Displaying items by tag: grinding plant

Adani Group’s latest target for acquisition in the cement sector was revealed this week to be Heidelberg Materials’ India-based business. The Economic Times newspaper reported that talks have started between the companies with a tentative value of US$1.2bn. As might be expected, Adani Group is said to be keen to close the deal down quickly. It wants to avoid an auction situation where it might face competitors. However, there may be some disagreement about the actual production capacity of Heidelberg Materials’ companies in India. If a deal were finalised, it might be completed by early 2027.

Heidelberg Materials’ capacity in India was listed as 14Mt/yr by the press but this could include the company’s grinding plants as well as its integrated ones. Heidelberg Materials, itself, says it has a capacity of 12.1Mt/yr from three integrated cement plants, four grinding plants and a terminal across 12 states. Data from the Global Cement Directory 2024 suggests that this refers to the group’s integrated cement capacity. The plants are roughly split equally between subsidiaries Heidelberg Materials India and Zuari Cement. Heidelberg Materials entered the Indian market in 2006 when it acquired Mysore Cement, Cochin Cement and established a joint-venture with Indorama Cement. It later added Zuari Cement to its portfolio when it bought Italcementi in 2016. The group used to run four integrated plants in India until in May 2024, when it shut down clinker production at its Ammasandra plant in Karnataka, although grinding activity has continued at the site.

Back in 2021 Heidelberg Materials’ CEO Dominik von Achten said that the group had considered selling anything following a business review. "There are no sacred cows. Everything was on the table." Indonesia was generally perceived by analysts as a likely sale target in the developing markets but nothing happened in the end. India wasn’t mentioned at this time, although no doubt it was being considered. Yet Holcim divested its businesses there in 2022. These were picked up by Adani Group for US$6.4bn. This, in turn, kicked off the rivalry in the Indian cement sector between market leader UltraTech Cement and Adani Group. Both companies are now in a race to build production capacity through expansion, new plants and acquisitions.

One reason why Heidelberg Materials may have decided now in particular to talk to Adani Group can be seen in its recent financial reports. In 2023 it said that its “cement and clinker deliveries increased moderately, as massive excess capacities persist in our core markets.” It then followed this up in 2024 by noting that deliveries were slightly down year-on-year in the first half of the year. It blamed this on excess capacity in South India. The subsidiary reported a net loss of €6.3m in 2023. An article by Holtec Consulting in the October 2023 issue of Global Cement Magazine implied that capacity utilisation was 56% in 2023, the lowest of the country’s regions. This is a particular problem for the company given that Zuari Cement is based in the south.

Funnily enough, a sale of 12.1Mt/yr capacity for US$1.2bn suggests a price of US$99/t, a similar figure to what Adani Group paid to buy Holcim’s assets in India in 2022. This may explain why Adani Group is trying to avoid an open sale for the Heidelberg Materials assets. Then again, maybe the market in southern India really is suffering. By comparison, when Adani Group concluded a deal to buy Penna Cements in August 2024 it paid US$1.2bn for an integrated capacity of about 7Mt/yr or around US$170/t. Factor in the low capacity utilisation rate in south India and this potential Adani-Heidelberg Materials deal ends up at roughly the same price.

Something that may help Adani Group reach its goal might be a formal merger between its two main cement companies, Ambuja Cements and ACC. The Mint newspaper reported on it this week, saying that Jefferies and Axis Capital has been hired as an advisor. This certainly makes sense in synergy savings but moving all the mining and leasing rights around might prove cumbersome. Regardless, Adani Group is on an expansion drive, with a capacity of 140Mt/yr targeted by 2028. All the smaller cement companies in the country are potentially targets.

India: Orient Cement has won an order from Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Co to install a clinker grinding unit at Satpura Thermal Power Station, Sarni. The ‘work order’ was issued by the company to install the grinding unit, along with a 25-year fly ash supply contract. Earlier in August 2024, Orient Cement said that it anticipates a robust demand recovery in the second half of the financial year post-monsoon.

Zimbabwe: Bulawayo City Council has granted approval for China-based Labenmon Investments to establish a grinding plant, expected to employ over 500 people, at Umvumila Industrial Park. Once operational, the facility will produce 900,000t/yr of cement, and plans to export to regional markets including Zambia, Botswana, and Mozambique. The grinding plant was previously planned for Cowdray Park, also in Bulawayo, but the application was rejected in July 2024.

The council report reads “The establishment of a cement mixing plant is expected to benefit Bulawayo Metropolitan Province and other provinces in many ways, such as increased supply of cement, employment for more than 500 local people, increased export earnings for the province, enhanced technology and better equipment for the domestic cement industry in Zimbabwe.”  

Bangladesh: Confidence Cement is building a new 1.8Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Narsingdi. The project has an investment of US$68m, according to the Daily Star newspaper. Germany-based Loesche is reportedly supplying equipment for the unit, which is scheduled to start operation in early 2025. Around two-thirds of the project cost is being supplied by loans with the rest coming from company equity.

Confidence Cement currently operates a 1.2Mt/yr grinding plant near Chattogram.

Brazil: China-based Sinoma Overseas has signed an engineering and supply contract for the Z02 cement grinding plant and a technical cooperation framework agreement with Votorantim Cimentos. The agreements were signed by Sinoma chair Zhu Linhe and Votorantim’s global projects director Alvaro Lorenz. This collaboration marks the third cement grinding plant project between the two companies and is part of Votorantim's ‘2028 Development Strategy.’ The contract encompasses the design, equipment supply, and technical services for a 150t/hr cement grinding plant.

Zhu Linhe said "Votorantim is the most valuable client for Sinoma Overseas, this contract and agreement strengthens the strategic partnership between the two companies. It is the strong commitment of Sinoma Overseas to support Votorantim in achieving its '2028 Development Strategy' with Sinoma’s extensive industry expertise, advanced technology and mature localised operations.”

France: Eqiom has awarded Fives FCB a contract to upgrade its cement grinding plant at Héming. The project involves integrating an FCB TSV 4000 TSF Classifier and an FCB TGT Filter with the existing milling circuit at the unit operating by the subsidiary of Ireland-based CRH. The upgrade is intended to reduce the plant’s clinker factor, improve the quality of the cements produced, offer the option of manufacturing cements with higher fineness and reduce energy consumption. The new equipment is expected to be tied-in during the plant’s annual mill shutdown in 2025, with commissioning to follow.

Colombia: Cemex Colombia has reported that 90% of the water used at its Santa Rosa grinding plant in 2024 to date came from non-fresh water sources, including rainwater harvesting and water recycling systems. Additionally, the plant operates with zero water discharges. UK-based Environmental Resources Management (ERM) supported the development of the current water management protocol for the plant.

India: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone has opened a 2Mt/yr grinding plant in Guna, Madhya Pradesh, Mint News has reported. Together with a neighbouring firearms plant, the Adani Group subsidiary invested US$417m in the project.

India: JSW Cement plans to more than double its cement grinding capacity from 20.6Mt/yr to nearly 41Mt/yr. The expansion involves six new greenfield units in Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra, and a brownfield unit in Vijayanagar; Karnataka, adding 20.25Mt/yr. The company also aims to increase its clinker production capacity from 6.44Mt/yr to 13.04Mt/yr. The new facilities in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh will each contribute 3.3Mt/yr to this expansion. In its offer document, JSW Cement stated that it sees potential in ‘green’ cement products like ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and plans to expand its presence in northern and central India.

Austria: Alpacem will invest €50m to modernise its Wietersdorf plant, including a new cement grinding plant, reportedly capable of saving up to 21,000t/yr of CO₂ and reducing electricity consumption, according to the Kronen Zeitung. The plant is scheduled for completion and commissioning in 2027. In the future, a new cement silo plant will also be built in the Görtschitztal valley, directly connected to the railroad.

Florian Salzer, technical director at Alpacem Zement Austria said "With this new project, we are investing in a sustainable future and laying the foundations for energy-efficient and environmentally conscious cement grinding."

Managing director Lutz Weber added "Alpacem has a clear goal: CO₂-neutral production by 2035. To achieve this ambitious goal, we need a package of measures and a concrete path."