Displaying items by tag: US
US: According to Marine Link, as part of strategic efforts to increase cargo business at the Port of San Diego, California, the port has entered a conditional agreement with Mitsubishi Cement Corporation (MCC) for potential future operations at Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal.
The conditional agreement, which was approved by the board of port commissioners on 11 June 2015, will allow the port to conduct a project review under the California Environmental Quality Act in anticipation of MCC's potential operations at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal on San Diego Bay.
The port entered into the agreement to facilitate MCC's potential development, lease and operation of a marine transfer and storage facility for the import, distribution, exportation, handling and storage of bulk cement, cement-related bulk products and concrete aggregate. The conditional agreement envisions contributions by MCC toward modernising the marine terminal and the company's participation in development costs for long-term improvements.
"Our maritime business capacity is a core strength of the Port of San Diego and that's why we are committed to maximising our cargo facilities," said port chairman Dan Malcolm. "We look forward to working with MCC. By harnessing the power of partnerships to invest in this terminal, we reinforce our status as San Diego's maritime cargo gateway to the world."
MCC manufactures all of the major types of Portland and specialty cements used in California and Nevada. The company was formed in March 1988 with the acquisition of the Cushenbury cement plant in Lucerne Valley, California and other ancillary assets.
US: Lafarge North America has signed a deal to build a cement trans-loading facility in Williston, North Dakota. According to local press, the storage facility and terminal will be located on a new rail spur on the east side of the town. Lafarge North America says that it will allow the company to better serve its customers amid growing demand for construction materials in North Dakota and South Dakota
Roy Sander, general manager of Lafarge Dakotas, noted that the new rail line will remove the company's existing truck traffic from US Highway 2.
North and South Dakota are growing states for cement consumption. As well as traditional construction cements for standard applications, the presence of the Bakken oil field means that the states also require oil well cements and products for soil stabilisation.
Ash Grove Cement Company announces death of former company chairman and president James P Sunderland
10 June 2015US: Ash Grove Cement Company has announced that James P Sunderland, former company chairman and president, died on 27 May 2015. Sunderland joined Ash Grove Lime and Portland Cement Company in 1957 as its corporate secretary in Kansas City. In his 43-year career at Ash Grove Cement, Sunderland held several leadership positions, including serving as the company's chairman and president. During Sunderland's tenure, Ash Grove Cement became one of the largest Portland cement producers in the US.
Adriano Greco joins FCT International
10 June 2015US: FCT, the rotary kiln pyro-processing company, is pleased to announce that Adriano Greco has joined the team at FCT as Global Sales Director, based in the United States.
Mr Greco is known to many in the cement industry through his previous activities as Managing Director of Greco and as Sales Director for Gebr. Pfeiffer. FCT said that his experience and professionalism would be 'invaluable as FCT extends its reach to the markets across the globe.'
FCT already has operations in Australia, United States, Europe, Middle East and Canada and continues to expand with projects in every continent.
US: According to local media MiBiz, the planned merger of Lafarge and Holcim will result in a new owner for a Holcim-owned cement plant in Grandville and could lead to more competitive cement pricing in the West Michigan market.
In response to an antitrust complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that the LafargeHolcim merger 'would likely substantially lessen competition,' in 12 US markets, including in Grand Rapids, the parties have agreed to divest 24 facilities in North America. Among the sites is a Holcim (US) -owned cement plant in Grandville, which the company plans to sell to Buzzi Unicem USA. The acquisition of the Grandville plant should be completed in July 2015, according to Patrick Lydon, vice president and general counsel at Buzzi Unicem. Lydon said that the Grandville plant would be the company's first venture into the Michigan market. He does not expect any significant changes to operations.
The FTC weighed in on the proposed merger to create LafargeHolcim, the world's largest cement company with a projected US$35bn in annual revenues, because it said that the acquisition would further concentrate the industry in 12 'already highly-concentrated' markets. In the affected markets, Holcim and Lafarge are either the only two suppliers of Portland cement or slag cement or are 'at most' two of just four suppliers.
"If the merger between Holcim and Lafarge went through as originally planned, it would have likely had a short-term impact, but even more of an impact on long-term competitive pricing," said Greg Kerkstra, president and CEO of Grandville-based Kerkstra Precast Inc. "Now that the FTC has determined a divestiture of some of these assets in particular markets, that could actually encourage even more competition than before the merger, in our eyes."
Other affected markets in Michigan include Detroit and northern Michigan. Holcim is selling a cement terminal in Elmira, Michigan to Buzzi Unicem and it is seeking buyers for terminals in Detroit and Dundee.
US: Eagle Materials Inc has reported its financial results for its 2015 fiscal year that ended on 31 March 2015.
Earnings before interest and income taxes increased by 32% year-on-year to US$265m, reflecting improved sales volumes across nearly all business lines, with cement sales volumes setting an annual record of 4.8Mt. Net sales prices also strengthened across all businesses. Fourth quarter earnings before interest and income taxes increased by 31% to US$44.4m, as fourth quarter sales volumes improved across nearly all businesses, reflecting improving construction fundamentals in the US.
On 3 March 2015, Eagle entered into a definitive agreement with Holcim (US) to purchase its 600,000t/yr granulated ground blast furnace slag (GGBFS) plant in South Chicago. The purchase price of US$30m is subject to customary post-closing adjustments and will be funded from operating cashflow. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of its 2016 fiscal year and is conditioned upon the closing of the Lafarge-Holcim global merger.
Operating earnings from cement in 2015 were a record US$118m, an increase of 31% compared to 2014. Revenues from cement, including joint venture and intersegment sales, were US$489m for 2015, 12% higher than 2014. Operating earnings from cement were a fourth quarter record of US$21m, a 74% increase from the prior year quarter. Cement revenues for the quarter, including joint venture and intersegment revenues, totalled US$90.8m, 11% greater than the same quarter of its 2014 fiscal year. Cement sales volumes for the quarter grew by 3% year-on-year to 827,000t.
US/Canada: Lafarge and Holcim have received final approval for their proposed merger from the competition authorities in the US and Canada. All competition approvals necessary for closing the transaction have now been obtained ahead of the expected closing in July 2015.
Following the regulatory assessment in all key jurisdictions, Holcim and Lafarge can now present a final list of divestments to satisfy regulatory requirements. These divestments remain subject to the completion of the merger, including a successful public exchange offering to Lafarge's shareholders and approval by Holcim's shareholders.
Mind the gap: cement news shortcuts
29 April 2015Striking news from Libya this week with the announcement that an investor with international backing wants to buy the majority stake in the Libyan Cement Company.
Libya holdings owner Ahmed Ben Halim is in the process of buying out the Austrian Group Asamer that originally bought a majority share for US$145m back in 2008. Most of the remaining share was owned by the Economic and Social Development Fund. Taking over the company now seems bold from a European perspective or Ahmed Ben Halim got a very good price. No financial information regarding the deal has been made public.
Libya has remained politically unstable since the civil war in 2011. According to the Libyan Herald, following the war a strike at the Libyan Cement Company's plants for lost wages stopped production. Since then two of the three cement plants the company runs in east Libya near Benghazi have remained shut due to their proximity to fighting with the Ansar Al-Sharia militia. Before the civil war in 2011 the Libyan Cement Company had a combined cement production capacity of 6Mt/yr almost half the USGS estimated production for the entire country in that year.
The Libyan Cement Company's plants are all located in the east of the country under the nominal control of the Council of Deputies based in Tobruk. Its two plants in Benghazi have remained shut due to their proximity to fighting with the Ansar Al-Sharia militia. A third plant near Derna has also had security issues. Halim told the Financial Times that he was not 'crazy' to be investing at this time. "We have a long-term strategic plan" he said, "that Libya's going to rebuild its infrastructure. And a key element of this is cement." If he can hold out until the rebuilding starts then he may just be right.
Meanwhile across the border in Egypt, Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafy announced this week that cement prices had remained 'stable' for the fifth month in row. Some commentators placed improved energy supply security at the heart of this situation allowing producers to build up inventory. However, given the situation in Libya, it is worth considering what will happen once Libyan demand for cement does pick up both in competition for energy supplies like coal and a keener export market.
Finally, our editorial director Dr Robert McCaffrey was at the IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Conference in Toronto, Canada this week. Here's his snapshot of PCA economist Ed Sullivan's forecast for future US cement supply and demand.
Ed Sullivan's forecast for future US cement supply and demand, at IEEE in Toronto. pic.twitter.com/RUoT7uHGtg
— Robert McCaffrey (@DrRobMcCaffrey) April 28, 2015
The UK London Underground has 'mind the gap' as its well-known warning phrase to prevent passengers falling between the platform and the trains when boarding. The favourable supply gap Ed Sullivan is talking about in US will be one cement producers will definitely not want to miss.
US: Essroc Italcementi Group has signed an agreement with Holcim to purchase its slag cement grinding facility in Camden, New Jeresy. As part of the transaction, Essroc will also obtain Holcim's cement terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. The acquisition will finalise when the pending Holcim and Lafarge merger completes later in 2015.
"The acquisition of the Camden slag grinding facility reiterates Essroc's commitment to the northeast market," said Francesco Carantani, Essroc's president and chief executive officer. "With the focus on sustainability and durability, there is a projected growth in the demand and usage of slag cement."
The Camden facility can produce upwards of 700,000t/yr of slag cement. Essroc currently produces slag cement at its Picton, Ontario, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, cement plants and at its slag grinding facility in Middlebranch, Ohio. With the addition of Camden, Essroc has a combined annual production capacity in excess of 1Mt/yr. Holcim's staff in Camden and Everett will join Essroc once the transaction completes.
US: Lafarge and Holcim have announced further details on the package of assets that they propose to divest in the US as part of their planned merger to create LafargeHolcim. The divestments include:
- Lafarge's 1.1Mt/yr Davenport cement plant in Iowa and seven terminals along the Mississippi River. The units will be sold to Summit Materials for US$450m in cash plus Summit's Bettendorf, Iowa cement terminal;
- Holcim terminals in Michigan and Illinois;
- Holcim Skyway 600,000t/yr slag grinding station in Illinois;
- Holcim Camden 700,000t/yr slag grinding station in New Jersey, along with a terminal in Massachusetts.
The proposed divestments have been negotiated with the staff of the Federal Trade Commission and remain subject to review and approval by the commission. The divestments will be completed subject to acceptance by the commission and to the closing of the merger between Holcim and Lafarge.