Global Cement News

Ukraine: According to preliminary data Eurocement Ukraine finished 2012 with a net profit of Euro3.58m. The company, part of Russia's Eurocement Holding, finished 2011 with losses of Euro4.4m. As of late 2012, the assets of Eurocement Ukraine came to Euro92.1m with current liabilities of Euro23.9m.

Saudi Arabia: Since 20 March 2013 the Northern Region Cement Company (NRCC) has been forced to halt production, due to the closure of a road leading to the plant. This has blocked trucks entering the plant for cement collection and has meant that the plant has now been forced to halt production.

The decision to close the road leading to the plant was taken by a committee drawn up from representatives from the Governorate of Northern Border, the Ministry of Transportation and the Department of the Police in the area, following NRCC's 'failure' to construct an upper bridge road connecting the plant with a nearby international highway.

NRCC was required to construct the bridge road by the authorities in order to safeguard the lives of the people driving in the area. However, an NRCC official said that it cannot be constructed as it would cost US$4.8m, an amount that requires approval through a meeting of the company's general assembly. Additionally, the official called for the formation of a committee to inspect the roads around the plant as he believes that the present road layout poses no danger to road users. He added that the local market would start to feel the effects of the plant shutdown 'very soon.'

Spain: Cement producer Cementos Portland Valderrivas (CPV) is considering the closure of one of its production units in Spain, according to Juan Bejar Ochoa, CEO of the company's majority shareholder FCC. The move looks likely to affect one of the three factories in northern Spain or one of the two plants in Catalonia. Bejar justified the measure by highlighting the 20% decrease in Spanish market demand in 2012. The decision on which unit will be shut down will be taken after analyses of transport and production costs.

Indonesia: ThyssenKrupp Polysius has won a contract from PT Holcim Indonesia Tbk., to build a second cement plant near the town of Tuban on the northern coast of the island of Java. The contract is worth around US$250m and the plant is scheduled to start production in 2015. Tuban 1, the initially-awarded project, is due to begin operation in June 2013. Tuban 2, the newly-awarded project, and Tuban 1 will each have a capacity of 1.7Mt/yr of cement.

"This follow-up order is proof of our good partnership with the customer and shows that our technological solutions and leading engineering expertise are supporting Holcim in the growth of the Indonesian cement industry," said Dr Hans Christoph Atzpodien, CEO of the ThyssenKrupp Polysius' Industrial Solutions business area. "We are firmly focused on the markets of the future."

For both plants ThyssenKrupp Polysius is supplying state-of-the-art equipment covering raw material preparation, clinker production, cement loading and fuel preparation. A POLAB laboratory automation system is being installed for quality monitoring and control.

The Indonesian cement market is predicted to grow at a double-digit rate in 2013. With a production capacity of 8.2Mt/yr Holcim Indonesia is one of the country's top three cement manufacturers.

UK: The Minerals Products Association (MPA) has welcomed measures in the UK government's 2013 budget that will help boost the outlook for the cement industry and the wider mineral products and construction sectors. The MPA singled out the decision to freeze the indexation of the Aggregates Levy until April 2014 and the decision to introduce the Climate Change Levy mineralogical and metallurgical exemption for energy intensive industries such as cement and lime.

"The government is clearly listening and understands that investing in infrastructure and construction is key to securing growth. The issue remains of ensuring that cash flows into action on the ground to help improve confidence and induce private sector investment, which is needed to accelerate growth in demand," said Nigel Jackson, chief executive of the MPA.