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Akmenes Cementas about to complete modernisation project at Naujoji Akmene cement plant 28 October 2013
Lithuania: Akmenes Cementas, Lithuania's only cement manufacturer, is about to complete the modernisation of its Naujoji Akmene cement factory in northwestern Lithuania. It's claimed to be one of the biggest industrial projects implemented in the country since restoration of independence. A new clinker manufacturing line, which cost around Euro107m, should begin operation late in November or early in December 2013, barring delays. The line should operate for around 50 years and investments are expected to be covered within a decade. The company used it's own funds to finance the bulk of investments, while banks provided around one-third of the total funding.
"Representatives of equipment suppliers are visiting the facility now. They are checking, fine tuning, testing the equipment and adjusting the programmes. We keep our fingers crossed and hope that everything goes smoothly," said Arturas Zaremba, CEO of Akmenes Cementas.
Philippines: Thailand-based Siam Cement Group seeks to put up a manufacturing facility for fibre cement boards, smart boards and ceramic tiles, The Nation reports. These planned projects would cater to not only the domestic market but also SGC's markets across the Asean nations.
"If the products are marketable here, we plan to produce those products here. Investments would depend on market size. For example, for fibre cement board, we need (to be able to sell at least) 5Mm2 to (justify the cost of putting up a facility). The current local demand is 30Mm2," said Surasak Kraiwitchai-charoen, international business director of SCG Building Materials Group in Thailand.
India: Shree Cement reported a 24.5% dip in net profit for the July - September quarter at US$28m. The company, which has 13.5Mt/yr cement production capacity and 560MW/yr power generation capacity, had produced US$37m net profit in the same quarter last fiscal year. Total income of the company during the quarter fell to US$203m from US$211m in 2012. Revenue from both cement and power businesses of the company dropped during the quarter.
Expenses during the period went up to US$181m from US$163m in the July - September quarter of 2012 due to higher freight and other expenses. Freight costs of the company went up to US$41m for the quarter from US$35m in the year-ago period. Other expenses during the period went up to US$40m from US$33m.
Global Cement Directory 2014
Written by Global Cement staff
23 October 2013
In the run-up to the publication of the Global Cement Directory 2014 we have released a Beta (draft) version for readers to provide corrections, clarifications or additions ahead of the final publication in late November 2013. In this week's issue of Global Cement Weekly we cover news stories on new cement plant or production upgrade plans in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Niger and Venezuela. This demonstrates how fast cement production can change around the world in just one week!
Looking at the major trends of the past year, we see a gradual re-emergence of 'developed' economies from the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 - 201? - with an increase in cement demand that is patchy in the extreme. The US cement market is starting to heat up - but it starts from a historically low base. Former superstars stars like Spain and Italy are still firmly in the Doldrums and show no sign of growing, countries that are becoming used to a painfully permanent lower cement demand.
India has suffered from over-capacity (whilst at the same time building even more capacity – one wonders how the industry still manages to make a profit). China's cement industry continues to defy gravity – partly through state support and partly through central edicts as to which plants will close (handily reducing nominal overcapacity) and which will stay open. Chinese cement plants have rapidly been installing environmental abatement equipment amidst an ongoing environmental crisis in China. It remains to be seen if China can avoid a 'hard landing.' Other Asian countries are progressing well a full 15 years after the Asian Crisis.
Africa continues to get its act together and could yet become a global cement demand powerhouse. South America shows strong promise, particularly Brazil. The Middle East is a perfect example of the old saying "Be careful what you wish for."
Download the Beta version of the Global Cement Directory 2014 (free download - registration required)
Suman Mukherjee resigns from Shree Digvijay Cement
Written by Global Cement staff
23 October 2013
India: Suman Mukherjee, CEO and Managing Director of Shree Digvijay Cement Company, has resigned from the cement producer due to personal reasons. His resignation takes effect from 31 October 2013. He will also leave the board of directors at this time.