Spain: Against a backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, staff at Cementos Portland Valderrivas’ Alcalá de Guadaíra cement plant spent the working week of 16 – 20 October engaged in workshops and attending talks as part of the plant’s second annual Healthy Week. Workshops including stretching and health-affective communication, while talks covered areas including balanced diets and quitting smoking. The company says that throughout the week staff competed to offer the Best Healthy Proposal, by developing “ideas to implement actions that reinforce safety within the plant facilities and improve the factory in the field of health.”

Canada: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s serious crime unit has launched an investigation into the death of one person at Lafarge Canada’s Richmond, British Columbia integrated cement plant on 19 November 2020. The Vancouver Sun newspaper has reported that the incident caused the plant to be evacuated.

Spokesperson Jill Truscott said, "We are in shock and are extremely concerned about the impact to this individual's family and friends. Steps have been taken to protect all employees on site and the surrounding community."

WorkSafe British Columbia is conducting a separate investigation.

UK: DB Group has supplied its Cemfree concrete product to a site in Birmingham, West Midlands for use by the Environment Agency in a flood defence project. It says that the agency will use the concrete “for kerb bedding and backing over several kilometres in conjunction with various recycled products in an effort to reduce the projects’ carbon footprint.” Cemfree is a low carbon concrete made using ground blast furnace slag (GGBS) and pulverised fly ash.

Pakistan: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) conducted a search and inspection of the Karachi offices of the All Pakistan Manufacturers Association (APCMA) on Thursday 19 November 2020. The search was carried out as part of an enquiry launched in May 2020 to investigate possible anti-competitive activities by cement producers. Two different CCP teams entered and searched the offices of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of APCMA and impounded relevant records.

The enquiry began based on the information gathered through various media reports and concerns expressed regarding a concurrent increase in cement prices across Pakistan, particularly during April 2020. The APCMA stands accused of orchestrating a price rise among producers.

The CCP previously searched and inspected the APCMA’s main offices in Lahore. That search allegedly led to the discovery of WhatsApp messages and emails that led investigators to believe there were grounds for further investigation.

Switzerland/France: Along with its partner Batica, LafargeHolcim is optimising the design of a low-carbon house, bringing together the latest innovations developed by the group's global research and development centre in Lyon, France.

Construction of the House of Tomorrow began at the end of October 2020 in Saint-Caprais-de-Bordeaux, Gironde. The materials used for its construction will have a CO₂ footprint more than 40% lower than a traditional house, and an optimised energy performance. The integration of these innovations in the house has made it possible for such a property to remain financially accessible to buyers thanks to controlled costs.

To achieve low CO₂ emissions performance, LafargeHolcim used its innovative cement and concrete products, all of which are available on the French market. Foundations were poured using ECOPact AA concrete, with emissions 80% lower than standard concrete. ECOPact A concrete, with CO₂ emissions 50-70% lower than standard concrete, will be used for the compression slab of the VS floor (crawl space). Airium, an insulating mineral foam, will be used to insulate the walls. A very low density concrete – 40-300kg/m³ depending on the mix – Airium represents an environmentally friendly, healthy and affordable insulation solution. LafargeHolcim’s Agilia Chape Thermic fluid screed will be used to coat the under-floor heating elements.

Taiwan: Taiwan Cement’s revenue came to US$2.88bn in the first nine months of 2020, a year-on-year decrease of 6%. However, its operating income was US$800m, a 9% year-on-year increase compared to the first nine months of 2019. Its net income was US$640m, 4% higher than a year earlier.

“The fourth quarter is the traditional peak season for the cement market and we remain optimistic about our performance,” said Edward Huang, Senior Vice President and Spokesperson of Taiwan Cement.

Sri Lanka: Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) has announced that it expects to sign an agreement to increase the production of OPC and other hydraulic cement products by 1Mt/yr. The investment will be made at its existing cement grinding plant in Trincomalee on the north east coast of Sri Lanka.

Tokyo Cement said that the project would cost approximately US$12m. Global Cement notes that this amount is fairly low for such a large increase in cement capacity and therefore may represent increases in cement handling capacity, rather than grinding capacity. Tokyo Cement said that it expects the project to be completed within 24 months.

Qatar: Qatar witnessed robust month-on-month cement production growth during September 2020 as the country scaled back its Covid-19 restrictions. Cement production increased by 9.1%. Cement was one of a number of sectors to buck a wider trend of a continued industrial slowdown, according to the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA). However, the volume of cement produced was 3.1% lower than in September 2019.

Germany: Buzzi Unicem subsidiary Dyckerhoff has received general building inspection approval from the German Institute for Building Technology for the Portland composite cement CEM II / CM (S-LL) produced in the Amöneburg and Deuna factories. It is the first to receive approval to sell this class of cement, which contains both slag and limestone, in Germany.

The use of CEM II / C cements reduces CO₂ emissions from building with cement and concrete due to their lower clinker factor. CEM II / CM (S-LL) emits 39% less CO₂ per tonne of cement compared to CEM I cement. Compared to the current status quo of the binder mix, CEM II / C cements have the potential to reduce CO₂ intensity by 25%.

The CEM II / CM (S-LL) ‘Amöneburg’ and ‘Deuna’ is authorised for use in strength classes 32.5 N, 32.5 R, 42.5 N, 42.5 R, 52.5 N and 52.5 R. It may be used for the production of concrete, reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete in the following exposure classes: X0, XC1 to XC4, XD1 to XD3, XS1 to XS3, XF1, XA1 to XA3, XM1 to XM3.

US: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded its 2020 Energy Star® certification to Buzzi Unicem USA plants in Chattanooga, Tennessee and in Festus, Missouri. This certification is awarded to a facility for superior energy performance in comparison to similar plants. This marks the 12th consecutive year that the Chattanooga and Festus plants have received certification.

In order to qualify for Energy Star® recognition, cement plants must score at least 75 on the Energy Performance Indicator (EPI) system used by the EPA to measure energy efficiency. In addition, the plant must have a satisfactory environmental compliance record for the past three years. Receipt of the Energy Star certification means these two plants perform in the top 25% of similar facilities in the US.