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Vortex appoints Brolton as agent in Australia 07 April 2016
Australia: Vortex Global Limited, a European solids and bulk handling components company, has appointed Brolton Group as its exclusive agent in Australia. Brolton Group also serves as an agent to Coperion, Sturtevant and Whitwick.
"Brolton has extensive experience in the material handling and mineral processing industries," says Laurence Millington, Vortex Director of International Business. "Our slide gates and diverter valves are quite complementary to the other companies that Brolton represents.”
Brolton Group provides process automation and industrial engineering services, such as general, mechanical, civil and construction engineering, for heavy industry, fast-moving consumer goods and broader manufacturing. Brolton Group is also a systems integrators for brands such as Rockwell Automation, Pilz and Sick.
Yanbu Cement profit falls in first quarter of 2016 07 April 2016
Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement Company has reported an 11.1% year-on-year fall in its net profit to US$49m in the first quarter of 2016 from US$55m in the same period in 2015. The cement producer has blamed the profit loss on a fall in sales and a rise in fuel prices.
Pakistan cement despatches hit high in March 2016 07 April 2016
Pakistan: The Pakistan cement industry has recorded its highest ever dispatches of 3.58Mt in March 2016, an increase of 19% year-on-year from 3Mt in March 2015. Exports have grown by 21% to 0.53Mt from 0.44Mt in March 2016. The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) described the growth as ‘encouraging’ as it enabled the industry to hit a capacity utilisation rate of 95%. However, despite this high rate the APCMA added that it was still being accused of price fixing, according to local press.
For the nine months from July 2015 to March 2016 overall cement despatches rose by 9.95% year-on-year to 28.3Mt. Local despatches in the north and south of the country have both shown growth respectively. However, exports fell by 19% to 4.41Mt from 5.44Mt. The year so far has been poor for exports, only picking up growth from February 2016 onwards.
China: Yang Luyu, the mayor of Jinan in Shangdong province, is being investigated for corruption by the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). Yang has been accused of ‘serious disciplinary violations’ according to Xinhua news agency. He is also the city's Communist Party deputy secretary.
Yang was named in a writ filed with a Hong Kong court in March 2016 according to the South China Morning Post. Two companies, China Pioneer Cement (Hong Kong) and Shandong Shanshui Cement Group, allege that Yang and his deputy mayor, Su Shuwei, conspired with former company directors to take control of the Jinan plant on 7 December 2016. The ex-directors were named as Zhang Caikui and his son Zhang Bin.
China Pioneer Cement (Hong Kong) and Shandong Shanshui Cement Group are subsidiaries of China Shanshui Cement Group. Shanshui Cement has faced financial troubles since a battle for control of the company that took place in late 2015 between Tianrui Cement, its biggest shareholder, and the Zhang family, its second-largest shareholder and former owners.
Germany/Italy: HeidelbergCement has released details on how it will integrate Italcementi into its business. Key details of the plan include the sale of Italcementi’s Belgium operations, the retention of the Italcementi brand and headquarters and the Italian cement producer’s i.Lab centre will assume research and development responsibilities for the entire group. However the acquisition is expected to result in up to 260 job losses at Italcementi’s base in Bergamo. The full integration plan is expected to be complete by 2020.
“Following our motto ‘all business is local’, it is important for us to preserve Italcementi's strengths and professional expertise, which have ensured its success in Italy and abroad. I am convinced that we will be able to achieve the planned Euro400m in synergies and bring Italcementi back to profits by operational improvements, streamlining the administration and leveraging the increased size of our combined business,” said Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement.
The acquisition still depends on approval from the European Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. On 1 April 2016, HeidelbergCement formally submitted the merger plan to the European Commission.
To this end, HeidelbergCement has decided to sell Italcementi’s entire Belgian operations, primarily consisting of Italcementi’s Belgian subsidiary Compagnie des Ciments Belges. The proposed divestment would remove all overlaps between the activities of HeidelbergCement and Italcementi in Belgium and the Netherlands. Preparations forthe divestment have already started and ‘significant’ interest has been noted. BNP Paribas will support the process.
The plan presented in Bergamo by Scheifele says it intends to keep the industrial network and plants in Italy as well as the Italcementi brand. In addition, HeidelbergCement builds on Italian management heading the Group's operations in Italy. i.Lab, based in Bergamo, where Italcementi will keep the headquarter of Italian country organisation, will become the home of the product research and development division of the whole group.
In order to streamline the overall group organisation some staff and administrative functions will be centralised in Heidelberg. According to the integration plan around 170 people will receive relocation offers to other offices within the group. Any redundancies in Bergamo, which could potentially affect between 230 and 260 people, will be handled using Italy's temporary layoff scheme. In addition, severence packages will be negotiated with the unions. At the end of the transition period in 2020, about 210 to 250 professionals will remain in Bergamo.
HeidelbergCement expects the closing of the acquisition of the 45% stake to be finalised in early July 2016 depending on the decision of the cartel authorities in Europe and the USA. Implementation of the integration plan will start after the closing.