Global Cement News

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement, a construction materials producer in Kazakhstan, has announced that it sold 166,121t of cement in the first quarter of 2013 compared to 170,000t in 2012. However, its revenue from cement sales was US$15.1m, 17% higher than the US$12.9m that it took in the first quarter of 2012.

While it sold more cement in the first quarter of 2013 than in the same period of 2012, Steppe Cement was unable to keep pace with expansion in the wider Kazakh market. It saw its domestic market share fall to 15% in the first quarter of 2013 versus 18% in the first quarter of 2012.

Germany: HeidelbergCement said that its profits would be hit by about Euro30m in the second quarter of 2013 due to a fine for infringement of cartel rules. HeidelbergCement said that the fine, a total of Euro161.4m for cartel infringements during the years 1990 to 2002, would not affect its earnings outlook.

Philippines: The National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) in the Philippines announced on 8 April 2013 that it was concerned about rising prices for cement.

"We will be sending letters to cement producers to ask them why their prices have gone up," said Trade Undersecretary Zenaida C Maglaya in a briefing after a meeting of the NPCC. "We have to ask them the reason because it may be that they consumed more coal, which went up (in price), but there might be another reason." She added that the firms have to send in their reports within the week.

The Trade department also reported that it was investigating Eagle Cement for increasing its prices after it had agreed earlier with the government to sell lower-priced cement. The firm was granted tax perks by the government for its Bulacan cement plant in November 2006.

Brazil: The Brazilian construction group Camargo Corrêa has announced plans to invest up to US$1.5bn in the Brazilian cement industry over a four year period. With the acquisition and control of Portuguese cement maker Cimpor in 2012, Camargo Corrêa, through its cement arm InterCement, became the second largest producer of cement in Brazil.

Of the nine countries the company began operating in through its Cimpor deal, the Brazilian market has the greatest growth potential. The market is expected to increase by 5-6%/yr, according to a report by local paper Valor Econômico. To prepare itself, the company intends to invest US$1.25-1.5bn by 2016.

Planned projects include the construction of four cement plants and an expansion at the company's existing plant in Cezarina, located in the mid-western state of Goiás.

Cuba: A Cuban cement plant has launched industrial trials to produce environmentally-friendly cement, according to the National News Agency.

Gustavo Suarez, director of the Siguaney cement plant in central Cuba reported that the kilns began to burn local kaolin minerals to partially replace the CO2-intensive clinker used to make cement on 4 April 2013. Suarez said the production phase was preceded by a year and a half of testing by researchers at Las Villas University and the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, a partner in the project.

The factory is preparing the first 300t of burnt metakaolin needed to make two experimental types of 'green cement,' in which clinker will be replaced by 15% and 45% kaolin respectively. It is estimated that Siguaney will consume only 68% of the energy used in making normal cement, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 32%. "(Our) current grey cement production requires a temperature of 1200°C, while the new local formula needs only 750°C," said Suarez.