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BillerudKorsnäs signs letter of intent with Vissai 24 April 2017
Vietnam: Sweden’s BillerudKorsnäs has signed a letter of intent with Vissai Group regarding the use of its QuickFill Clean (QFC) cement paper sack product line. The deal was agreed at a workshop organised by the Embassy of Sweden with the Vietnam Ministry of Construction, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. The new type of cement bags are intended to reduce leakage although their use will require changes in the handling of sacks throughout the supply chain. Representatives from the Vietnam National Cement Association, Vietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Associations and other ministries also attended the event.
India: The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) says that rising cement prices threaten Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s affordable residential construction scheme 'Housing for All.’ Nandu Belani, president of the Bengal chapter of CREDAI, said that his organisation had no choice but to pass rising prices on to consumers, according to the Times of India. CREDAI has also accused cement producers of ‘profiteering’ and alleged that they have formed a cartel. The developers argue that the cost of cement production has fallen following the introduction of various government subsidies.
ACC’s net profit falls in first quarter of 2017 24 April 2017
India: ACC’s net profit after tax has fallen by 9% year-on-year to US$32.7m in the first quarter of 2017 from US$36m in the same period in 2016. Its sales revenue grew by 8% to US$482m and its cement sales volumes grew by 4% to 6.6Mt. The cement producer blamed the fall in profit on higher costs of petcoke, coal, packing materials and freight, as well as a shortage of fly ash. ACC also reported that it launched two new products in 2017, including ACC High Performance Cement (HPC), a slag cement.
Australia: The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has expressed concern over contaminated cement produced at Adelaide Brighton’s Birkenhead plant. Several large construction projects around Adelaide have used the contaminated cement the union has told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News. Adelaide Brighton says it is investigating an issue with its bulk cement that took place at the plant between 7 April and 10 April 2017.
Several companies including Boral distributed the cement. Adelaide Brighton says it has reviewed the situation and taken action subsequently to minimise the effect. This has included disposing of a large volume of cement.
Guatemala: Austria’s Doppelmayr has started up a RopeCon conveyor system for Cementos Progreso’s San Gabriel plant near Guatemala City. The 1.6km conveyor will transport 2100t/hr of limestone from a quarry to the plant across wooded terrain and it rises up to a height of 200m off the ground using four tower structures. The long rope structure of the system has enabled it to use a minimum amount of space on the ground. The new cement pant is expected to start operation in the first half of 2017.