Displaying items by tag: impact

UK: Holcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries has invested in a new monitoring system from Envirosuite for its Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire. Called EVS Omnis, the cloud-based environmental management software will collate complex environmental information from surrounding sites outside the plant to facilitate proactive monitoring and management of its impacts. The producer expects to commission the system later in 2022.

Sustainability director Kirstin McCarthy said “Understanding the environment we operate in and the impact we’re having is integral to our business strategy and our commitment to building progress towards a more sustainable construction industry. We know that noise and dust can have an impact on surrounding communities, which is why we’re extremely proud to become the first cement plant in the world to commit to using a complete monitoring solution. EVS Omnis will allow us to continuously monitor at key community locations, 365 days a year. This will help us to not only better understand our operations within the local community but also give us insights into our processes to proactively manage them.”

Denmark: FLSmidth has announced the reinstatement of its 2020 guidance. The guidance predicts full-year sales of Euro2.28bn, down by 18% year-on-year from Euro2.77bn. Earnings before taxation, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin is expected to decline to 6.0% from 8.1%. The company said that the guidance is “subject to higher uncertainty than usual” and conditional upon “no further escalation of Covid-19, no further extensive lockdowns or travel restrictions occurring before year-end, a gradual improvement in business sentiment for the remainder of 2020, and business improvement implementation of around Euro28.2m, of which Euro18.8m relate to the previously communicated improvement activities and around Euro9.40m relate to further improvement activities in cement.” It added, “The cement industry has been severely impacted, and the timing and extent of a rebound remain uncertain. Our goal for the cement business is to generate more stable, higher-margin earnings.”

Colombia/Panama: Mexico-based Cemex has announced the suspension of production at all of its plants in Panama and those of its Colombian subsidiary Cemex Latam Holdings from 25 March 2020. It said it ‘may resume certain activities on or before 13 April 2020,’ according to Noticias Financieras News. The NAFTA 2.0 newspaper has included Cemex on a list of Mexico’s companies most exposed due to a large European presence to the impacts of the coronavirus there. Europe is the second-largest market for Cemex’s products, generating 24% of its revenue in 2019.