Global Cement News

India: Employees of a contract firm working at Dalmia Cement’s Bokaro grinding plant in Jharkhand have allegedly killed a worker in an attack on 15 March 2022. The deceased’s roommate has also been missing since then. Both workers had been in trouble with their employer for refusing to work overtime. Operations reportedly continued as normal at the plant until other loading workers began a protest on 16 March 2022.

Dalmia Cement spokesperson Shyamlal Sahu said “The matter was brought to the notice of local police and they have started their probe. We are cooperating with them to bring the culprits to justice. We will work with the contractor – Durga Enterprises – to extend support to the bereaved family. We, at Dalmia Bharat, accord highest priority to maintaining internal harmony and a healthy working environment, and will work with our contractors towards ensuring that such untoward incidents do not happen in the future.”

India: The India Cements has launched Concrete Super King, a general application cement, and Halo Super King, a cement exclusively developed for use in the production of precast hollow dense concrete blocks.

Vice chair and managing director Narayanaswami Srinivasan said that many of the company’s customers already rely on its products in their precast hollow dense concrete block production. With the launch of Halo Super King, it hopes to further increase the ease of application.

Greece: Titan Cement recorded Euro1.71bn in net sales in 2021, up by 6.7% year-on-year from Euro1.61bn in 2020. The company attributed the boost to higher demand and ‘supportive pricing’ in all of its regions. Cement sales volumes were 18.3Mt, up by 7% year-on-year from 17.1Mt. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 4.6% to Euro272m from Euro286m, due to an ‘unprecedented’ second-half costs increase. The group’s net profit was Euro89.6m, compared to Euro1.1m in 2020. During the year, Titan Cement increased the digitisation of its cement production and continued its on-going share buyback programme. Its Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions declined by 4% year-on-year, in line with its 2030 target trajectory.

Titan Cement said “Having already achieved the 2025 targets for energy efficiency and zero waste-to-landfill certification, the group’s attention is now focused on empowering business ecosystems to incorporate sustainability considerations in their decision making. To ensure that key suppliers meet the group’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, Titan Cement developed a sustainable supply chain roadmap and published the first Titan Group Procurement Policy.” In the coming year, the group plans to ‘continue to harness the advantages offered by decarbonisation, digital transformation and business model innovation to benefit our customers, employees, suppliers and communities, aspiring to deliver to society carbon-neutral concrete by 2050.’

India: Shree Cement has fired up the kiln of a new clinker line at its Raipur cement plant in Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that the company funded the project, involving the reactivation of the Raipur plant’s Kiln 3, from its internal accruals. It has also installed a new waste heat recovery (WHR) plant alongside the kiln. The line will augment Shree Cement’s supply of clinker to its grinding plants in Eastern India. It hopes thereby to contribute to growth and development in Chhattisgarh and beyond.

France: Lafarge France has announced a total planned investment of Euro46m in upgrades to its 1.6Mt/yr Saint-Pierre-la-Cour, Mayenne, cement plant and its 1.2Mt/yr La Malle, Bouches-du-Rhone, cement plant. The Holcim subsidiary will invest Euro40m to convert the Saint-Pierre-la-Cour plant to low carbon cement production. Meanwhile, it will invest Euro6m in the La Malle plant’s conversion to ultra-low carbon cement production. The L’Usine Nouvelle newspaper has reported that the transitions will complement the company’s strategy of over 25% EcoPact reduced-CO₂ ready-mix concrete sales by 2025.