Displaying items by tag: Spain

Spain: The regional government's Ministry of Development and Environment has renewed the Emas System for environmental management at the Toral de los Vados cement plant. Initially joining the Emas system in 2018 along with 30 other companies in the region, now only 17 maintain the certification. To maintain this voluntary certification, the plant must establish yearly environmental objectives, demonstrate its commitment to achieving them and assume a commitment to continuous improvement, verified through independent audits.

Director of the cement plant Jaime Santoalla said "This certification is an endorsement of the efforts we make in terms of sustainability, as well as our commitment to the environment. We are very proud to have celebrated 100 years in the region with the aim of becoming more sustainable every day and reducing our environmental footprint."

One surprise at the end of August 2024 was that Türkiye-based Çimsa has agreed to buy a majority stake in Ireland-based Mannok. The subsidiary of Sabancı Holding signed a deal to acquire just under a 95% stake in Mannok Holdings based on an enterprise value of Euro330m for 100% of the shares. The final purchase price will be determined later in the process, as will a potential completion date subject to the usual regulatory approvals.

Çimsa has described the deal as its “third major global initiative in the past three years” following expansions in the US and Spain. Çimsa started production at its 0.3Mt/yr white cement grinding plant in Houston, Texas in 2019. It is currently planning to set-up a 0.6Mt/yr grey cement grinding plant, also in Houston, with operation expected to start by the end of 2024. Its Spain-based business received a boost in mid-2021 when it purchased the Buñol white cement plant in Valencia from Cemex. Outside of Türkiye the company also operates a few terminals in Germany and Italy. Of interest to this article it established a subsidiary for sales in the UK in mid-2023.

Mannok was previously known as Quinn Group before it was rebranded in 2020. In addition to cement the company sells a range of construction products including PIR (polyisocyanurate) insulation, aircrete thermal blocks, roof tiles and precast concrete. The company is headquartered at Derrylin in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland in the UK but it operates in both Ireland and the UK. It runs a 1.4Mt/yr integrated plant at Ballyconnell, County Cavan in Ireland, just across the border from Derrylin. With the 17th Global CemFuels Conference scheduled to take place next week in Dublin, it is worth noting that this cement plant had a recent upgrade of interest to the alternative fuels sector. In 2023 the company said that it had installed the world’s first FLSmidth Fuelflex Pyrolyzer at a cement plant following an earlier pilot of the system back in 2018. It is used to replace coal with solid recovered fuels (SRF) in the pre-calcination stage of cement production. Later in 2023 Mannok said that the equipment was reducing its CO₂ emissions by 58,000t/yr.

As reported in the October 2023 issue of Global Cement Magazine, cement from the Ballyconnell plant is sold in both Ireland and the UK. In 2022, 35% of its sales were in Ireland, 30% in Northern Ireland and the remaining 35% in the rest of the UK. The company uses a storage unit at Warrenport in Northern Ireland to despatch cement to a 8400t cement storage and distribution at Rochester in Southern England.

Çimsa said that the acquisition is intended to help it to increase the share of its revenue in foreign currencies to over 70%. It is not a revelation that Çimsa might want to do this given the parlous state of the economy in Türkiye since 2018. Interest rates are high and the Turkish Lira has lost value. Çimsa raised the issues this has caused in its 2023 annual report. These include higher costs for imported goods and services such as energy, equipment and engineering services. In 2023 the company reported that 57% of its sales consisted of foreign currency-based revenue. The same year exports represented just under 40% of the company’s total revenue. Overall, Çimsa’s revenue fell slightly year-on-year in 2023, in part due to the divestment of a cement plant and other assets, but earnings rose significantly.

Buying Mannok gives Çimsa another route into the European Union (EU), via Ireland, and the UK. Crucially, this gives its first integrated grey cement production site outside of Türkiye. Both of these things are especially useful for an export-focused company facing increasing hurdles to sales in the guise of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. It also helps the business to further hedge against negative currency exchange effects back home in Türkiye. So ‘Sláinte’ to Çimsa and Mannok, and good luck.

The 17th Global CemFuels Conference & Exhibition takes place in Dublin, Ireland on 18 - 19 September 2024

Argentina/Mexico/Spain: Holcim has appointed Pablo Bittar as the Country CEO of Argentina, Christian Dedeu as the Country CEO of Mexico and Ricardo de Pablos as the Country CEO of Spain. Dedeu succeeds Jaime Hill, who has become Region Head North America. Bittar succeeds Dedeu. De Pablos succeeds Carmen Díaz, who has been appointed as the Chief People Officer in Holcim Group.

Dedeu previously worked as the CEO for Holcim Argentina from 2020. Before this he was the Commercial Director for the company in the country. He originally started working for Holcim in Argentina in 2007 before moving to Holcim Costa Rica in 2016 where he eventually became Commercial Director (Central America). Earlier in his career he worked for ExxonMobil in Argentina from the late 1990s. He is a graduate from the University of El Salvador in Buenos Aires and holds a Master in Business Administration from the IAE Business School.

Bittar worked for Holcim Argentina from late 1990s until 2012, eventually becoming a Procurement Officer. He then worked for Holcim in Ecuador and Colombia becoming the Head of Supply Chain Latin America in 2023. Bittar is an qualified accountant from the National University of Córdoba with a master’s degree in business administration from the same institution.

De Pablos joined Holcim in 2005. He became Regional Director Aggregates in Spain in 2009, Director Mediterranean Area in Spain in 2012, Export Director in 2016 and Director of Business Development and Exports in 2022. Prior to working for Holcim he was a Senior Consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers. De Pablos holds a degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and an executive degree in business administration from the IE Business School.

Global: Holcim has made three senior appointments in North America and at the group level.

Jaime Hill, the Country CEO of Mexico, has been appointed Region Head North America with immediate effect. He succeeds Toufic Tabbara, who is leaving the company. Hill joined Holcim in 1996 and has over 30 years of international experience, in finance, sales and marketing in the US and Latin America.

Carmen Diaz, the Country CEO of Spain, has been appointed as Chief People Officer with effect from 1 October 2024. She succeeds Feliciano González Muñoz, who is planning to retire at the end of 2024. Diaz joined Holcim in 2002 and has held commercial and general management roles in Madrid, Paris, Lyon and London.

Lukas Studer, General Counsel Corporate and M&A, has been appointed as Group General Counsel with effect from 1 November 2024. He succeeds Mathias Gaertner, who is leaving the group. Studer joined Holcim in 2008 and has been General Counsel Corporate and M&A since 2017, supporting corporate, finance and M&A.

Spain: Following more than two months of industrial action, unions at Cementos Rezola, part of the German conglomerate Heidelberg Materials, have agreed to conclude their strike. This decision comes after extensive negotiations regarding a redundancy plan introduced in June 2024, which initially proposed dismissing 56 out of 102 employees. The agreement includes provisions for no forced dismissals, leading the Basque nationalist union to call off the strike.

Under the terms of the settlement brokered by the other unions, several workers will enter early retirement and nine workers will be relocated to the company's Arrigorriaga plant. This plant transfer is part of a strategic move to concentrate clinker production at a facility that is better equipped to meet stringent environmental standards and deliver greater operational efficiency. The revised redundancy plan also converted four initially forced exits into voluntary or early retirements after further negotiations, with the remaining two being reintegrated into the company.

Spain: Votorantim Cimentos will construct a solid recovered fuel (SRF) production plant at its subsidiary Cementos Cosmos’ plant in Oural, aiming to produce up to 0.15Mt/yr of alternative fuel, reports Digital Economia newspaper. The facility, spanning 5800m², will utilise non-recyclable industrial byproducts and various discarded materials from the local community such as plastic, paper and wood, to partially fuel the combustion in its cement kilns. The plant, currently in the public exhibition phase, will start production at 60% capacity, producing 85,000t/yr of alternative fuel. Plans include ramping up to full capacity to produce roughly 0.15Mt/yr. The new plant will create 15 jobs.

Votorantim Cimentos has not detailed the investment in the new facility, although the budget presented to the local council amounts to €12m.

Spain: Molins has concluded the first half of 2024 with a profit of €105m, up by 31% year-on-year, and revenues of €692m. Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to €189m, marking a 5% increase from 2023.

CEO Marcos Cela said "In the first half of 2024 we have achieved very solid operational results, with relevant progress in our sustainability roadmap."

Spain: Cement consumption in Andalucía decreased by 7% in the first half of 2024 to 1.54Mt. In June 2024, consumption dropped 7.6% to 271,415t. This decline extends to exports of clinker and cement, which fell by 24% to 247,805t, as reported by the Andalusian Cement Manufacturers’ Association (AFCA).

Carmen Díaz, president of AFCA, said "The first half figures are negative due to a slowdown in planned infrastructure execution. Considering the daily consumption in June, having two fewer business days this year than in 2023, the monthly figure would be positive, indicating potential recovery in the construction sector in the second half of 2024."

Catalonia: Cement consumption in Catalonia decreased by 3% year-on-year to 1.1Mt in the first half of 2024. Cement production rose by 0.2% year-on-year to 3.21Mt. However, cement and clinker exports dropped by 25% to 1.5Mt.

The president of Ciment Català, Salvador Fernández Capo, said "The continued infrastructure deficit is hindering Catalonia's economic growth, affecting the well-being and quality of life of its citizens and diminishing the competitiveness of the country's economy.”

Spain: Cement consumption in Spain fell by 3.3% in the first half of 2024 to 7.27Mt, a decrease of 0.25Mt from the same period in 2023, according to Oficemen's latest statistics. June 2024 saw a year-on-year decline of 4.2%, with consumption dropping to 1.25Mt. Cement exports also decreased significantly in the first half of 2024, representing a decline of 20.2% year-on-year.

Oficemen's general manager, Aniceto Zaragoza, said "Our forecasts point to a change in trend towards more positive data in the second half of the year. In fact, the figures for average daily consumption, which only consider working days in the comparison, show growth of 5.3%."