Germany: Aucotec is building a new head office near its current site in Hanover. The new 3700m² office has an investment of nearly Euro12m and is planned for opening in February 2020. However, it is located outside the state capital in neighbouring Isernhagen. The decision to expand the head office follows continued growth at the company and its subsidiaries in Europe, Asia and the US.

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim’s net sales rose by 2.7% year-on-year to Euro18.bn in the first nine months of 2018 from Euro17.7bn in the same period in 2017. Sales volumes of cement rose by 1% to 165Mt from 164Mt. Its recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 0.1% to Euro3.83bn.

“Despite headwinds from steep cost inflation, we delivered stronger net sales and our earnings grew even faster. I am very satisfied with our growth in volumes, our solid pricing and the impact of our cost and efficiency programs,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Jan Jenisch.

By region the group reported net sales and cement sales volume increases in most regions with particular growth in Europe and North America. However, cement sales volumes fell in Asia Pacific and net sales fell in Latin America. Net sales also fell particularly, by 9.2% to Euro2.03bn, in Middle East Africa.

Mexico: Sales growth in the US and Mexico has contributed to a strong third quarter for Cemex in 2018. Overall, its net sales rose by 7% year-on-year to US$10.9bn in the first nine months of 2017 from US$10.2bn in the same period in 2017. Cement sales volumes rose by 3% to 52.7Mt from 51.1Mt. However, despite the sales growth, operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) remained flat at US$1.96bn.

“These results were underpinned by healthy volume and pricing dynamics in our three core products in most of our portfolio. We are pleased with our operations in Mexico and the US, with strong growth in year-over-year volumes for our three core products and improved prices. In our Europe region, prices continued to improve with growth in ready-mix and aggregates volumes. In addition, in our Asia, Middle East and Africa region, we saw volumes and prices in the Philippines rising in the mid-single digits as well as a double-digit increase in cement prices in Egypt,” said Fernando A Gonzalez, chief executive officer (CEO) of Cemex.

Despite the strong markets in North America the building materials company reported a 3% drop in net sales in its South, Central America and Caribbean business area. A particular poor result was noted in Colombia. However, cement sales volumes picked up year-on-year in the third quarter of 2018 following elections.

Thailand: SCG’s building materials division growth has been driven by government spending. The cement producer said that demand for Ordinary Portland Cement grew by 7% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2018. Its revenue from sales grew by 4% year-on-year to US$4.14bn in the first nine months of 2018. However, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 5% to US$481m.

India: HeidelbergCement India’s half-year results have benefitted from improved markets in building materials in central India including Uttar Pradesh. Its sales volumes of cement rose by 10.5% year-on-year to 2.39Mt in the six months to the end of September 2018 from 2.17Mt in the same period in 2017. Its revenue rose by 19.4% to US$138m from US$116m. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 47% to US$32.1m from US$21.9m.

The subsidiary of Germany’s HeidelbergCement said that although fuel prices rose in the latest quarter this was offset by a waste heat recovery system. The company operates two integrated plants and one grinding plant with a cement production capacity of 5.4Mt/yr.

Nepal: Germany’s Gebr. Pfeiffer has received an order via KHD to supply an MPS 225 BK vertical mill to grind coal for Samrat Cement. The cement company is building a new integrated production line at a plant in the Dang region.

The mill, with a drive power of 370kW, will grind 35t/hr of coal to a product fineness of 15% R 90µm. At the same time, the coal, which may have a feed moisture of up to 10%, is dried in the mill. An SLS 1800 BK integrated classifier will separate the ground coal into fine product and coarse product, with the latter being returned to the grinding zone to be again. The classifier will also allow petroleum coke to be separated to fineness degrees of <1% R 90µm.

The order was received via Gebr. Pfeiffer’s subsidiary in India. It will supply the main equipment for the mill and associated equipment for the grinding plant.

Russia: Germany’s Aumund has held a technical seminar to mark the opening of its new office in St Petersburg. Previously, the conveying and bulk storage company operated an office in Moscow but it decided to relocate to be nearer to Russian design institutes and engineering companies based in St Petersburg. The official opening of the site was held in late August 2018.

As ever, there have been plenty of news stories from Pakistan recently covering the on-going fallout of the water shortage at the Katas Raj Temples in Chakwal, Punjab and an update on new production line at Maple Leaf Cement’s Iskanderabad plant. The two stories present two sides to the furious pace of the local industry and the potential price this growth might entail.

Graph 1: Cement despatches in Pakistan, 2012 - 2017. Source: All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association.

Graph 1 above sets the scene with an industry that has seen total despatches grow by nearly 30% to 42.8Mt in 2017 from 33.1Mt in 2012. About four-fifths of this is based in the north of the county. The big sub-story alongside this is that exports have fallen by half to 4.2Mt in 2017 from a high of 8.3Mt in 2013. The cause of this appears to be a decline in the Afghan market and a similar drop in waterborne clinker exports. Given the higher proportion of exports to the southern market this change has likely hit the industry in south harder despite overall depatches there rising. So far in 2018 similar trends are holding, except for exports, where the clinker export market has rallied significantly in the south.

The background to all this growth domestically is Chinese investment in the form of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). CPEC-related project include integrated road infrastructure, the modernisation of railways and the development of the city of Gwadar and its related infrastructure. In addition the local Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) is also having an effect and demographic pressures, such as a housing shortage, are also expected to support the construction market.

Data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) placed cement production capacity at 54Mt/yr in September 2018 compared to 66Mt/yr in the Global Cement Directory 2018, which includes new capacity being built. This compares to around 10Mt/yr in the 1995 local financial year to an estimated 73Mt/yr by the State Bank of Pakistan in its third quarter report for 2017 - 2018. This rapid growth can be seen in recent stories such as the Iskanderabad plant expansion, Flying Cement’s mill order from Loesche, Kohat Cement’s mill order also from Loesche, a new solar plant at Fauji Cement at its Attock plant and the commissioning of DG Khan’s new plant at Hub. These stories are all from the last three months! The State Bank of Pakistan estimated that 11 producers hare now investing US$2.12bn on capacity expansions to add over 23Mt/yr by the end of the 2021 financial year.

One potential price for all of this growth is currently being illustrated in the ongoing legal wrangles about the use of water by cement plants near the Katas Raj Temples. What started as an investigation into why water levels were dropping at a pond at a Hindu heritage site seems to have transformed into a full scale inquiry into alleged corruption by local government around the setting up of cement plants. A report by the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment Lahore to the Supreme Court has found irregularities committed by government departments in connection to the setting up of cement plants by DG Khan and Bestway Cement in Chakwal. It seems unlikely at this stage that this inquiry will cause too much trouble for the local cement industry but it will certainly make it more complicated and potentially more expensive to st up new plants in the future.

Read Global Cement’s plant report from the DG Khan’s Khairpur cement plant in Chakwal

Australia: Nick Miller has been appointed as the next chief executive officer (CEO) of Adelaide Brighton following the scheduled retirement of Martin Brydon. Miller will start the role no later than 17 April 2019, following a transition period.

Miller is currently managing director and CEO of Broadspectrum, part of the Ferrovial Group that designs, funds, constructs, operates and maintains major projects and infrastructure assets. At Broadspectrum he has overseen a workforce of more than 14,500 people in Australia and New Zealand.

Prior to joining Broadspectrum, Miller was managing director at Fulton Hogan from 2010 to 2017, a construction materials, infrastructure services and civil construction company operating across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. His 25 years of experience includes five years as CEO of Fulton Hogan’s Australian business, and CEO of Isaac Construction in Christchurch.

Miller has a Bachelors in Engineering, is a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand, and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a past director of the Australian Constructors Association (ACA), Orion New Zealand, Quake Core, Rangi Ruru Girls School, Roading New Zealand, Roads Australia and the NZ Council for Infrastructure Development (NZCID).

Republic of Congo: The Congolese Ministry of Industry says that it is ready to inaugurate the Diamond cement plant. The new plant is located in the district of Mindouli, about 200km south of Brazzaville, according to Agence de Presse Africaine. The 0.1Mt/yr unit started production in early 2018 at a cost of around US$100m. The project had previously been delayed by four years due to local security issues. The plant will be the fifth cement plant in the country and will bring local cement production capacity to over 3.0Mt/yr.