New COO at HeidelbergCement India (HCIL)

HeidelbergCement is planning to raise its annual output in India by three times from 5.4 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes in next three to four years, according the company's CEO, Ashish Guha.

The world renowned German firm said it intends to acquire plants with at least 3 million tonnes of annual output to increase capacity, rather than investing €981.65 million (INR 82 billion) to expand using greenfield method.

HeidelbergCement is to undergo a management board shake-up and is reorganising its Group areas as part of its long-term planning, which includes the proposed acquisition of Italcementi.

In a statement, the building materials giant said the managing board agreements of Daniel Gauthier and Andreas Kern, which expire on 30 June 2016, will not be extended. At the same time, three new members have been appointed to the managing board and a new managing board function has been created for the Africa-Eastern Me

HeidelbergCement, the construction materials group, reported a 13% rise in operating profit to €1.6 billion for 2014. Adjusted sales revenues amounted to €12.6 billion in 2014. The German sector giant is said to be benefiting from the declining oil price, which lowers cement production costs. In addition, CEO Bernd Scheifele is expecting HeidelbergCement to benefit from the weak euro and the development in industrialised countries in particular in North America and the UK.

Meanwhile the company’s supervi