Cement News tagged: International
Ash Grove Cement acquires Geofortis LLC
Ash Grove Cement (USA) has acquired Geofortis LLC, operator of a raw natural pozzolan milling and classifying line and nearby deposit in Toole, Utah. Since starting production in 2021, Geofortis has obtained approvals for its supplementary cementitious material from agencies in California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. Ash Grove President, Serge Smith, said, “[This venture] aligns perfectly ...
Indian cement producers prepare for major expansion
Indian cement producers are set to invest approximately US$14.3bn over the next four years, aiming to increase capacity by around 25 per cent, or an estimated 160-170Mta of production capacity. The expansion will be driven primarily by the three leading cement producers in India: UltraTech , Ambuja , and Shree Cement . Collectively, these companies will account for 70 per cent of the count...
Investment Fund for Developing Countries sells Power Cement stake
The Investment Fund for Developing Countries and IFU Investment Partners K/S (IIP) have decided to dispose of their combined 6.1 per cent stake in Power Cement Ltd , Pakistan. IFU Investment Partners K/S (IIP) and the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), which hold a total of 80,506,670 shares in Power Cement, have decided to dispose of the entire shareholding in the company. ...
Cemex sells operations in Guatemala
Cemex announced that it has sold its operations in Guatemala to Holcim Group , for a total consideration of approximately US$200m, with the transaction signed and closed 10 September 2024. The divested assets consist of one grinding mill, three ready-mix plants and five distribution centres. As of 31 December 2023, the grinding mill had an installed capacity of around 0.6Mta. Fernando...
Iran’s cement market contracts 17% in August
Iranian cement demand decreased 17.2 per cent YoY to 4,778,492t in August 2024 from 5.77Mt in August 2023, according to the Iranian Cement Association. Cement production cement production declined 4.7 per cent YoY to 5,449,818t in August 2024 from 5.72Mt in the year-ago period. Clinker production fell 49.3 per cent from 2,836,993t in August 2024 from 5.6Mt in August 2023. In August 2024 ...
Vietnam's cement industry leaders call for action following 42 line stoppages
Production in the Vietnamese building materials sector has seen a sharp decline, with the Ministry of Construction reporting significant drops in both production and sales throughout 2023 and the first eight months of 2024. The cement industry, in particular, has been hit hard, with total production for 2023 reaching only 92.9Mt when compared with a capacity of 122.34Mta. This shortfall led to...
Domestic cement sales in Brazil increased 4% in 2024
Domestic cement sales in Brazil increased by 3.5 per cent YoY to 6.175Mt in August 2024 from 5.968Mt in August 2023, reports the country's cement association, SNIC. Sales volumes benefitted from a 5.6 per cent YoY rise in daily dispatches, reaching 252,000tpd in August 2024. Brazil is facing its worst drought in history, leading to the announcement of a red flag energy bill that could ...
Argos Panama’s strive for carbon neutrality
Argos Panama (part of Cementos Argos SA ) is committed to making the construction of housing and infrastructure more sustainable. Gustavo Uribe, CEO of Argos Central America, highlights that this approach is reflected in a portfolio of environmentally responsible products manufactured in Panama’s first carbon-neutral cement plant. The company has been able to achieve such sustainability goa...
Kenya surveils substandard cement
Three out of five cement samples that the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) collected in a market surveillance operation failed the standards test. The report indicates that only 38.1 per cent of the cement tested in February 2022 met the required standards, including the capacity to withstand the slightest pressure without crumbling. Subsequent tests found that the quality of cement impr...
Senegal's market expands 17% in July
Cement sales in Senegal increased by 17.4 per cent in July 2024 to 672,700t when compared with 573,200t in July 2023, according to Senegal's Planning and Economic Study Directorate. Domestic production advanced by 15.8 per cent YoY to 823,200t from 711,000t in July 2023. Of this total, cement plants exported 167,900t of their output, up 17.9 per cent YoY when compared with exports of 142,400...
Egypt’s cement consumption expected to fall to 45Mt in 2024
Cement consumption in Egypt is expected to decline to 45Mt this year, compared to 47Mt in 2023, according to Ahmed Shireen, head of the Federation of Egyptian Industries' (FEI) cement division. In relation to this, multiple local contracting firms have temporarily suspended projects over the last two weeks. This suspension comes as a result of a decline in cement supply to their respective ...
Pakistan cement dispatches witness 26% drop in August
Total cement dispatches in Pakistan declined by 25.7 per cent to 3.37Mt in August 2024 when compared with 4.53Mt in August 2023. According to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), domestic dispatches fell by 27.6 per cent to 2.75Mt in August 2023 from 3.8Mt in the year-ago period. Total exports were also down, by 16 per cent, with volumes decreasing to 613,857t from 730,...
Seven companies to work on Japanese advanced CCS projects
Taiheiyo Cement Corp , ITOCHU Corp, Nippon Steel Corp, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, INPEX Corp, Taisei Corp and ITOCHU Oil Exploration Co Ltd were selected by the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) to conduct engineering design work for Japanese advanced CCS projects. The Japanese government has chosen CCS as an important means for decarbonisation that must be ...
Moroccan market expands 10% in August
Cement deliveries by Asment Témara , Ciments de l’Atlas , Ciments du Maroc , LafargeHolcim Maroc in Morocco advanced by 9.7 per cent YoY to 1,265,106t in August 2024 from 1,153,378t in August 2023, according to Morocco’s cement association, APC. Dispatches to the distribution segment were up 5.6 per cent to 721,796t in August 2024 from 683,550t in August 2023 while deliveries to the rea...
Votorantim appoints new executive VP of finance and investor relations
Votorantim Cimentos SA announced on 2 September 2024, its appointment of Antonio Miguel Sousa Pelicano to the position of executive vice president of finance and investor relations. Mr Pelicano succeeds Osvaldo Ayres Filho, who temporarily assumed these responsibilities and continues with the company as CEO. Mr Sousa Pelicano is Portuguese and has extensive experience in financial managem...
Colombia’s cement dispatches stable in July
Grey cement dispatches in Colombia remained stable at 1.051Mt in July 2024, according to the country’s statistics agency, DANE. Bulk dispatches expanded by 1.9 per cent YoY, but sales of bagged cement were down 1.1 per cent when compared with the equivalent period of the previous year. Deliveries to ready-mix concrete suppliers saw a 3.4 per cent YoY drop in July 2024, but the off-take by co...