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Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua completes purchase of Cemex assets in US 21 November 2016
US: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) has completed its purchase of a selection of assets from Cemex for US$306m. The assets consist of a cement plant located in Odessa in Texas, two cement distribution terminals located in Amarillo and El Paso in Texas and concrete, aggregates, asphalt and building materials businesses in El Paso, Texas and Las Cruces, New Mexico. The acquisition comprises all facilities, equipment and inventories. The purchase was financed with internal funds and an unsecured loan of US$254m.
“This acquisition represents a significant advance in our strategy of sustainable cement growth in the US, in markets contiguous to those of GCC ́s geographic footprint. With these assets and colleagues joining the company, we will enhance the competitive advantage of our logistics system, expand our product portfolio and optimise our operations by sharing best practices,” said Enrique Escalante, chief executive officer of GCC.
Boral to buy Headwaters for US$2.6bn 21 November 2016
US: Boral has agreed to buy Headwaters, a manufacturer of building products, for US$2.6bn subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. Headwaters’ Construction Materials division delivers around US$370m/yr of revenue and is one of the largest marketers of fly ash in the US. Boral has described the acquisition as ‘transformative’ as it will significantly boost its US division, Boral USA.
“The businesses of Headwaters are highly complementary with Boral’s existing US operations – in fly ash, roofing, stone and light building products. It’s this strong alignment that means we can deliver substantial value through synergies – ramping up to approximately US$100m/yr of synergies within four years of closing,” said Boral’s chief executive officer and managing director Mike Kane.
Nepalese cement certification to start by early 2017 18 November 2016
Nepal: The government will start certifying domestic brands of cement with quality grades by early 2017. Cement produced by local companies will be certified under three quality categories: 33-grade, 43-grade and 53-grade cement, according to the Himalayan Times. At present both domestically manufactured Ordinary Portland Cement and Portland Pozzolana Cement are labelled as 33-grade cement as the government provision doesn't allow producers to label their brands higher than grade 33. However, large-scale projects require higher grades of cement that have to be imported.
"We are in the last stage of finalising the draft of quality certification for domestic cement brands," said Bishwo Babu Pudasaini, director general of Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM). Once NBSM finalises a quality certification draft, it will be sent to Nepal Standard Council (NSC) for final approval.
East African Portland Cement to lay-off over 1000 workers 18 November 2016
Kenya: East African Portland Cement (EAPC) plans to lay-off over 1000 workers as part of plans to improve its efficiency. The company’s board has described the organisation as ‘severely over staffed’ and unable to compete with its rivals, according to Citizen Digital. At present it has around 2000 personnel and studies suggest that it only needs 500 of these workers to remain competitive.
Chairman Bill Lay said that high staff costs have contributed to the government-owned company’s financial problems. The management team is developing a voluntary early retirement program that will reduce staff levels. The company intends to spend US$19.6m towards the downsizing programme.
Savannah Cement release details on cement plant upgrade 18 November 2016
Kenya: Savannah Cement has released further details on its plans to upgrade its Athi River grinding plant. It intends to increase the capacity at the site by 1.2Mt/yr to 2.4Mt/yr with the installation of a vertical roller mill. Additionally, new belt conveyors, a packing plant and dust filters will be added. It plans to have the upgrade commissioned by mid-2018, according to the Business Daily newspaper. It will be built from December 2016 to March 2018.
"We are hoping to issue the tender for the project in early 2017, possibly January or February. Being a second production line, construction work should take anything between 14 and 18 months, therefore we would have the plant up and running by mid-2018. Once we get the approvals we will immediately look to finalise the financing aspect of the project," said Savannah Cement managing director Ronald Ndegwa. The cement producer is adding production capacity to expand its range of cement, with a focus on its hydraulic road binder blend that is used in road construction.