Cement News tagged: International
Construction begins on new Ecebol greenfield plant, Bolivia
Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales has kick-started construction of Empresa Pública Cementos de Bolivia's (Ecebol) new 1.3Mta cement works in Jeruyo, Caracollo in the country’s Oruro department. The contract for the greenfield plant has been awarded to Spanish-German consortium Polysius-Imensa-VSM-Sacyr. The state-owned cement factory, which will be situated at 4000m above sea level on 74ha s...
US cement demand growth continues in 2014
Although recent economic indicators point to a tempering of the US economy, PCA is maintaining its forecast for steady growth in construction and cement consumption during the next five years. A recent PCA forecast indicates a 7.9 per cent increase in cement consumption for 2014, almost double from the 4.5 per cent increase in 2013. The industry expects to see double-digit growth in 2015 and ...
Contract for new CMS grinding unit set to be signed
The contract for CMS Cement’s new MYR190m grinding plant project on Sarawak, Malaysia, is due to be signed early next month, according to group managing director, Richard Curtis. Speaking to The Star (Malaysia), Mr Curtis said the new 1Mta grinding plant is expected to be more efficient in production compared with the two existing plants as it would be equipped with the latest technology. T...
Spanish consumption decreases 5.6%
Spanish cement association Oficemen has revealed that domestic cement demand fell by 5.6 per cent in April to 858,920t when compared with the same period last year. In the first quarter, consumption reached 3,260,547t, representing a 3.4 per cent YoY decline.
Vietnam cement sales climb 20% YoY
Cement sales by Vietnamese cement producers in the first four months of the year totalled 21Mt, up 20 per cent from a year ago and fulfilling 34 per cent of the 2014 target, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Construction (MoC). Of the total, 15.5Mt were sold domestically while about 5.5Mt of cement and clinker were exported. In April, cement sales climbed by 11 per cent Yo...
PT Loesche Indonesia service hub officially inaugurated
Loesche has officially opened its new service hub in Jakarta, Indonesia, with an introductory seminar and inauguration ceremony for invited customers and potential business partners. PT Loesche Indonesia has been in full operation since January 2014. This country unit focuses on plant modernisation and spare part supply, as well as on-site support with all kinds of services for audits, mainte...
Italian price probe
Italy's antitrust authority has launched an investigation into eight Italian producers and vendors to determine if they have colluded to restrict competition in the Veneto region. SeeNews Italy reported that the watchdog on 13 May notified companies General Beton Triveneta, SuperBeton, Intermodale, Calcestruzzi Mosole, Jesolo Calcestruzzi, Ilsa Pacifici Remo, Calcestruzzi Dolomiti and F.lli R...
Five Star Mining to invest US$200m in Honduras
Five Star Mining (FSM) intends to invest US$200m over three years in the Honduran cement and mining industry, according to the country’s Subsecretariat of Environment and Mining. The company has been granted a mining concession and is currently undertaking a feasibility study to establish a cement company. FSM is currently active in the country via iron oxide extraction at Monte Redondo, Ag...
Argentina: cement demand falls 5% YoY
Argentina’s cement industry shipped 905,584t, including exports, in April 2014, reflecting a 0.6 per cent decrease from March and a 7.1 per cent fall YoY. Domestic demand, including imports, reached 895,697t, slipping 0.3 per cent MoM while compared to April 2013, the figure was 5.4 per cent lower. In the first four months of 2014, Argentina’s cement demand reached 3,557,983t, a two per cent...
Philippine producers step up alternative fuels efforts
Philippine cement producers are stepping up their efforts to increase their use of alternative fuels in a bid to reduce production costs and minimise environmental impact. “Energy makes up 63 per cent of cement production cost, or 40 per cent of total cost in operations. We must find alternatives that will be beneficial not only to us but to the environment as well,” Ernesto Ordoñez, presid...
China prices expected to rise, exceed market expectations
Cement prices in China are likely to continue rising in the second half this year and go beyond market expectations along, according to industry sources. Cement prices in China slightly dropped 0.17 per cent after May Day holiday, but Digital Cement expects the demand for cement would grow significantly in the second half of this year with the rising investment in railways and the speeding u...
Cemex CEO Zambrano dies
Cemex’s chief executive officer, Lorenzo Zambrano, who led the Mexican cement major for almost three decades, has died aged 70. A statement by the company said that Mr Zambrano passed away in the Spanish city of Madrid on 12 May 2014 of natural causes. Lorenzo H. Zambrano (1944-2014) A grandson of the company’s founder, Mr Zambrano joined Cemex in 1968 and worked his way through t...
South Valley seeks alternative energy sources
Egypt-based producer South Valley Cement is seeking alternative energy sources as securing sufficient fuel to operate production facilities has become one of its key challenges. Speaking at a press conference earlier this week, the company said it has prepared studies for the use of coal and agricultural wastes. However, company officials said the application of alternative energy sources s...
Lafarge Zambia plans to double capacity
Lafarge Zambia plans to double capacity by adding another production line at its Chilanga cement plant, as the country's leading cement producer seeks to tap domestic market growth. "The new production line is still at design stage, but we will be looking at ramping up production to 4000tpd to 5000tpd once construction is complete," Emmanuel Rigaux, Lafage Zambia chief executive officer, to...
US first-quarter shipments seen surpassing 15.5Mt mark
Total shipments of Portland and blended cement in the United States and Puerto Rico of Portland and blended cement in the first quarter of 2014 reached 15.664Mt, preliminary data from the US Geological Survey shows. Imports for the three months to the end of March accounted for 1.168Mt of the total. Total dispatches in March alone stood at 6.106Mt, of which 434,484t were imported. Clinke...
Indonesian monthly cement sales contract
Cement sales in Indonesia declined 0.4 per cent YoY in April to 4.52Mt, according to data from the Indonesia Cement Association (ASI). Speaking to local press, Widodo Santoso, chairman of the ASI, said: “Demand for building material was low throughout the legislative campaigns, which is why cement sales were down last month. Figures for the sales of cement have declined throughout the...