Cement News tagged: International
Attock signs Iraq joint venture grinding agreement
Pakistan producer Attock Cement on Friday signed an agreement with Al-Keetan Trading and Commercial Agencies Ltd for a new 3000tpd grinding plant in Basra, Iraq. Babar Bashir Nawaz, chief executive of Attock Cement, said the projected cost is estimated at US$35m. Attock will hold a 60 per cent interest and Al-Keetan Trading, the remainder. The plant could become operational in a year’s time,...
Spain: cautious outlook maintained
Cement demand in Spain registered its first monthly growth since the recession started as it reached 875,000t in March, up 16 per cent YoY, according to Oficemen data. However, the increase has been attributed to a weaker comparative period, with the Easter holiday falling in March last year resulting in few working days. Moreover, March 2013 was one of the wettest in history, further hamper...
Titan America's waste-to-fuel initiative, USA
Titan America has begun turning selected wastes into alternative fuel for use at its Pennsuco plant in Medley, Florida. The company works with a unit of Republic Services in Fort Lauderdale that collects refuse from businesses, mostly in Broward County. Initially, Republic Services expects to provide more than 1000t of materials monthly to the Titan plant, according to daily newspaper Sun-Sen...
India: Reliance Cement extends its sales reach
Reliance Cement Company has expanded its footprint in the domestic Indian market by launching sales of its product in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. Commenting on the developments, Arvind Pathak, CEO Reliance Cement, said, "Jharkhand is one of the most important cement markets in the Eastern India. The demand in the state is expected to grow exponentially due to upcoming power a...
Cemex completes financing for wind farm project
Cemex has successfully completed the financing of Ventika, a project comprising the construction of two 126MW wind farms each, for a total nominal capacity of 252MW, to be located in General Bravo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The investment for the project is approximately US$650m, of which 75 per cent corresponds to debt and 25 per cent to equity. The debt financiers are the North American Developm...
Gebr Pfeiffer grinding mill partnering in Holcim (US) Hagerstown modernisation
The Holcim (US) Hagerstown plant is the most recent USA cement plant to order a new raw material mill from Gebr Pfeiffer, Inc. The order was placed through KHD Humboldt Wedag, as the engineering and equipment supplier for the Hagerstown plant modernisation. KHD has been contracted to modify the existing production line to increase the plant’s potential production rate to approximately 2400...
Puerto Rico: cement sales up 7% in March
March signalled a change in the Puerto Rican cement market as 1358.7 94lb bags were sold, up 85.5 bags from February, ending several months of decline. Sales were the highest since October 2013 when 1406.7 bags were sold. In December 2013, Puerto Rico’s cement production was at an historical low as only 757.8 bags left the factory gates.
Argentina: cement demand falls 1.8% YoY
In March 2014, Argentina’s cement companies shipped 910,954t, including exports, reflecting a 13.5 per cent MoM rise, but a YoY drop of three per cent. The domestic market was entirely supplied by local cement and demand rose MoM by 14.7 per cent to 898,807t but was 1.8 per cent lower than in March 2013.
DG Khan plans Balochistan plant, Pakistan
DG Khan is expected to begin construction of a new 2.5Mta plant at Hub, located in the Lasbela district of Balochistan, next year, to lift its market share in the south of Pakistan and facilitate exports. A senior company official told The International News (Pakistan) that it is in the process of finalising vendors for the implementation of the project. In the next phase it will open a lette...
CalPortland Sustained Excellence Award
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognised CalPortland Company with a 2014 Energy Star® Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence Award for its continued leadership in environmental protection and energy efficiency. “CalPortland is honoured to receive this award for the 10th consecutive year,” said President/CEO Allen Hamblen. “We are committed to our partnership with ENERGY...
Pakistan sales edge ahead in 9MFY13-14
Pakistan cement sales during the first nine months of the current fiscal rose marginally by 0.7 per cent to 24.705Mt, according to preliminary statistics. Data released by Invest Cap Research shows domestic dispatches rose by 1.6 per cent during the July 2013 – March 2014 period to 18.66Mt. However, cement exports declined by two per cent YoY to 6.044Mt. During the month of March alone, ...
French cement market advances 6.6% in 1Q14
Cement consumption in France increased 6.6 per cent to 4.386Mt in 1Q14 compared to 4.115Mt in the same period of last year, according provisional data released by French cement association SFIC. Domestic producers delivered 4.04Mt with the balance supplied by imports. During the quarter, exports rose by 21.8 per cent YoY to 313,000t comprising 269,000t of cement and 44,000t of clinker – a YoY...
African Forum checks dynamics of cement prices
Zambia has recently recorded intermittent increases in the cost of cement, prompting government to call for additional private investment in the industry. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has disclosed that a market study has been carried out under the auspices of the African Competition Forum (ACF) and was simultaneously undertaken by Tanzania and South Africa. C...
Saudi Arabia's cement industry looks forward to good times
Saudi Arabia's cement companies are preparing for long-term cement demand growth as they expand their capacity. However, for some such as Yanbu Cement, the past quarter has seen earnings contract. NBK Capital raised Yamama Cement’s share value from SAR52.50 (US$14.00) to SAR54.42. Several new megaprojects are scheduled to come online, which are expected to drive longer-term cement demand. I...
Venezuela cement capacity set to increase
With a total capacity of 9.09Mta and 20 production lines, Venezuela’s cement industry is stable, according to the country’s Minister for Industry, José David Cabello. He also explained that three new cement production lines with a combined capacity of 3.2Mta are under construction. "The projection is to increase the production capacity in the country to an extra 3.65Mta in the coming years,...
Lafarge Pakistan net sales rise 7% YoY
Releasing further details on its 2013 performance, Lafarge Pakistan Cement said it saw net sales grow by seven per cent to PKR10.302m (US$105m) from PKR9624m. The company increased the use of alternative fuels from 28 per cent in December 2012 to 32 per cent in 2013. Power shortage persisted in the country and to avoid a complete shutdown the company rented generator sets. While this proved t...