News

Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding’s (SH) net profit rocketed up 54% in Q1 2015 to €217.52 million (TRY 650 million). Meanwhile, SH turnover for the period was €2.25 billion (TRY 6.72 billion). SH’s cement group companies increased their net profit by 4.5%. The Group's clinker plant in Afyon (Turkey) is to receive a €147.06 million investment to increase capacity to 1.3 million tonnes.

Cement producer Semen Indonesia has reported a 1.4% year-on-year decrease in its sales volume from 8.18 million tonnes to 8.06 million tonnes during the first four months of 2015, with sales volume in overseas and local market standing at 136,430 tonnes (up 812.3%) and 7.93 million tonnes (down 2.9%), respectively.

Semen Indonesia sold 1.91 million tonnes (down 4.7%) of cement in April 2015 alone, comprising 27,006 tonnes (up 100%) to overseas markets and 1.88mn tonnes (down 6%) to the local market.

A new cement plant that will produce 2.2 million tonnes/year is due to be constructed in Algeria thanks to a partnership between Hodna Algerian Cement Company and South African firm PPC.

Abdelkrim Mansouri, director general of the Algerian National Development Agency for Investment (NDAI), says that construction of the cement plant will begin soon as all the administrative procedures had been finalised.

The new cement plant project will cost US$287 million – 80% financed by Algerian banks and the two

Aggregates suppliers in South Africa and beyond could benefit from the upgrade of Cape Town International Airport’s domestic and international terminals.

The Airport’s runway will also be re-aligned as part of the planned US$640 million (R7.7-billion) expansion by the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA). The project will be completed in the next three years.

Speaking at the Indaba 2015, spokesperson for ACSA, Collin Naidoo, has said that the airport development was part of his company’s new operation

Mexican cement giant Cemex says it is undertaking a new US$300 million investment in the Philippines. The significant investment will include the construction of a new 1.5-million-tonne, integrated cement-production line at Cemex’s Solid Plant in Luzon - doubling the capacity of the Solid plant and representing a 25% increase in the company’s Philippines’ cement capacity.

In a recent visit to the Philippines of Cemex CEO Fernando A. Gonzalez and his executive team, highlighted by a meeting with His Excel

Spancrete, a leading manufacturer of precast building solutions in North America, has entered the Indian market.

In a partnership with SP Precast Solutions India and MAAD Building Innovations Group (MBIPL), Spancrete has supplied the first Spancrete production system in india.

The new plant provides Spancrete brand Hollowcore slabs and other precast elements to residential, commercial and industrial development projects for the MAAD Group’s Realty Development Department as well as other companies.

Tata Steel Europe has won a Gold Caterpillar Supplier Quality Excellence Process award (SQEP) for the second year running, for its global supply of track shoe profiles.

SQEP is Caterpillar’s process for assessing and recognising suppliers’ quality performance, and combines industry-recognised systems with demonstrated results. This latest award builds on a strong history of success for the company’s Skinningrove site, north-east England, which received Caterpillar’s Gold Award last year and Silver for

Two of Ash Grove Cement Company’s cement manufacturing plants have received Wildlife Habitat Council certifications.

The Midlothian, Texas, plant was granted Corporate Lands for Learning (SM) certification for its wildlife habitat that offers experiential, interactive learning opportunities to youth, the community and wildlife professionals.

The Foreman, Arkansas, plant was granted Wildlife at Work recertification for its efforts to create, conserve and restore 2,000 acres of wildlife habitats, includ

Caterpillar is building a Regional Training Centre for the African and Middle East Region (AME) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Centre will offer hands-on machines and power systems technical and sales training to Caterpillar’s dealers and customers in the AME region.

A more than US$7 million project, the around 1,700m² centre will employ about 40 people, mostly high-level technical staff who will primarily be recruited from the region. The more than 7,000 technicians at AME Cat dealers have some of

Canadian off-highway tyre manufacturer Camoplast Solideal has acquired Auckland, New Zealand-based Eastwood Tyres, further strengthening its position in the Asia-Pacific market.

“We are committed to being the global reference in delivering enhanced mobility solutions for the off-the-road market,’’ said Gregory Fossey, vice president and CEO Asia-Pacific at Camoplast Solideal. “We are always on the lookout for businesses willing to join us and help achieve this goal,” he added.

The Eastwood acquisiti

Marangoni Retreading Systems has signed an agreement with Leader Rubber which will see Marangoni acquire 25% of the South African company’s stock.

This agreement is the culmination of a partnership that has been ongoing for several years, with both companies keen to strengthen their presence in Southern Africa/Africa. The size of the domestic market totalling two million retreads and new tyres, its proximity to fast-growing markets and easy access to the Gulf region make South Africa an ideal location fo

Shantui has completed its first bulk export of hydrostatic bulldozers - delivering them to a customer in the Philippines. The shipment by the Chinese manufacturer included 27 units of the 73kW hydrostatic SD10YE and 51 units of the 95kW SD13-2. The equipment is being used on a large-scale infrastructure development project.

To ensure that the machines operated to their optimum level, Shantui technicians travelled to the customer’s job site to provide on-site service training and machine operation instruc

Lafarge Tarmac, the UK's leading supplier of road surfacing and highway maintenance solutions, has bought 60 new JCB 2CX Streetmaster backhoe loaders in a major deal worth €5.5 million (£4 million).

The order marks a 25-year partnership between Lafarge Tarmac and JCB for handling road maintenance projects. The latest machines were supplied by JCB dealer Gunn JCB.

The sustainable construction solutions company - which took delivery of its first 2CX Streetmaster model a quarter of a century ago - inst