Australia: Adbri has appointed Samantha Hogg as its deputy chair and Lead Independent Director. She will take up her new post following the resignation of Vanessa Guthrie at the end of February 2023.

Hogg holds over 25 years’ experience across the transport, infrastructure, energy and resources sectors. She was previously the chief financial officer at Transurban Group. She has also served as chair or committee chair in both the public and private sectors, with a focus on the infrastructure and renewable energy sectors. More recently, she was a member of the Australian National Covid-19 Commission Advisory Panel and the Tasmanian equivalent, focusing on the social and economic recovery from the pandemic. Hogg joined the board of Adbri in early 2022.

Pakistan: Lucky Cement has appointed Muhammad Sohail Tabba as its chair. It has also appointed Shabbir Hamza Khandwala as a director. Both appointments follow the death of former chair Muhammed Yunus Tabba in early January 2023.

Saudi Arabia: Tabuk Cement has appointed Yazid bin Khalid Al-Shathri as the chair of its board of directors. Other staff assignments include the appointment of Tariq bin Khalid Al-Anqari as vice-chair of the board and Amal Bint Hussein Redaa as secretary to the board. The company held an election in late December 2022 to appoint its board of directors from late January 2023 to January 2026.

Mexico: GCC recorded full-year sales of US$1.17bn in 2022, up by 13% year-on-year from US$1.04bn in 2021. The producer’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose, by 7.4% year-on-year to US$363m from US$338m.

The producer increased its cement sales volumes by 2.9% in the US, while its cement volumes dropped by 2.9% in Mexico. Prices rose across both regions, by 12% and 13% respectively. An increased cost of production and increased freight and maintenance costs partly offset the rise.

GCC chief executive officer Enrique Escalante said “GCC’s focus on operational excellence enabled us to deliver strong results in an unprecedented market environment. We continue to anticipate challenges, mitigating their potential effects while also capitalising on important opportunities. Our team will continue to adapt to the evolving operating dynamics in the year ahead, as these will present further occasions for us to again leverage our exceptional competitive advantages.”

Oman: Aditya Birla Group subsidiary UltraTech Cement signed an agreement with Seven Seas Company to acquire a 70% majority stake in Duqm Cement on 30 January 2023. ET Now News has reported that UltraTech Cement’s UAE-based subsidiary Cement Middle East Investments concluded the deal in the form of a share sale and purchase agreement. the parties expect to complete the transaction in late April 2023.

Nigeria: China based Sinoma International Engineering has signed a US$585m contract to build an integrated cement plant at Itori in Ogun state. The plant will have two 6000t/day clinker production lines covering limestone crushing to cement packaging and shipping. The contract becomes effective once Sinoma International Engineering receives a geological survey, payment and performance guarantees and a 12% advance payment. Clinker production is scheduled for two years after the contract starts with final commissioning expected a few months later.

Dangote Cement’s Itori Cement subsidiary was established in 2016 at the same time work started on building the 6Mt/yr Okpella plant in Edo state. The Okpella plant started producing cement in 2021.

Iran: The Iranian Cement Industry Employers Association (CIEA) has warned that 50 cement plants are ‘on the verge of closure’ in early 2023. Asia News has reported that plants’ electricity supply has dropped by 50%, while their gas supply has dropped by 80%. Low winter temperatures have diverted the utilities supplies towards heating homes. Cement producers outside of urban areas are licensed to use fuel oil to power their operations. This would increase their costs, however, due to high transport fees.

Qatar: Qatar National Cement Company (QNCC) recorded full-year sales of US$195m in 2022, down by 14% year-on-year from US$226m in 2021. The producer recorded a net profit for the year of US$62.4m, up by 1.2% from US$61.7m.

US: Cemex has ordered a type 10 000 S mobile ship unloader from Sweden-based Bruks Siwertell for use at Belle Chasse in Louisiana. The ship unloader was delivered towards the end of 2022, has a continuous rated cement handling capacity of 300t/hr and can discharge vessels up to 10,000dwt.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement has started using electricity generated from biomass to power its head office in the Shiodome Sumitomo Building in Tokyo. The electricity is generated at the company’s company's Tochigi biomass power plant in Sano and then fed into the general grid. The cement producer and the country are using a feed-in-tariff (FIT) non-fossil energy certificate system to track the use of electricity generated from non-fossil fuel generated sources.