Cement News tagged: International
Austria delivers stable cement sales in 2012
The Austrian cement industry saw stable sales in 2012 despite difficult operating conditions and a sluggish economy, according to the country’s cement association, VÖZ. However, the construction industry noted an expansion of six per cent on the back of a long building season, a mildly positive development in high-rise construction and renovation projects. As a result, cement plants were ab...
Tanga Cement to begin construction of new kiln line
Tanga Cement Company Ltd (TCCL) is soon to begin construction of a second kiln line that will more than double the company's clinker production and eliminate the need for costly clinker imports. Briefing of distributors from Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions during a tour of Tanga's cement plant last weekend, Erik Westerberg, TCCL's managing director, said: "We expect that by completion...
Saudi Arabia: new cement firm to be set up in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, has approved plans to establish a new cement producer in Riyadh City. Umm-Al-Qura Cement will be established with a capital of SAR200m provided through 20m shares with a nominal value of SAR10. According to the official Saudi Press Agency, the minister's approval for the new firm came in line with the kingdo...
India: Jaypee Cement eyes acquisition
Jaypee Cement (JC), the country’s third-largest producer (Jaiprakash Associates/Japyee Group), is looking at an acquisition, having recently dumped its plan to sell off its Gujarat plant. “In the near future, the group plans to expand its cement capacities via acquisitions and greenfield additions to maximise economies of scale and build on vision to focus on large-size plants from inception...
India: Mahuva farmers fined for opposing proposed Nirma cement plant
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a fine of INR100,000 (US$1675) on farmers and on the Union Ministry of Environment & Forest (MOEF) who opposed Nirma Ltd's proposed cement plant situated at Mahuva, Bhavnagar district. The tribunal imposed the fine on the two parties on 6 June, while dismissing two of their applications that sought to stay one of the tribunal's orders and terming ...
Vicat starts production tests for new cement type
France-based cement producer Vicat has started testing to produce a new low-carbon cement, Alpenat, on an industrial scale in its Créchy dans L’Allier factory. After several years of research the group confirms that it has developed a new cement “with a lower carbon footprint and high technical performance”.The new cement is reported to cut CO2 emissions by 30 per cent. The industrial-s...
Morocco’s 2013 consumption forecast to fall 8%
The Moroccan cement market is expected to end the year significantly down. At the end of 2012, the country noted an 11.5 per cent decline in housing starts, impacting on cement demand going forward, according to a report by BMCE Capital. In late April, cement sales fell 16.5 per cent and this figure was followed by a 14.5 per cent cut one month later. For July, consumption is not expecte...
Brazilian cement sales edge ahead
Brazilian cement sales during May 2013 edged ahead by 0.3 per cent YoY to 6Mt, preliminary data from the country’s Sindicato Nacional da Indústria do Cimento (SNIC) shows. During the January-May period, cement sales totaled 28.1Mt, a rise of 1.3 per cent compared to the 27.76Mt registered in the same period of last year. Total sales for the 12 months between June 2012 – May 2013 reached...
India: Jaypee shelves Gujarat plant sale, eyes further expansion
Jaypee Cement has decided to defer plans to sell its Gujarat unit and is now looking to expand capacity through acquisitions and the construction of new plants. “We did not get the right valuation. So we have shelved plans for selling the Gujarat unit,” Ashutosh Kumar, Joint President (Marketing), Jaypee Cement told local press. “We were in discussions with some parties. But, as of now...
Ghorahi Cement launches Sagarmatha brand, Nepal
Nepal-based cement producer Ghorahi Cement Industry has launched its Sagarmatha brand into the local market with an unveiling ceremony held on Thursday. According to the company, the Sagarmatha OPC, which ranges from 55-60MPa, complies with Nepal Standards NS 49-2041. The company said that it was working for international recognition by obtaining ISO 9001 certification. "By manufacturing ...
Spanish demand falls 24% in first five months
Cement consumption in Spain fell by more than 20 per cent to 1,027,597t in May and accumulated figures for the the first five months of the year show demand has declined by 24 per cent, representing 1.5Mt less than in the same period of 2012. "They continue to be tremendously disappointing data," explained the CEO of Oficemen, Aniceto Zaragoza, who added that "from our industry, we continue ...
Sumitomo Osaka to increase capacity in China
Japanese cement producer Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co will increase cement capacity in China's Yunnan Province by 2016 through the construction of new facilities. According to reports by the Nikkei the plan is to build two plants with a combined capacity of 6.4Mta. This will make the operation the province's largest, with a capacity of 14.6Mta, the report states. The first new plant will be b...
Venezuela imports 24,000t of cement
Although government spokesmen assure Venezuela’s cement production is sufficient to meet local market demand, the country has imported 23,991t of cement from Cuba. The port of Puerto Cabello saw the arrival of 12,991t of Portland cement Type I on 22 May, five days after 10,999t of Portland cement Type III was received by the same port. Both vessels left the Cuban town of Cienfuegos. In addi...
Vietnam cement sales slip during Jan-May 2013
Vietnam cement sales declined by 2.1 per cent in the first five months of this year to 19.5Mt compared to the same period of last year, data from the Ministry of Construction showed. The 2013 five-month figure represents 39.5 per cent of the whole year target, the ministry said. In May alone, domestic cement sales dropped 3.07 per cent compared to April and 0.84 per cent compared to May...
EPA settlement with Ash Grove Cement, USA
Ash Grove Cement Co has agreed to pay a US$2.5m penalty and invest approximately US$30m in pollution-control technology, the US Department of Justice and US Environmental Protection Agency announced. The EPA says the agreement, which resolves alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, will eliminate more than 17,000t of pollution from nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) each year. ...
Mixed bag from Euroconstruct as forecasts are reduced even further
Euroconstruct has further reduced its forecasts for European construction output, according to figures released last week. Although 2013 is still expected to be the trough, with construction output predicted to decline by 2.8 per cent, volumes in 2015 are now forecast to be even lower than 2012. However, the pace of the reductions has slowed from six months ago. The reductions for 2013 are ...