Global Cement News

Romania: Holcim Romania has announced its acquisition of independent ready-mix concrete market leader General Beton Romania. The latter operates eight batching plants with a total of 160 employees. Its markets include Arad, Bucharest, Constanta and Sibiu. Holcim Romania says that it plans to use the acquisition to grow its ECOPact green concrete’s footprint.

Europe, Middle East Africa regional head Miljan Gutovic said “General Beton provides an excellent addition to our strong and diversified ready-mix concrete operations. Over more than two decades, General Beton has been a long-standing Holcim partner as well as a growing and highly successful business. I am delighted to welcome them to the Holcim family.”

Argentina: Holcim Argentina says that it will invest US$40m in capital expenditure in 2022. It plans to invest US$15m in its cement and concrete operations and US$15m in subsidiary Geocycle's three waste management plants, which supply alternative fuel for its cement production. Of the remainder, US$5m will go towards the construction of a new dry mortars plant in Córdoba, which the company plans to inaugurate in December 2022.

Latvia: Germany-based Christian Pfeiffer says that it has successfully commissioned the new Broceni grinding plant for Schwenk Latvija. The supplier said that the plant is able to produce cement up to a fineness of 5600 Blaine and is one of the most sustainable grinding plants in Europe.

Schwenk Latvija previously announced a planned investment of Euro34m in a new 170t/day mill and a 12,500t silo at the site of its former Broceni integrated cement plant.

China: Conch Cement has explained that neither its subsidiary Xuancheng Conch, nor any officers of the company, are subject to investigation or penalties for tax evasion. The producer said that a local media outlet had reported false allegations to this effect.

Conch Cement said "Xuancheng Conch has met all payment obligations for taxation in strict compliance with the relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China."

Pakistan: Popular Cement Industries has won a court case against Gatron Group, which the cement company claimed was intruding upon a mine held under lease by it. The Business Recorder newspaper has reported that Gatron Group began construction of a partition wall across the mine. The judge ruled that Popular Cement Industries inherited its lease from Dadabhoy Cement in 1986.