News

China's Jidong Cement has received shareholders' approval to transfer 100 millionn shares in Shaanxi Qinling Cement Group (Qinling Cement) to China Renewable Resources Development (China Renewable) at a price of CNY 2.75 (€0.32) per share.

As of 31 March, 2014, Jidong Cement held 185 million shares in Qinling Cement, accounting for 28.05% of the total shares. After the recent transaction, Jidong Cement will no longer be the controlling shareholder in Qinling Cement. Qinling Cement's main business will ch

Cemex's plant in Lloseta, which had been on the verge of being closed, is now looking towards an optimistic future.

Since 2006, investment in the plant has been €6 million, with one of the most recent additions being a 25,000tonne capacity silo for clinker that will be opened in September 2014 and that cost €4.5 million.

The plant's production has dropped over the duration of the crisis years, from 800,000tonnes per year pre-crisis to the current 350,000tonnes. A decrease in cement demand over the pa

Hardox, which is owned by SSAB, a name that has become “synonymous with world-class durability and quality in the world of steel,” is celebrating 40 years.

For SSAB, Hardox is one of the company’s most successful products ever.

SSAB’s aim was to develop a wear plate that was both hard and tough when it produced Hardox 40 years ago. It needed to be hard to be able to withstand severe wear and tear over a long period of time and tough to be able to handle bending and intense use without cracking.

Whe

In 2013 Swiss cement and construction materials producer Holcim's Slovakian subsidiary, Holcim Slovensko, made a loss of €22.03 million compared to a net profit of €9.26 million in 2012.

In 2013 its loss from economic activities fell markedly by nearly 59% on year to €15.63 million, while from financial activities it made a loss of €7.7 million compared to a profit of €16.08 million in 2012. Its EBITDA amounted to €10.22 million, while production represented €123.87 million, up by 36.5% on year.

Holci

Based on an Atecap report, the Italian concrete industry will see a 9% year-on-year drop in production in 2014, compared to a 20.5% year-on-year drop in 2013. A slow recovery ranging between 4%-6% is expected in 2015-2016.

Austrian cement manufacturer Kirchdorfer's concrete subsidiary TIBA Austria wants to take over a production plant for ready-made concrete parts for canal and waste water works. It is located in St Veit/ Glan and owned by Rudolf Kandussi. In return the latter will get a 26% stake in TIBA.

The competition authority is currently looking into the matter. Kirchdorfer said the deal is an important part of its export strategy. It will improve logistics and help exports to northern Italy and Slovenia

Two large projects are to be implemented within the state programme for accelerated industrial and innovative development of Kazakhstan in 2014.

Koktas-Aktobe company plans to build a cement plant with a capacity of 1 million tonnes/year. Investments will total KZT 18bn (€72 million), and some 300 jobs will be created.

Talks are being held with the Chinese company Huaxin Gayur Cement on setting up a joint enterprise.

The second project implies the production of mineral fertilisers on the site of

South Korea-based Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Hyundai E&C) has created a cheaper and eco-friendly method for asphalt production through a collaboration with sister companies Hyundai Steel, Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor.

The new method, which has been tested as road pavements since 2012, produces asphalt by heating furnace slag, car glass and other industrial by-products at a temperature of 120°C.

There are clear signs of a revival in the construction industry in Poland, with the leading rail freight firm PKP Cargo reporting a record rise in transport of building materials and aggregates in the first quarter of 2014.
Aggregate transport was up in particular, rising by over 80% year-on-year. However, prices have remained stable, and the aggregate industry association PZPK estimates that 60-80 million tonnes of the industry capacity of 220 million each year is currently unused.
Cement producers are

The French union of construction materials and quarry industries (Unicem) awarded its environmental charter's biodiversity mention to the Cemex quarry in Ségrie (Sarthe).

The mention recognises actions carried out by the quarry, and underlines its efforts in partnership with birds protection league LPO Sarthe to protect the yellow-bellied toad which is in danger of becoming extinct in Pays de Loire.

A birdhouse for peregrine falcons is soon set to be installed on the site. The quarry already received

Swedish firm Züblin Scandinavia, a subsidiary of STRABAG, will head the joint venture partnership building the Marieholmstunnel project in Swedish city Gothenburg. This project will be for an immersed tunnel, which will pass under the River Göta älv. The design & build agreement also comprises the mechanical and electrical works and has a total contract value of around €170 million. The owner of the project is the Swedish road and railway authority Trafikverket, to which the tunnel is to be handed over in O

Lafarge will be merging some of its operations in Africa under a new entity called Lafarge Africa.

According to Lafarge, the new entity will be holding assets in both Nigeria and South Africa, and the merger will involve the issuance of 1.4 million Lafarge Africa shares to the parent company, Lafarge, as well as some €146 million in cash payment.

Lafarge Africa will be listed on the Nigerian stock exchange.

According to Amal Tantawi, CEO of Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe, production at the company will rise to 500,000tonnes/year on completion of the current plant upgrade. Presently its capacity utilisation is around 70% and it produces 370,000tonnes/year.

Kenyan cement producer, ARM expects to start building a cement plant costing KES 26bn (€218 million) in Kitui in October 2014, according to the company’s CEO, Pradeep Paunrana.

He said the company will use its cash reserves and debts to fund plant, which will have daily capacity of 8,000tonnes. Kitui has substantial limestone deposits and there are large coal reserves near the Mui basin.

Dangote Cement of Nigeria will also build a plant in Kitui with daily output of 5,500tonnes, at a cost of €294 mill