Displaying items by tag: agreement

Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has secured a contract with Denmark-based COBOD to provide Thai distribution services for the company’s COBOD 3D construction printers. SCG says that it will help the supplier to launch a construction sector transformation. It says that it chose COBOD’s printer as the option with the most in-market experience.

SCG International managing director Abhijit Datta said “3D construction printers have been widely used in many parts of the world with excellent results. The technology helps reduce waste and increase construction times with foolproof simulation and minimal numbers of labourers.” He continued “Together with COBOD, we will improve Thailand’s construction market with the future expectation of extending cooperation in the ASEAN. With our regional expertise and domestic solid business alliance relationship, we are ready to assist our partner in achieving long-term success.”

US: Argos USA has agreed to sell a total of 23 US ready-mix concrete batching plants to Smyrna Ready Mix Concrete for US$93m. 18of the plants are situated in North Carolina and the remainder in Southwest Florida. The El Colombiano newspaper has reported that the deal includes a five-year cement supply agreement for all 23 plants. Cementos Argos said that the divestment is part of its plan to divest assets in suburban markets or that are not already integrated into its production and logistics chain.

Tanzania: Dangote Cement has signed an agreement with the Tanzanian Ports Authority whereby it will ship cement from its Mtwara cement plant and raw materials for its Tanzanian operations via the Port of Mtwara. Ecofin Agency News has reported that the company previously used the road network for both materials. This had a negative impact on local roads and prevented it from exporting the Mtwara cement plant’s cement overseas.

Trinidad & Tobago: Current and former employees of Trinidad Cement have held two-day weekly protests since 10 January 2022 outside the company’s Claxton Bay plant in Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo Region. Staff from the past 10 years reportedly say that the company owes them their agreed cost of living allowance, gain shares and backpay.

China: Jiangxi Wannianqing Cement and the administration of Qingyuan District in Jiangxi Province have signed a strategic framework cooperative agreement. Reuters has reported that the agreement sets out ways in which the partners can advance green building materials use in public procurement, in line with the Jiangxi provincial government’s District Revitalisation and Development plant.

China: China National Building Material subsidiary Nanjing Kisen has signed a long-term collaboration agreement with France-based Schneider Electric. The partners plan to develop models for increasing operational efficiency, digitisation and sustainability. Alliance News has reported that they will establish a series of joint pilot projects. They plan subsequently to explore plant engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) opportunities outside of China together.

Switzerland/France: Holcim is collaborating with Engie and and the French National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) Lyon to develop a cement-based energy storage technology to serve as an alternative to batteries. The solution will use cement hydration to store heat as energy and release it when needed in an infinitely repeatable cycle. The partners say that it will make energy storage local, safe, affordable and recyclable.

Holcim’s head of global innovation Edelio Bermejo said "The world needs innovative solutions to accelerate our shift towards renewable energy generation, distribution and storage – all areas in which Holcim can play a big part. With this collaboration, we are moving energy storage forward, opening up a new range of solutions based on materials that are local and recyclable."

Italy: Holcim has signed a collaboration agreement with energy company Eni for the development of ENI’s magnesium silicate-based carbon utilisation technology. The reaction of the magnesium silicate with captured CO₂ emissions yields a product which Holcim hopes to use in its cement production.

Holcim Innovation Center head Edelio Bermejo said “Reaching net zero in cement manufacturing will require the deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and storage technologies at scale. ENI’s solution is very promising, and we are happy to explore its potential as it could take us all one step further on our decarbonisation journey.”

Australia: First Graphene has started a five year collaboration research and development agreement with construction chemicals manufacturer Fosroc International to develop its PureGraph graphene-based cement additive product range. First Graphene will provide access to its formulation and dispersion process technologies and Fosroc will take responsibility for additive raw material supplies and formulations, mixing and dispersion and extensive laboratory trials. The objective of the deal is to jointly develop a range of PureGraph-enhanced cement additives that Fosroc will add to its portfolio of specialty products.

Michael Bell, the managing director and chief executive officer of First Graphene, said, “The agreement with Fosroc is a significant further step for First Graphene as we implement our go-to-market plan to become the world’s leading supplier of graphene-enhanced cement and concrete solutions. Fosroc has significant penetration into multiple global markets that will be highly beneficial in helping expand our reach and educating the market on the significant benefits, including emission reductions, that graphene-enhanced products provide.”

First Graphene says that the clinker factor of cement can be reduced by up to 20% through the use of its PureGraph additive products during the final grinding phase of cement production.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement has secured an agreement with Hyogo Prefecture for the future reception and processing of the prefecture’s waste from disasters such as earthquakes. The company says that the agreement will facilitate the rapid reception of such materials and to best support clean-up efforts.

President Hironori Morohashi said “We will continue to strengthen our cooperative relationship with Hyogo Prefecture and work to form a sustainable society and develop and improve the region.”