Spain: The Spanish cement association (Oficemen) has elected Alan Svaiter as its president. He will take charge of various cross-sectoral initiatives aimed at helping the local cement industry to meet present and future challenges. These include recovering its higher activity levels and advancing its net zero strategy. He succeeds Cemex’s director general of strategic planning, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, José Manuel Cascajero, in the role.

Svaiter has held the position of chief executive officer (CEO) of Votorantim Cimentos España since January 2018. Prior to that, he worked in Brazil as Votorantim Cimentos’ supply chain director from 2014 and the CEO of its ready-mix concrete subsidiary Engemix from 2010. Earlier, he held management roles at logistics groups VarigLog and Vale.

Finland: Finnsementti has appointed Tommy Ranta as its Operations & Commercial Director.

Ranta has been employed by CRH and its subsidiaries since 2007. He originally started working for Finnsementti in 2007 as an Operating Engineer. He later worked for Jura Cement in Switzerland and then returned to Finnsementti from 2012 in a variety roles, including plant manager of the Parainen cement plant, before eventually becoming the company’s Production Director. He holds an undergraduate degree in economics and a master’s degree in science, economics and business adminsitrtion from Åbo Akademi University in Turku.

Zimbabwe: Khayah Cement has appointed Arnold Zivanayi Chikazhe as its Company Secretary and Legal Advisor. He has acted as the company secretary of the company since May 2022, according to the Sunday News newspaper.

Chikazhe is a registered legal practitioner with over 15 years experience in various sectors, including retail, energy, mining, manufacturing, insurance, construction, health, public and non-governmental organisations both in Zimbabwe and the US. He holds legal qualifications from the University of Texas and the University of South Africa.

US: Fortera has appointed Kas Farsad as its Chief Strategy Officer.

Farsad was the lead inventor of Fortera’s reactive calcium carbonate cement when he worked as the R&D Manager for Calera Corporation in the late 2000s. He worked for PAX Scientific in the 2010s amongst other roles before returning to the renamed Fortera in 2019 as Director, Strategic Development.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from University of Michigan Ann Arbor, a master’s degree in Materials Science from San Jose State University and a master of business administration (MBA) from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.

Argentina: Holcim Argentina has awarded a contract to 360Energy to supply 30,000MWh/yr of electricity from its solar power plants. La Voz del Interior newspaper has reported that 360Energy will supply the energy from its 200MW network via the Renewable Energy Term Market (MATER). This will cover 75% of Holcim Argentina’s power consumption, corresponding to the production of 2.7Mt of cement. This will eliminate 68,600t/yr of CO₂.

Holcim Argentina chief executive officer Christian Dedeu said “I am very happy because we are taking a new step in our commitment to zero emissions in Holcim's operations, and we will continue working every day to build progress for people and the planet.”

India: Shree Cement is reportedly planning to raise US$84.4m through the sale of bonds. Reuters has reported that the bonds will mature in five years from their date of issue.

US: Terra CO₂ plans to build its first commercial-scale supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) plant in Texas. The plant will have a production capacity of 240,000t/yr. Asher Materials secured an exclusive market license to operate the plant. Terra CO₂’s SCM can replace up to 40% of cement content in concrete. Asher Materials will produce the materials from silicate rock from existing local aggregates operations.

Terra CO₂ chief science officer DJ Lake said "From start to finish, we've designed a system to create large-scale impact in the real world. Our game-changing production process converts affordable, abundant and local raw materials to cementitious material that meets rigorous performance standards.” Lake continued “True sustainability will come from deep innovations in materials and technology and not from incremental improvements to the existing cement supply chain."

Nigeria: Dangote Cement plans to raise its alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate across its Nigerian operations to 25%. The Punch newspaper has reported that the producer consumed 34,800t of AF during the first half of 2023.

Obajana cement plant head of sustainability Eseosa Ighile said “We are working towards installing AF feeding systems in all our operation lines by 2024.”

Belarus: Belarusian Cement Plant produced 940,000t of cement during the first half of 2023. The figure corresponds to a year-on-year rise of 3.1%. The Respublika newspaper has reported that the company more than doubled its exports of cement to 719,000t – 76% of its production. Russia was the main destination for the producer’s cement exports. Belarusian Cement Plant recorded a capacity utilisation rate of 94% throughout the six-month period.

US: Holcim US has rebranded its businesses in Boston, Massachusetts, to unite them under the Holcim name. Resources News has reported that Lafarge Cement, which operates the Charlestown cement terminal, as well as building materials producer Aggregate Industries, will rebrand as Holcim US.

Holcim US’ Northeast and Great Lakes regional senior vice president and general manager Domenico D'Aqui said "With the integration of local legacy operations into Holcim, the Boston area will see expanded benefits of construction projects made from innovative materials, such as ECOPact reduced-CO₂ concrete, that not only build needed infrastructure but also meet ambitious sustainability targets."