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Data from the Indonesian Cement Association showed that cement consumption in August 2015 was at 5.34 million tonnes, up 14.7% from a year ago.

During the first eight months of 2015, national cement consumption was at 36.4 million tonnes, down 2% from the same period in 2014.

During the period, state construction companies have secured new contracts valued at IDR 48.07 trillion (€2.94 billion/US$3.29 billion), up IDR 34.78 trillion from a year ago.

According to the association, the growth of cement

In Japan, Nippon Steel & Sumikin Cement and Osaka University have jointly developed a low-alkaline cement using rice chaff that will enhance the durability of nuclear waste disposal facilities.

The alkaline levels in cement are reduced by mixing silica dioxide with cement. The silica is extracted from rice chaff and it weakens alkaline as well as reacts with calcium hydroxide.

It is said that the development of this cement will help the government in constructing nuclear waste disposal facilities tha

The Portuguese cement group Secil is to upgrade the production capacity in Brazil up to the end of 2015 by 2 million tonnes/year.

The move results from the operation of a second plant of its local division Supremo.

It means a rise by 26% compared to the current capacity of 7.65 million tonnes, therefore increasing output to 9.65 million tonnes.

Metso has inaugurated another technology centre in Arequipa, Peru, to support the company's customers in the Latin America.

The centre serves Metso's customers in the mining, aggregates and process industries and is already operating closely with Metso's key customers in the region. The Arequipa facility employs over 70 experts.

“With the Arequipa technology centre, the delivery time for results to our customers and the costs of testing will reduce. Also the technology centre complements Metso's local

PHS Besafe has won the contract to supply protective workwear for Aggregate Industries, a UK provider of building and construction materials.

Aggregate Industries quarries, manufactures and supplies a wide range of building materials, from concrete and asphalt, to stone and cement. It employs more than 4,000 service personnel across 200 sites throughout Northern Europe and the Channel Islands.

France's stock market regulator is investigating a pay package granted to the former chief executive of cement maker Lafarge, Bruno Lafont, when the French cement company was bought by larger Swiss rival Holcim earlier this year.

Reuters news agency reports the AMF saying on Friday October 2 that it had referred the matter to its governance committee to examine the compensation.

Cement demand in India remains low with cement output only expanding by 1.8% from April to August 2015, compared to the same period of 2014. Industry experts believe demand for the material is lacking due to small government investment, weak housing demand, and a shortage of rains that reduces rural purchases.

Despite reduced demand, the price of cement in India’s northern region has increased in recent weeks by between 8% and 10% or INR 25 (US$ 0.38) and INR 30 for each 50kg bag. For some states like P

The 100% acquisition of United Cement Company of Nigeria (UNICEM) has been completed by Nigerian Cement Holdings (Nigerian Cement), a Lafarge Africa affiliate. Nigerian Cement held a 70% stake in UNICEM before agreeing a deal in November 2014 to acquire the remaining 30% stake. Nigerian Cement has bought the remaining shares from Flour Mills. Lafarge Africa has not revealed the purchase price.

The total profit of 11 out of 19 listed cement producers in Pakistan has increased by 13% year-on-year to US$445.72 million (PKR 46.6bn) in 2014/2015 fiscal year. Total revenue of the 11 firms went up by 3.7% to $1.859 billion (PKR 194.4bn).

The net earnings of the 11 companies that represent 95% of the cement sector's market capitalisation grew by 20% to $130.8 million (PKR 13.6 billion), and the growth in profits was attributed to lower energy costs and higher production. The total export volume decli

Lafarge Algérie is planning to invest nearly US$450 million in Algeria over the next two years, according to its PR Manager Serge Dubois. The group will notably seek to develop its activity as a provider of solutions, such as its involvement in the project to construct a 280mminaret for the Algiers mosque. White concrete is a key part of the firm's $447.78 million development plan, with the firm said to be capitalising on its lower production cost, improved performance and longer lifespan. The company curre

The 50th edition of Marmomacc, the largest exhibition in the world dedicated to natural stone business and culture, attracted 67,000 specialist operators - 3% more than visitors at last year's show. International attendance was also up to 57% (+9) from 150 countries, five more than in 2014.

Superior Industries, a major American-based manufacturer and global supplier of bulk material processing and handling systems, has named Mike Schultz its product manager for the company’s new crushing equipment product solutions.

Schultz comes to Superior with two decades of past experience in the construction aggregates and metal mining industries. Most recently, Schultz was employed at Terex Mineral Processing Systems as a market area director. In this role he was responsible for sales, service, marke

The world marble-natural stone sector in 2014 continued its growth trend for the fifth consecutive year (+3.85% over the previous year), according to the XXVI World Stone Report edited by Carlo Montaini for publisher Aldus.

The Report states that 2014 saw total world marble-natural stone output in excess of 100 million m³, equivalent to 80 million tonnes gross (net of quarry waste) and 1.5 billion m² of equivalent products at the conventional thickness for a slab of marble of 2cm.

The XXVI World Ston

Volvo’s wheeled loader facility in Arvika, Sweden, recently celebrated its 130th anniversary by hosting a family fun day – including a record breaking gathering of LEGO wheeled loaders.

A total of 61 LEGO models were gathered to set the World Record for the highest number of assembled LEGO Technic Volvo L350F wheeled loaders in one room.

Dangote Cement has appointed two new Regional Chief Executive Officers (RCEOs). Arvind Pathak will preside over its Nigerian home country operations, and Vivek Chawla will be Dangote Cement CEO for West and Central Africa. Prior to his appointment, Chawla was president of the India-based aluminium manufacturing company Hindalco Industries. Both Chawla and Pathak has over 30 years of experience in the cement industry.

Chicago Pneumatic has appointed Freeman Plant Sales as an authorised distributor of construction tools and portable energy equipment in South-East England. Commenting on the appointment, Paul Freeman, managing director of Freeman Plant Sales, said: “Chicago Pneumatic is well-known for providing reliable construction equipment at competitive prices. From my previous experience, this has proved especially valuable with the increased demand for construction tools in recent years, which is why we saw it as a gr

LafargeHolcim is reportedly implementing a new three-year strategy in Poland. The newly created building materials giant will not only sell cement, concrete and aggregates but will also offer its clients a range of services including logistics, design and consulting services amongst others.

If successful, the strategy will be implemented in other countries where LafargeHolcim is present. AS the company will be focused on the new strategy, it is not thought to be planning any major acquisitions in Poland,

XCMG has spoken of how the company has established a strong presence in the African market over recent years, and some of its ongoing projects in the continent.

According to customs statistics, the major Chinese construction equipment manufacturer exported over US$200 million worth of products to Africa in 2013. The group posted $170 million in export value in 2014, and nearly US$90 million in the first half of 2015, positioning it as the largest Chinese exporter to the market.

XCMG has established

Auto & Truck Tyres (A&TT), one of the leading South African suppliers of new and retreaded tyres, has worked with the Marangoni Group’s to completely upgrade its plant located in Wadeville, Johannesburg.

This large A&TT retreading plant produces close to 1,000 retreaded truck tyres a day, using precured material supplied by Leader Rubber Company S.A and Ringtread rings, and now aims to exploit the latest Italian-made Marangoni/TRM technology to achieve very high quality and efficiency standards.

The

Case Construction Equipment has been selected by Leica Geosystems as the supplier of machines for use by their Research & Development team to test their machine control systems. The four units – a Case 1650M XLT dozer, a CX210C crawler excavator, an 836C AWD grader and a 621F wheeled loader – have been hired on a one-year lease. At the end of the year, the machines will be replaced with new units and the lease renewed.

Sten Kristensen, director of product management at Leica Geosystems, explains: "The m