant in Toledo. The facility will capture over 700,000t/yr of CO₂ from the plant’s cement production process and convert it into 100,000t/yr of sustainable aviation fuel using ‘green’ hydrogen. The remaining CO₂ will be stored in geological repositories. Over its first 10 years, the project will reportedly avoid more than 6.5Mt of CO₂ emissions.

Spain: Cement consumption grew by 8.6% year-on-year across Spain in February 2025 to reach 1.27Mt, around 0.1Mt more than in February 2024, according to the latest data published by the national cement association Oficemen. In the cumulative figures for the first two months of 2025, consumption was 2.4Mt, 0.2Mt (9.4%) higher than the equivalent figures for 2024. Rolling year-on-year data - covering March 2024 to February 2025 - showed consumption of 15.1Mt, a 4.4% increase compared to the year earlier period.

Aniceto Zaragoza, CEO of Oficemen, said “Although it is still early to make assessments, it is significant to note that February 2025 was the highest cement consumption month since 2011. This confirms a certain continuity in the positive trend we experienced at the end of 2024 and which we expected to continue in 2025.”

Cement exports from Spain fell by 15.3% in February 2025 to 0.31Mt, 55,627t less than in February 2024. In rolling year figures, exports fell by 5.1% over the 12-month period, to reach 4.8Mt.

Spain: Cement consumption rose by 9% year-in-year in February 2025 to 1.27Mt, around 100,000t more than in February 2024, according to the latest statistics from Oficemen. Consumption for the first two months of 2025 reached 2.40Mt, up by 9%. In the 12 months to February 2025, total consumption rose by 4% to 15.1Mt.

“Although it is still early to make assessments, it is significant to note that last month was the February with the highest cement consumption since 2011, which confirms a certain continuity in the positive trend we experienced at the end of 2024 and which we expected to continue in 2025. Furthermore, our data is in line with other relevant indicators in the construction sector, whose performance is also positive, such as public tenders, which grew by 33.5% in January, and permits for new housing, which ultimately closed 2024 with 127,721 approved units,” said Oficemen general director Aniceto Zaragoza.

Exports fell by 15% to 0.3Mt in February 2025, a loss of 55,600t. In the 12 months to February 2025, exports fell by 5% to 4.80Mt.

Spain: Molins has recorded a 22% year-on-year rise in net profit to €184m in 2024, despite market slowdowns and political instability in some regions.

Molins’ revenues grew by 1% year-on-year to €1.37bn in 2024, as price increases offset volume declines and currency effects. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6% to €356m, with its operations in Europe, South America and North Africa showing growth. Mexico reportedly remains its largest contributor to results. The company increased investments by 31% to €98m, with 70% going to sustainability, digitisation and efficiency improvements.

Spain: Cement consumption rose by 8% year-on-year to 1.13Mt in January 2025, according to the latest statistics from Oficemen. Consumption grew by 4% year-on-year to nearly 15Mt in the 12 months to January 2025. Exports increased by 12% year-on-year to 323,000t in January 2025, but fell by 5% year-on-year during the 12-month period.

General director Aniceto Zaragoza said "In this regard, we are cautiously observing the evolution of US tariff measures, as it is the fourth destination for Spanish cement exports, with 11% of the total. However, we are confident that sales to the intra-community market, in which Spain maintains a leading position, will remain stable."

Spain: Molins and Enagás have formalised an agreement to promote their Mosusol netCO₂ carbon capture and storage (CCS) project for EU Innovation Fund backing. The project will capture 1Mt/yr of CO₂ at Molins’ cement plant in Sant Vicenç dels Horts, near Barcelona, to be transported by Enagás for storage. The project will cost an estimated €590m.

Molins CEO Marcos Cela said "The Mosusol netCO₂ Project is an example of our firm commitment to the decarbonisation of the construction sector. Our goal is to achieve carbon neutrality at our Sant Vicenç dels Horts plant by 2031."

Spain: Ciment Català, the Catalan Cement Manufacturers Association, has appointed Albert Avellaneda Bargués as its director. He previously worked as the head of the Best Available Techniques (BAT) section of the General Direction of Climate Change and Environmental Quality as part of the Government of Catalonia. He holds a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Barcelona and a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering and Management from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.