Cement News tagged: International
Akmenes modernisation project nears completion, Lithuania
Akmenes Cementas, Lithuania's sole cement producer, is due to bring its new dry-process kiln line into operation shortly. “Representatives of equipment suppliers are visiting the facility now. They are checking, fine-tuning and testing the equipment, adjusting the programmes,” Arturas Zaremba, Akmenes Cementas CEO, told the Baltic Business Daily. The Akmene's plant's nominal grinding capacit...
Semen Padang plans new packing plant, Indonesia
Semen Indonesia group company Semen Padang plans to build a new packing plant at a site close to Pulau Baai port in Bengkulu at a cost of IDR100bn (US$920,000). "We have already earmarked IDR100bn to build a packing factory for Semen Padang near the Pualu Baai port in Bengkulu in 2014," the company's marketing director Benny Wendry told the Jakarta Post. The project is pending approval from t...
Global demand growth outlook downgraded
A recent report by Morgan Stanley has lowered the growth outlook for global cement demand for 2013 to adjust for a changing economic landscape in emerging regions. Following economic updates by its analysts, which cut GDP forecasts for most emerging countries, cement volume expectations have been significantly trimmed in half of the world’s regions. The research house now expects two per cen...
Cement imports - fortress Mexico breached
The first industrial scale consignment of bagged cement in 25 years has successfully been imported to Mexico, marking a unique milestone in the recent history of the Mexican building materials sector. Shipunloading at Puerto Progreso, Mexico On 9 October, the vessel M/N Atenea docked at Puerto Progreso on the Yucatan Peninsula with a cargo of 2850t of bagged cement, according to a...
Two new cement grinding plants for South Africa
Two new grinding stations will be established in Southern Africa by the end of 2014, to be set up by new market entrant Osho Ventures, CemNet News has learnt. Each of the new milling stations will have a capacity of 0.6Mta and work is due to start early next year when groundbreaking is scheduled to start in February 2014. The location for one of the units is within the Coega Industrial Zone...
Holcim Croatia to boost profitability
Holcim Croatia said it is implementing a new strategy to help drive the company back to profitability by 2015. The new operational plan cover all of Holcim's divisions and business segments in Croatia with measures including increasing prices and finding new markets as well as niche ones, SeeNews reports. As a result of a difficult construction market, cement consumption has fallen from 2.39...
NORM LLC eyes further expansion plans
NORM LLC may consider expanding its new 2Mta Qizildas Cement plant in Azerbaijan as early as next year, plant manager, Osman Nemli, has indicated. Speaking to International Cement Review (ICR) during a tour of the new works as part of the 24th Eurasian Cement Forum hosted by BusinessCem, Mr Nemli said the company may consider increasing capacity and adding new lines as early as mid-2014. Ce...
ACC and Ambuja see slow return to growth
ACC and Ambuja Cements, both part of Holcim, have reported a decline in quarterly sales due to subdued demand and lower cement prices, and expect a slow return to growth as near term challenges persist. Net profit at ACC, India's second-largest cement maker, halved to INR1.21bn in the July-September quarter. Net sales rose three percent to INR25.1bn. The company expects "gradual but slow imp...
Bangladesh sets next export revenue target
The government of Bangladesh has set an export revenue target of US$6.46m for cement, stone and salt over FY13-14 its export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has said. However, the country is facing a number of challenges as deliveries to its main export market of India have recently been in decline. Over FY12-13 Bangladesh exported US$6.15m, with earnings including minor amounts of stone and salt. In ...
Power supplies restored at Birla's Durgapur unit
Birla Corporation has resumed cement production at its Durgapur Cement plant as power has been restored after the severe Cyclone Phailin that hit eastern areas of the country earlier this month. Power was restored on 22 October 2013 by Damodar Valley Corporation after the cyclone caused damage to high tension lines and pole structures. In a statement released on 16 October to the Bombay Sto...
Pacasmayo kicks off construction of new plant, Peru
Cementos Pacasmayo has started construction of its new 1.6Mta plant in Piura to meet growing housing and infrastructure requirements in the north of the country. "We have already started the construction of this plant. We have laid the foundation earlier this month. At the moment we are comfortable with the schedule and we are thinking that in the first half of 2015 should start and cement p...
CPA lifts construction growth outlook, UK
The Construction Products Association is anticipating growth of 19 per cent for the UK construction industry by 2017 – an upward revision from its summer forecast, reflecting an increase in activity, which will boost UK GDP by an additional GBP20bn. Noble Francis, Economics Director of the Construction Products Association, commented: “Construction is set to enjoy growth over the next four ye...
Saudi Cement reports 9.6% rise in 3Q net profit
Saudi Cement Co reported a 9.6 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit on the back of higher domestic sales. The company made SAR229m (US$61.1m) in the July-September quarter compared to SAR209m in the same period of last year, it said in a bourse filing. With around 7Mta of capacity, Saudi Cement operates two plants – Hofuf and Ain Dar. In late 2012 it reopened three of its kiln lines at ...
BTA Bank to finance Standard Cement new line
BTA Bank JSC will act as the main creditor for the construction of Standard Cement factory's second production line in southern Kazakhstan. The funds will be used to acquire equipment for the dry-process line, a statement released on 21 October said. The new 1Mta line will be supplied by Tianjin Cement Industry Research and Design Institute of China. Construction and assembling works will f...
RAK Cement nine month net profit declines, UAE
Ras Al Khaimah Cement reported an 86.6 per cent decline in net profit for the nine months to the end of September due to technical stoppage at the plant earlier this year. The UAE-based producer said net profit fell to AED650,000 (US$176,000) compared to US$1.3m (AED4.85m) last year. Sales rose by 3.7 per cent during the 9M13 period to AED182.6m, with domestic dispatches increasing 37 per ce...
Lesotho plans 0.2Mta cement plant
Lesotho plans to build a 0.2Mta plant to meet cement requirements for the country’s second phase of its Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) and reduce reliance on imported cement from South Africa. Joshua Setipa, CEO of Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC), told South Africa Commercial Prop News: “We are keen on getting phase 2 going as that would stimulate demand and provide mu...