Greece: Titan Cement has appointed Marcel Cobuz as the chair of its executive committee. He will succeed Dimitri Papalexopoulos in the post from 15 October 2022. Papalexopoulos, in turn, will become the chair of the board of directors, succeeding Efstratios-Georgios Arapoglou.

Cobuz, a French and Romanian national, has worked for Holcim and its associated companies for over 20 years. He joined Lafarge Group in 2000 and has held various leadership roles in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He later became the Europe Region Head for LafargeHolcim from 2018 to 2021. Prior to his time at Lafarge, Cobuz started his career in investment banking at Creditanstalt Investment Bank and worked as an entrepreneur in Romania. He studied law and economics in Bucharest, completed an Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and has attended executive programs at INSEAD, the IMD Business School and Singularity Group.

France: Holcim France has announced its successful industrial-scale production of the world's first 100% recycled clinker. The La Tribune newspaper has reported that the company's Altkirch, Alsace, cement plant produced the clinker. Holcim France chief executive officer Francois Petry said that the plant's team collaborated with researchers at the Holcim Innovation Center to develop a recipe that incorporated multiple waste streams, including mineral wastes and wood ash. The producer says that most of the waste materials were locally sourced.

Spain: Cemex España has received clearance from the Balearic Islands Environmental Commission (CMAIB) to import up to 10,000t/yr of granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) to Majorca. Ultima Hora Online News has reported that the producer will substitute some of the limestone used in the company's Lloseta plant's cement production with the material.

Waste management company Tirme previously handled the Lloseta cement plant's slag supply.

Denmark: Swisspearl Group has concluded an agreement to acquire fellow fibre cement board producer Cembrit. The Switzerland-based group said that it is creating the second-largest supplier of fibre cement products in Europe.

Mexico: The Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE) has fined Cemex US$89,000 for failing to notify it of a transaction that exceeded the threshold for notification. COFECE also approved the transaction in question.

Cemex has the right to seek legal recourse against the fine.

Pakistan: DG Khan Cement has despatched a shipment of 50,000t of cement for Houston, US, from Karachi. The Balochistan Times newspaper has reported that the shipment is the first of 12 consignments of the same size under an order for 600,000t of low-alkali cement. If successful, the order may double to 1.2Mt. The producer is using jumbo bags to transport the product on its 42-day journey overseas.

Marketing director Fareed Afzal said that Pakistani businesses need to diversify their export markets and strengthen foreign currency reserves. He added that DG Khan Cement continues to reduce its products' carbon footprints by using renewable energy, waste heat recovery (WHR) and alternate fuels (AF).

UK: Global Cement Magazine is ready for the Hillhead 2022 quarrying, construction and recycling show that takes place on 21 – 23 June 2022 taking place in Derbyshire. You can find Global Cement Magazine at stand PB14 in the Main Pavilion. The event was originally planned to take place in June 2021 but was postponed for one year following the UK coronavirus-related lockdowns. Held in a limestone quarry, the organisers say that it is the largest exhibition of its kind anywhere in the world.

India: Shree Cement’s board of directors has approved the company’s plans to establish a new US$321m cement plant in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district.

Shree Cement currently commands an installed capacity of 46.4Mt/yr. In the 2022 financial year, it produced 30Mt of cement, corresponding to a capacity utilisation of 30%.

India: Kesoram Industries has announced plans to raise its installed cement production capacity to 15Mt/yr. The expansion constitutes an increase of 36% from its presently installed 11Mt/yr-worth of capacity.

Australia: Adbri is part of a consortium of eight Australian industrial manufacturers, developers and port operators collaborating with AGL Energy on a feasibility study for a green hydrogen plant at the site of the latter’s Torrens Island power plant in South Australia. AFR Online News has reported that any future hydrogen plant established by the partners would rely on solar and wind power, which has large potential in the region.

The South Australian government previously launched its first US$414m green hydrogen project in Whyalla in March 2022.