Ireland/UK: Quinn Cement has expanded its fleet of trucks with 14 Mercedes mountain lorries. The lorries were delivered between July 2017 and May 2018. All 14 vehicles are now in use in Quinn’s Doon and Swanlinbar quarries, transporting rock to the Quinn Cement plant at Derrylin.

The receipt of the new lorries marks the latest phase of an on-going fleet replenishment programme. The new mountain lorries are more efficient than the vehicles they have replaced as they carry a bigger payload. All these trucks are rated to work at 50t gross weight giving them a payload of around 33t, depending on the body. Ten of the new lorries’ bodies were manufactured, fitted and painted by C-Tec Engineering of Magherafelt, Northern Ireland. The final four lorries which have recently arrived on site, have a body that was manufactured in Italy by Drago and transported in kit form to Ireland to be assembled, painted and fitted by Gleeson Steel & Engineering in Tipperary.

Earlier this year South Africa’s PPC commented on the drought facing Cape Town. It said that cement manufacturing was not water intensive, that its operations were ‘totally’ self-sufficient from its own surface water sources with capacity for several months and that it was working with the local government which viewed construction as an important economic sector. Point made!

Water conservation is an established part of the sustainability toolkit for cement producers. Yet recent weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere may also test how well companies are doing. Above average temperatures have been recorded this summer, in some places accompanied by unusually dry conditions. A news story this week about Cemex Colombia being fined for using water from a river shows one aspect of the problems that can face industrial users. Another story that we’ve covered previously has been the legal action taken against producers using water from a site near to the Katas Raj Temples in Pakistan.

Wet process cement manufacturing uses more water than dry process but even modern plants use water for cooling equipment and exhaust gases, in emission control systems such as wet scrubbers. In addition, quarrying and aggregate production may require water, and concrete production also needs water. Issues also arise with quarry dewatering and discharging water into rivers and the like. Global Cement Directory 2018 data indicates that, where known, about 10% of integrated cement plants still use a wet production method.

Graph 1: Specific water consumption by selected cement producers in 2017. Source: Corporate sustainability reports.

As Graph 1 shows there is some variation between the major cement producers with regards to how much water they use. They all operate with different types of equipment and production methods in different geographical locations so the difference between the companies is to be expected. A cement plant in northern Europe that normally experiences high levels of rainfall will have a different approach to water conservation than one, say, in a water stressed area like the Middle East. Incidentally, the definition used to define a water-stressed or scarce area is one where there is less than 1000m³/yr per person. One other point to note here is that each of the companies has a higher consumption figure than the 100 – 200L/t that the Cement Manufacturers' Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) reckoned that an average dry-process cement plant used when it was promoting water conservation back in 2013.

Looking at specific recent success stories, India’s UltraTech Cement reported a specific water consumption of 54L/t of clinker at its Star Cement plant in Dubai, UAE in 2016 – 2017 following a dedicated initiative at the site. An another milestone that UltraTech Cement was keen to point out in its last sustainability report was that three of 13 integrated plants had achieved water sufficiency though the use of the company’s 360° Water Management Model with its use of rainwater harvesting and recharging groundwater. These plants are not dependent on any groundwater or fresh water sources. The other larger cement producers all have similar water management schemes with reduction targets in place.

Climate change models generally predict hotter and wetter weather but changing weather patterns and growing populations are likely to impact upon water management and consumption. Given the integral nature of water in the cement production process, many cement producers have realised the importance of it and treat it as an input material like fuel or limestone. Hence the highlighting of water conservation in company sustainability reports over the last decade. The test for the success of these initiatives will be how producers cope in drought situations where they may be seen as being in competition with domestic users. Thankfully in PPC’s case, Cape Town avoided having to ration water to the general public, as the rains returned in the spring.

US: Cementos Argos has appointed Bill Wagner as the vice president of its US operations. Wagner, a US national, is a graduate of Georgia Southern University. He holds over 35 years of industry experience and is on the board of directors of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. He joined Cementos Argos in 2014 and worked as the head of its US concrete business.

Thailand: Siam Cement Group has appointed Thammasak Sethaudom as its Vice President-Finance & Investment. He succeeds Chaovalit Ekabut. The appointment will take affect from 1 September 2018.

US: Ametek Brookfield has appointed Hitesh Shah as Global Vice President Sales. He holds over 25 years’ experience in sales and executive positions in North America, India, the Middle East and Asia. He has worked for General Electric, Meggitt Sensing Systems and most recently served as Global Sales Director with Novanta. Hitesh has a graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering. He also served on the engineering faculty at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in India.

Thailand: Siam Cement Group’s sales revenue from its cement business rose by 4% year-on-year to US$2.74bn in the first half of 2018. Its profit grew by 8% to US$125m and its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 4% to US$355m. The cement producer said that the country’s demand for Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) rose by 2% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2018 due to an increase in demand from the public sector. Overall the company’s sales revenue grew in the first half of 2018 but its profit and earnings fell due to currency variations and increasing cost of input chemicals.

Vietnam: The Ministry of Construction has opposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s proposal to transfer the Quang Son cement plant from Vietnam Industrial Construction Corporation (Vinaincon) to Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) on the grounds of the plant’s losses and debts. Both Vinaincon and Vicem are government owned, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper.

Luong Quang Khai, chairman of Vicem’s board of members, said that the Quang Son cement plant is located in a poor position for transport logistics, which has led to high production costs. The plant has also suffered from losses while its loans have grown to equal 95% of the plant’s total investment. Khai also noted that the potential new owner Vicem has undergone financial difficulties following its acquisition of the Ha Long and Song Thao cement plants.

Previously, the Ministry of Industry and Trade suggested that the government transfer the Quang Son cement plant to Vicem from Vinaincon. Under the proposal, Vicem would back the loans taken out by Vinaincon for the Quang Son cement plant. Formerly known as the Thai Nguyen cement plant, Quang Son started commercial operation in July 2011 with a cement production capacity of 1.5Mt/yr.

Mexico: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua’s (GCC) net sales rose by 11.4% year-on-year to US$399m in the first half of 2018 from US$358m in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 22% to US$115m from US$94.2m.

Its US sales rose by 11.1% to US$283m and its Mexican sales rose by 7% to US$60m. Cement sales volumes increased by 6.1% and 2.5% in the US and Mexico respectively. However, the cement producer reported falling sales volumes in the second quarter of 2018 in the US due to poor weather in Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota and delays in paving projects.

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa is considering raising up to US$248m in a share sale. The sale will take place in the fourth quarter of 2018 said chief financial officer Bruno Bayet whilst reporting the company’s half-year results, according to Bloomberg. Its sales rose by 5% year-on-year to US$448m in the first half of 2018 from US$427m in the same period in 2017. However, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 25% to US$76.4m from US$102m. The subsidiary of Switzerland’s LafargeHolcim blamed its falling earnings on poor performance in South Africa.

India: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has dismissed an appeal by cement producers against a US$975m fine for alleged cartel-like behaviour. The Competition Commission of India penalised 11 cement companies in August 2016, according to the Press Trust of India. The companies included UltraTech Cement, ACC, Ambuja, Ramco and JK Cement and the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA). UltraTech Cement has been fined US$171m, the highest amount in the group.