Global Cement News

Finland: Coolbrook has appointed Nigel Pearce as Head of Manufacturing and Supply Chain. He previously worked at Rolls-Royce where he held a number of positions in his 33-year career at the company, most recently as Head of Manufacturing Engineering. He joins Coolbrook with experience in the development of gas turbine technology. At Coolbrook, Pearce will lead the company's manufacturing team, overseeing the planning, coordination, and performance of its processes. He will also be responsible for developing new and existing relationships with suppliers and optimising the procurement of materials and technology needed for Coolbrook to meet its production timeline.

Coolbrook is a technology and engineering company that is developing processes to replace the burning of fossil fuels in major industrial sectors. Its RDH has potential applications in cement, steel and chemical production process. Its Roto Dynamic Reactor (RDR) is intended to eliminate CO₂ emissions from the steam cracking process used in the production of plastic.

India: KHD’s India-based subsidiary Humboltdt Wedag India has appointed Ajay Pal Singh as Deputy Manager. He previously worked for India-based components manufacturer Zetwerk. Before this he held managerial and engineering roles with KHD India.

Germany: Aumund has appointed Mari Kuijs as General Manager After Sales. He previously spent over 30 years working for ThyssenKrupp Group holding jobs in Germany, the Netherlands, Turkiye and the Middle East. He holds qualifications in energy technology, business administration and management studies.

Spain: Votorantim España plans to invest Euro15m in an upgrade to improve the efficiency of its subsidiary Cementos Cosmos' Toral de los Vados cement plant in Léon. The project will reduce the plant's power consumption by 7%, while increasing its clinker production by 11% to 3100t/day. Cementos Cosmos expects to commission the newly upgraded plant before the end of 2023. ALIMKC News has reported that the local authority has altered the plant's environmental authorisation accordingly.

Switzerland: Cemsuisse, the Swiss cement association, recorded full-year national cement deliveries of 4.15Mt/yr throughout 2022. The figure represents a 0.7% year-on-year decline from 4.18Mt/yr throughout 2021. During 2022, ready-mix concrete batching plants received 73% of deliveries, while building sites received 20%. 37% of cement travelled to its destination by rail.

Cemsuisse said that energy uncertainty and rising inflation impacted on deliveries during the fourth quarter of the year.