Global Cement News

Russia: Iskitimcement has completed the modernisation of the grinding plant at its 2.1Mt/yr integrated Iskitimcement plant in Novosibirskskaya following the installation of a closed-circuit dynamic separator and bag filter supplied by Christian Pfeiffer at a cost of US$3.69m. Iskitimcement director general Vladimir Skakun said that the upgrade aims, “to provide customers with separated cement that surpasses the quality of products produced with open-circuit grinding.”

The company said that the closed-circuit unit has increased productivity and reduced the temperature of cement. Dust emissions have fallen by over 90%, bringing the plant in line with current environmental strictures. “We are ready to meet the customers’ demand for quality products even at the peak of the construction season,” said Skakun.

Iskitimcement says that it is planning a modernisation of its stacks with the installation of new filters by 2024.

Russia: The Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities has announced that a technical certificate will suffice for new building materials to enter production. Glavgosexpertiza of Russia has said that the maximum period for the issuance of technical certificates for products including fibre and asbestos cement and concrete is five working days. The measures aim to support the construction industry in meeting demand in the new construction season following the coronavirus outbreak. The ministry will review the measure in mid-June 2020.

US: A lawsuit raised by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against CCC Group alleges that black construction workers were subject to racial discrimination and harassment during the construction company’s work on an upgrade at the Lafarge Ravena cement plant in 2016. The EEOC says that the workers were the target of racial language, were threatened and made to carry out more dangerous and physically taxing tasks. It added that it only took legal action after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the agency’s conciliation process.

CCC Group says it investigated the claims from one former employee in 2017 about ‘inappropriate comments’ after it was reported to the EEOC. However, it says that the complaint was never reported internally and that the EEOC refused to share information about the allegations. Subsequently, it was unable to determine what happened. The construction company only became aware of the other allegations when the EEOC filed its lawsuit in June 2020. CCC Group said, “We take all such allegations very seriously and continue to thoroughly investigate these claims. Regardless, CCC Group will continue its commitment to ensure that any such conduct is not tolerated or allowed to occur in our workplaces.”

800 workers were involved in the upgrade to the plant in New York State, which brought it to its present integrated capacity of 2Mt/yr.

This story was updated on 16 June 2020 following comment from CCC Group

India: UltraTech Cement has cuts its capital expenditure budget to around US$130m due to the coronavirus pandemic. Work on its 2.2Mt/yr Cuttack grinding unit, which was scheduled for commissioning in March 2021, has been slowed down. Upgrades at its West Bengal and Bihar grinding plants are nearly completed and a waste heat recovery system (WHRS) at its UltraTech Nathdwara Cement subsidiary will be completed in the current financial year.

The leading Indian cement producer said that government directives in response to the health crisis had ‘adversely’ affected revenue. Since ‘select’ activities were allowed to re-open from 20 April 2020 and the company says it is now, ‘dispatching cement from all locations.’ It added that the majority of demand was currently coming from retail markets as some institutional projects restart construction. It operates 22 operational integrated plants, 23 grinding units and 6 bulk terminals. The company said that ‘conserving cash’ is its motto in 2020.

Australia: The Queensland Supreme Court has ruled that Wagners must meet lower prices offered by a competitor in the market in its cement supply contract with Boral. Wagners suspended its supply of cement products to Boral for six months in early 2019 when Boral said it found cheaper cement from Cement Australia, according to the Australian newspaper. However, the court found that an October 2019 pricing notice for cheaper supplies from Cement Australia was ‘valid and effective’. Boral will continue buying cement from Wagners until 2031.