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Grupo Corripio buys Cementos Andino Dominicanos 21 March 2016
Dominican Republic: Grupo Corripio has acquired the majority of the shares of Cementos Andino Dominicanos in Cabo Rojo, according to the country’s President Danilo Medina. The previous owners will retain a stake in the company.
All current employees will receive their wages in the first two weeks of April 2016. In addition, between 300 and 400 new jobs will be created. Dominican business José Luis Corripio Estrada and owner of Grupo Corripio added that it will increase the company’s cement production capacity and potentially increase the number of workers to 700.
US: The GCC (Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua) Dacotah cement plant in Rapid City has started a US$90m upgrade. The project will include new kiln equipment, provision for co-processing alternative fuels and improvements to the plant’s shipping operations, according to the Rapid City Journal. The upgrade will increase the plant’s cement production capacity to 1.3Mt/yr.
The plant was founded by the South Dakota state in the 1920s and sold into private ownership in 2001. It employs 130 full-time employees. The upgrade is expected to create 13 new full-time jobs.
Uganda: Excise duty on cement is set to be doubled in the 2016 – 2017 budget as part of a set of measures designed to increase government expenditure. The excise duty charged on a 50kg bag of cement is to be raised to US$0.29 from US$0.15. Industry commentators in local press have warned that this could raise market prices, depress consumer demand and discourage new investments. Other commodities affected by the increased duties include petrol and vehicle lubricants.
“Cement is a very price sensitive product among retail buyers and the proposed tax increase could suffocate demand patterns. This situation has partly resulted in relatively small margins of about $0.05 earned per bag among local dealers. I feel the excise duty rate on cement should have been kept stable to allow producers and agents to remain afloat under difficult economic conditions,” said Joseph Kitone, a hardware dealer quoted by the East African newspaper.
Irish Cement defers plan to burn tyres at Limerick plant 21 March 2016
Ireland: Irish Cement has deferred its plan to co-process tyres at its Limerick cement plant. Planning was lodged in late February 2016, according to the Irish Examiner. However a spokesman for Irish Cement said that the company had noted a few days previously that the planning application had not been made available for public inspection, due to a ‘procedural’ matter. They added that the company was working with the Limerick City and Country Council to resolve the issue.
Local Green Party candidate James Gaffney raised concerns about the plant upgrade in local press in mid-March 2016. He alleged that no public consultation was being carried out on the plant’s plans and that the application was being fast-tracked. Irish Cement denied these claims.
Irish Cement announced its plan to burn alternative fuels at its Limerick plant in December 2015.
Ecocem to open Runcorn terminal for slag cement 21 March 2016
UK/Ireland: Ecocem is to open a new terminal at Runcorn to increase its exports of slag cement to the UK. A second terminal in the south east of the UK will be opened later in 2016, according to the Irish Times. It has invested Euro5m towards building both terminals. The ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS) producer is targeting the UK market due to demand for cement coupled with changes in the coal and steel industries.
The company says it has received orders for 200,000t of slag cement in its first year and that it is not taking any further orders. Opening its second terminal in the UK is anticipated to give it access to 80% of the UK market. Ecocem produces slag cement at three grinding plants in Dublin in Ireland, Moerdijk in the Netherlands and at Fos in France.