Displaying items by tag: UK

UK: Lafarge Tarmac has agreed to sell land that once housed the UK's largest cement plant to allow the construction of a Euro2.56bn theme park.

The 1.37km² Swanscombe Peninsula site in Kent has been earmarked as the home for the proposed London Paramount Entertainment Resort after developer London Resort Holding Company agreed a deal to buy the land. The sale follows an announcement in May 2014 that the resort would be designated a 'nationally significant' project.

"We take a long-term view of our landholdings from mineral extraction to development and restoration; creating jobs, supporting communities and continuing responsible environmental stewardship," said Lafarge Tarmac chief executive Cyrille Ragoucy. "We are proud to be part of this exciting project. This is a fitting legacy for land which has been owned by Lafarge Tarmac for over 140 years."

The sale is expected to go through once planning permission for the scheme is granted. London Resort Holding has already held two stages of public consultation, involving more than 4000 local people. Two more stages are planned ahead of a submission to the Planning Inspectorate in Autumn 2015.

"With this agreement in place, the vision for Kent as the home of a nationally-significant, multi-billion pound entertainment resort employing thousands of people is moving closer to becoming a reality," said David Testa, executive director of London Resort Holding. "It further underlies our commitment to delivering the project and is welcome news as we continue to consultant and engagement with the local Dartford and Gravesham communities living near the site and more widely with our interested parties."

Ireland: CRH has revealed a 2014 acquisition and investment spend of Euro190m, reflecting the completion of 21 transactions. On the divestment front, the group completed 16 transactions and realised total disposal proceeds of Euro350m.

"In August 2014 we announced a multi-year Euro1.5 – 2.0bn divestment programme; the proceeds of Euro350m generated in 2014 demonstrate that this programme is well underway," said Albert Manifold, CRH chief executive. "With a refined portfolio focus, the group is now well-positioned to pursue acquisitions that are in line with our long-term growth strategy. The 21 transactions completed during 2014 primarily comprise bolt-on acquisitions for our existing operations in the Americas, together with the expansion of our builders merchanting network in Europe."

The disposal of CRH's 50% equity stake in Denizli Çimento, its only involvement in Turkey, was the largest single divestment in 2014, realising proceeds of Euro170m.

UK: Hope Construction Materials is investing Euro17.8m to boost production at its Hope Works cement plant. The upgrades include a completed 20,000t clinker store, a system to increase the plant's capacity to use waste-derived fuels and an internal upgrade of the plant's chimney, improvements to the way the raw materials are fed into the twin kilns and maintenance and refurbishment of a large section of one of the kilns.

"The installation of the new kiln shell section is a spectacular piece of engineering involving several teams and very careful planning. We are delighted with the way that this individual project has evolved and look forward to seeing the others progress to schedule... We are very excited to be involved in the largest investment programme on site for many years," said Hope Works Operations Manager Ed Cavanagh.

The announcement comes on Hope Construction Materials' second birthday. Hope has owned and operated the 85 year old cement plant since January 2013.

US/UK: HeidelbergCement has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with an American affiliate of Lone Star Funds to sell its North American and UK building products business for an aggregate purchase price of US$1.4bn. HeidelbergCement said that up to US$100m will be payable in 2016, depending on the performance of the business in 2015. The deal excludes HeidelbergCement's Western Canada business. HeidelbergCement expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2015.

The sale of Hanson Building Products is consistent with HeidelbergCement's strategy of focusing on processing and refining raw materials for its core products of cement and aggregates and further downstream activities, according to a HeidelbergCement spokesperson. HeidelbergCement will retain its Hanson units in the cement, crushed stone, sand and asphalt businesses in the UK.

UK: Production has restarted at the Cemex UK South Ferriby cement plant following flooding in December 2013. One of the two cement kilns has been commissioned and is producing clinker.

"Rebuilding the plant in 12 months has been no mean feat and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. The refurbished plant will allow us to continue our heritage of producing quality cement, sustainably, safely and efficiently, now and for many years to come," said Philip Baynes-Clarke, plant director. "South Ferriby plant had grown organically through the site for the last 80 years, the flood gave us the opportunity to rebuild it in a logical way to today's standards with tomorrow's production in mind."

The flood cut off the 11,000 volt electric supply and destroyed 30 switch rooms and two substations. Today over 6.4km of high voltage cable has been laid to create a new infrastructure of cables to supply the various operations throughout the site. These cables lead to one electrical substation, which houses modern electrical switchgear. In addition 30 switchrooms have been rebuilt along with the vast majority of the site's electrical systems. Other efficiencies such as LED lighting have been built in to the systems to provide savings in electricity.

With the failure of the electric supply when the flood hit, one of the kilns stopped in mid-production with hot material still in it. This caused the kiln shell to bend due to the high thermal load. Subsequently a 22m section of the 65m long kiln was replaced. All elements of the cement production process are now controlled from a centralised computer. This new control system replaces five control rooms, which are all marked for demolition in the coming months.

UK/Portugal: N+P Group, a Netherlands-based waste processing firm, has landed a contract to supply 0.7Mt of solid recovered fuel (SRF) from UK recycling companies to cement plants operated by the Portuguese companies Secil and Cimpor. This follows N+P's first shipment of SRF from Grimsby, Lincolnshire to Portugal earlier in 2014. A 'minor part' of the contract will be satisfied by using waste from France and Italy.

Chairman Karel Jennissen said, "In recent years we have invested millions in developing the UK market to provide end users of our SRF sustainable supply concept. We put a lot of effort towards optimising quality levels of SRF in the UK market and have invested in the development of sustainable logistics chains. Now N+P has several port sites at strategic locations and the possibility to use a large number of sea containers."

Portugal: N+P International has announced the signing of a five year contract for the supply of solid recovered fuels (SRF) into a number of cement plants belonging to the Portuguese cement companies Secil and Cimpor. The contract was signed by Gestão Ambiental e Valorização Energética, a subsidiary company of Secil, Cimpor and SGVR, responsible for sourcing and supply of alternative fuels and raw materials into the Portuguese cement industry.

"In the past years we have invested millions to develop UK market, to provide end users of our SRF sustainable supply concept. We have put a lot of effort in optimising quality levels of SRF in the UK market, as well as investing in the development of sustainable logistic chains. Now N+P has several port sites at strategic locations and the possibility to use a large number of sea containers," said Karel Jennissen, chairman of N+P.

By signing the contract N+P has committed to supply over 700,000t of SRF in the next five years. The majority of the SRF is already sourced and contracted by companies in the UK recycling market. A minor part of the volume will be sourced in Italy and France.

UK: Coretrax, leading engineered service for wellbore clean and abandonment, has launched its CX-IST (Inflation Support Tool) to the oil and gas market, following a US$3m development investment.

The CX-IST significantly reduces rig time, offering substantial cost savings. It gives a positive indication that the cement will be set in the correct place before latching at the bottom of the work string, using a pre-installed landing sub. Once secure, pump pressure inflates the elastomer to seal the wellbore. The IST is then released by picking up the work string. The CX-IST creates a 100% wall-to-wall base for well cement or fluid. The operator can deploy as many ISTs as needed in the same or multiple zones without tripping the drill pipe in and out of the hole, providing significant operator time and cost reductions.

"This is a monumental success for Coretrax and a game changer for the entire industry," said Kenny Murray, managing director at Coretrax. "The team is passionate about the business and has worked tirelessly for three years, from initial stages, to produce an innovative product, which will benefit the oil and gas sector."

UK: In January 2014, the UK Competition Commission (CC) instructed Lafarge Tarmac to sell one of its two cement plants to enable a new company to compete in the industry. In light of the LafargeHolcim merger, Lafarge plans to sell Lafarge Tarmac and all of its assets in the UK, with the exception of the Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire, to a new market entrant. Following the merger, the newly-formed LafargeHolcim would retain the Cauldon cement plant.

The Cauldon plant would remain under the management of Lafarge Tarmac until the merger. "There is unlikely to be much change for employees," said a Lafarge Tarmac spokesperson. "Until the LafargeHolcim merger is completed, the plant remains part of Lafarge Tarmac and will be managed as such with no change for employees, customers or suppliers." The decision was made by the company's shareholders.

Brazil/UK: Lafarge Tarmac, the UK's largest cement firm, may be bought by the Latin American conglomerate Votorantim. The mooted deal comes as giant cement firms Lafarge of France and Holcim of Switzerland sell off assets as they pursue their merger, announced in April 2014.