Global Cement News

Germany: The PowTech powder and bulk solids processing and analytics trade fair in Nuremberg, Bavaria, will now take place on 27 – 29 September 2022, in conjunction with the FachPack packaging trade fair. The organiser decided to postpone the event once again due to continued pandemic-related disruption.

Pakistan: Lucky Cement increased its standalone first-half sales in the 2022 financial year by 20% year-on-year to US$2.87bn from US$2.39bn in the first half of the 2021 financial year. This was despite a 5.9% year-on-year decline in cement volumes to 4.7Mt. Domestic cement sales increased by 0.8% to 3.66Mt from 3.63Mt, while exports fell by 20% to 1.07Mt from 1.34Mt.

The Business Recorder newspaper has reported that the company increased its consolidated net profit by 27% year-on-year. Its consolidated profit after tax was US$972m in the first half of the 2022 financial year.

India: Udaipur Cement Works plans to raise US$114m through an issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs). India Infoline News Service has reported that the company will use the money it raises to fund Phase 1 of its on-going expansion project.

Germany: Master Builders Solutions has announced the addition of a new range of admixtures consisting of MasterEase and Master X-Seed to its admixtures portfolio. The company developed MasterEase and Master X-Seed to best enable European cement companies to produce cement of the EU’s new CEM II/C-M and CEM VI Portland-composite cements. Master Builders Solutions hopes that the new products will drive the construction industry’s transition to low-clinker cements and CO2-optimised concrete.

Parent company MBCC Group’s European president Christian Geierhaas said “Providing sustainable solutions is a key factor of Master Builders Solutions’ portfolio and overall strategy. Strong partnerships are essential and support and accelerate the development of significant innovations. We work with major players to continuously develop efficient admixtures to add value to our customers and achieve a long-term sustainable positive effect on the construction industry.” He added “In addition to the usual performance criteria, such as fluidity and compressive strength, our new solutions for our ready-mix customers are characterised by their outstanding robustness. Our admixtures provide an important differentiator by guaranteeing consistently high quality concrete, even upon variation of the cement type and fluctuation of the raw materials used to produce these new, more sustainable cements.”

Turkey: OYAK Cement says that it eliminated 200,000t of CO₂ emissions during 2021 through its use of US-based DataRobot’s AI software. The producer said that the technology enabled it to multiply its alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate by seven an reduce its mechanical failure prediction time by 75%. It added that the software contributed to a US$39m/yr drop in costs.