Algeria: Groupe des Ciments d'Algérie (GICA) expects that its cement exports should reach 2Mt by the end of 2021. The cement producer started exporting in 2018 with a total of 0.27Mt and has increased this since then. It renewed its desire for a new port to support its Chlef plant in the west of the country to further boost exports.

Iceland: Sementsverksmidjan has decided to sell cement from competitor Aalborg Portland Islandi due to a cement shortage in the country. It said it wants to help the local supply situation after seeking guidance from the local competition authority. Rival company Steinsteypan has made a formal complaint to the regulator. Sementsverksmidjan, a cement importing subsidiary of HeildebergCement, says that it also sold cement supplied by competitors earlier in the year.

Vietnam: Cement producers have raised their prices due to mounting coal costs. In October 2021 Bim Son Cement increased the cost of its products by 6%, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Other manufacturers have done likewise. Data from the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors shows that local coal prices have grown by 7 – 10% recently. Coal represents around 40 – 45% of the production cost of cement. Prices of diesel and additives have also risen.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement has revealed that a weakness in an evaporator tube in a fluidised bed heat exchanger in a captive power plant was the cause of an explosion that took place at its Hidaka cement plant in April 2021. It said that inspections had been carried out annually but that it was difficult to detect defects visually. The company has apologised for the incident. It says it will make changes including a review of inspection standards, including more personnel in the process, improved information sharing and starting regular training on the issue. These changes will be implemented across all of the company’s plants.

The 50,000kW circulating fluidised bed (CFB) boiler was supplied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and commissioned in 1996. It ran on coal, wood chips and refuse-derived fuel. No blame for the explosion has been attributed to the manufacturer.

The explosion took place in the evening of 27 April 2021. No major injuries were sustained. However, 40 vehicles parked outside a Pachinko gambling parlour near the plant were damaged. Scattered debris was noted nearby and ash was reported up to 5km from the cement plant.