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United Arab Emirates: Turkish cement producer Adana Cement has won an award for safety performance improvement at the 11th Annual DuPont Safety and Sustainability Awards, which took place in Dubai on 24 September 2013. Six award recipients were selected by an independent jury comprised of leading experts in occupational safety and sustainability.
Adana Cement was chosen for its efforts to create a safe work environment. In 2005 the company established an integrated OHSAS 18001-certified Safety Management System, before implementing further processes and improvements in 2008 after recognition that 96% of accidents were caused by dangerous behaviour, rather than conditions.
Together, these initiatives have had a profound effect in shaping a positive safety culture among employees. In particular, a multi-faceted approach, including behaviour-oriented site visits, accident information meetings, reward and sanction practices and a schedule of continuous training programmes, has resulted in a dramatic decrease in employee and sub-contractor accidents since 2008, based on statistics collected since 2003. A new record of 243 uninterrupted days without an accident was achieved in 2012, in a period when expanding production objectives were successfully met.
Al Jouf Cement takes US$107m loan for second production line 02 October 2013
Saudi Arabia: Al Jouf Cement has announced in a bourse filing it had signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia's largest Islamic bank, Al Rajhi Bank, for a US$107m loan to partially finance the construction of a second production line. The loan is to be repaid by June 2019.
Al Jouf Cement has a cement production capacity of 1.75Mt/yr or 5000t/day. The company's products include Ordinary Portland Cement and sulphate resisting cement.
Tong Yang Cement files for court receivership 02 October 2013
South Korea: Tong Yang Cement, a subsidiary of Tong Yang Group, has filed for court receivership. The receivership with the Chuncheon District Court was lodged in an official note, as reported by the Korean Broadcasting System. Sister-companies Tongyang Incorporated, Tongyang International, Tongyang Leisure and Tongyang Networks have also filed for court receivership in recent days.
Tongyang Group will have to repay debts of more than US$1bn.
Indian rail freight rate up by 15% 02 October 2013
India: Indian Railways has raised a freight tariff of 15% on all commodities, including cement, from 1 October 2013. Designated a busy season charge in a railway notification, the tariff is due to run until June 2014. The charge precedes a review of the fuel adjustment component (FAC), applicable after every six months to adjust fuel prices, that was also due on 1 October 2013.
East African Portland Cement Company asks Kenyan government to renew CEO Kephar Tande 02 October 2013
Kenya: The East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has asked the Kenyan government to renew the term of its CEO, Kephar Tande, whose current three year term is set to end in October 2013. Tande's re-appointment presents a test to the new Kenyan government, elected in March 2013, which may follow its predecessors and attempt to influence the composition of the cement producer's management board.
"The board is satisfied with Tande's work and we have asked the Cabinet secretary to offer him another term," said the chairman of EAPCC, Mark ole Karbolo, in an interview with Kenyan newspaper Business Daily. He added that the EAPCC will announce a profit of nearly US$12m for the year ending June 2013.
In 2012 the government unsuccessfully attempted to oust eight EAPCC directors including the chief executive, accusing them of poor governance. The directors, including Karbolo, Kenya Airways CEO Titus Naikuni and lawyer Hamish Keith, moved to court to block the move following the state's directive to disband the cement maker's board. The court reinstated them in a legal battle that also saw former President Kibaki's appointment of Karbolo's replacement revoked.