Spain: Molins has launched a new corporate identity, consolidating its commercial brands—Cementos Molins Industrial, Promsa, Propamsa, Pretersa-Prenavisa and Precon—into the single Molins brand. This move represents a broad array of construction products and solutions under one unified identity. In line with this, Molins also introduces Susterra, a new range of sustainable solutions.

CEO Julio Rodríguez said "Cement is the foundation of this company, accounting for 60% of our current business. However, today we are a company that offers a wide range of construction solutions, and our long-term strategy is to continue growing in all types of construction solutions to provide increasingly better service to our customers."

Vietnam: The Vietnam Cement Association (VNCA) has requested the exemption of clinker from the current 10% export tax, arguing it does not qualify under the Value-Added Tax Law as a natural resource or unprocessed mineral. According to Viet Nam News, VNCA has formally appealed to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Construction to review the tax, asserting that clinker, produced at temperatures around 1450 - 1500°C, should not be taxed as a mineral resource. The industry exported over 31.3Mt of clinker and cement in 2023, equivalent to US$1.32bn, representing a year-on-year decline of 1.2% in volume and 4.1% in value compared to 2022, marking the second consecutive year of export decline. The total production capacity of Vietnam's 61 cement plants is about 117Mt/yr, with domestic consumption reaching only 56.6Mt.

US: Holcim’s Hagerstown plant in Maryland has increased its alternative fuels substitution rate to 45%, equivalent to 58,000t/yr of engineered fuel. This US$11m initiative utilises end-of-life materials like non-recyclable paper, plastics and fibres, sourced from commercial and industrial materials like packaging. Geocycle, a subsidiary of Holcim US, will process these materials at its new Cumberland facility, which has a capacity of up to 75,000t/yr.

Senior vice president of Manufacturing North for Holcim US, Michael Nixon, said "Expanding our alternative thermal energy use to 45% provides multiple environmental and economic benefits, from lowering the net carbon intensity of our cement to reducing our consumption of traditional fuels. Importantly, it enables us to play a role in the circular economy, offering a highly safe and ecological solution for unused materials."

Spain: The Mexico-based owner of the Spain-based cement producer FCC, Carlos Slim, is reportedly planning to spin-off its cement and real estate assets into a separate business. The new entity, to be known as Inmocemento, would then be listed on the Madrid stock market, according to Reuters. Slim directly owns around 12% of FCC and controls a further 76% of the company through investment vehicles Inversora Carso and Operadora Inbursa.

Inmocemento would take FCC's cement plants, the majority stake it owns in the real estate developer Realia and a minority stake in Metrovacesa. Current FCC shareholders would receive Inmocemento stakes equivalent to their holdings in FCC.

FCC currently owns assets in different industries such as construction, water and sewage, waste management, cement and real estate. FCC's cement units reported revenues of €614m in 2023, while income from real estate was €254m. Together, these sectors represented 9% of FCC's revenue. It operates its cement business via the Cementos Portland Valderrivas subsidiary.

FCC said in a financial disclosure that its board believes that the move would boost shareholder value as the new and existing companies are likely to be worth more apart than together.