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Italiam cement firm Buzzi Unicem has transferred its plant located in Cadola to a subsidiary of Austrian company Wietersdorfer (W&P Cementi). Under the transfer agreement Wietersdorfer also has the option to acquire, within five years, Buzzi Unicem’s Travesio, Italy cement plant for around €22 million.

Nigeria has reportedly become the country with the largest cement capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa at 28.3 million tonnes/year, with the country's demand for cement expected to reach 35 million tonnes/year by 2020. Meanwhile, Ethiopia, Angola, Senegal and Ghana now have annual cement capacity of 12.6 million, 8 million, 6.5 million and 6.7 million tonnes respectively.

A sharp rise in financing costs is said to be behind Italcementi's turnover decline of 6% to €2.048.4 billion in H1 2014. The running Ebitda improved by 2.2% to €304.8 million helped by a 6.2% reduction in the amortisation and depreciation charge, while the trading profit improved by 27.7% to €99.8 million.

The 66.5% hike in financing costs, largely related to interest rate derivatives and derivatives on CO2 hedging, is said to have led to a net financial charge of €75.1 million. After contribution fro

HeidelbergCement expects the information on the sale process of its building products business will be sent out to potential buyers in late September, said the firm’s chief executive Bernd Scheifele.

Speaking to reporters after the German cement maker released its Q2 2014 results, Scheifele said he expected the sale of the building products business to be concluded swiftly because the potential buyers are private equity funds, not industrial buyers, and therefore there would be no cartel issues weighing

Chinese construction equipment manufacturer SDLG has opened a new parts warehouse in Jurong, west Singapore.
As Shandong Lingong Machinery (known as Lingong) continues to expand distribution of its equipment into global markets, it says it is also improving its aftermarket offering by opening strategically placed warehouses for fast spare parts delivery.

Following the marked improvement in UK mineral products sales from mid-2013, the latest Mineral Products Association (MPA) figures indicate further sales rises in the first half of 2014.

Compared to Q2 2013, crushed rock was the fastest growing market (+9% in Q2 2014), whilst both asphalt and sand & gravel were 4% higher. Ready mixed concrete sales fell 3.2% over the period, but the decline should be viewed in the context of the very high volumes seen last year and the underlying market trends remain pos

Cement producer PPC Zimbabwe (PPC) is this month expecting to start building a new plant in Harare, Zimbabwe, after securing US$18 million for the project. The company is also planning to further increase output by building cement grinding plants in Mozambique's Tete province and Harare and a clinker facility in Zimbabwe's Mount Darwin district.

Njombo Lekula, PPC Zimbabwe's MD, said that the company has almost completed a feasibility study to build a cement grinding and clinker plant at Mashonaland in

Production at Hanson Cement's Padeswood cement plant will increase after an investment by Heidelberg. The firm is looking to reinstate a railhead and develop a new packaging production line at the plant near Mold, North Wales. The development, which awaits Flintshire council approval, will create 35 jobs. The plant currently operates at half capacity, with Hanson Cement optimistic the plant will return to full capacity.

Israeli government to end cement monopoly

The Israeli government is set to end the country's cement monopoly. Antitrust Commissioner David Gilo has outlined a plan to force Nesher to sell its Har Tov plant, which produces around 30% (1 million tonnes) of Israel's cement/year.

If Nesher fails to sell the plant, Gilo said, the firm will have to drop the discounts it provides its largest customers.

The Cost of Living cabinet has approved plans to enhance competition in the cement market, which include

Russia’s Pavlovsk Nerud, a unit of National Non-Metallic Company, the largest producer of crushed stone in Europe, plans to invest €16.95 million (RUB 800 million)in upgrading and improving productivity. In Q1 2014, its net loss totalled more than €5.63 million (RUB 270 million) against a profit of €5.57 million (RUB 267 million) in Q1 2013.

The Romanian subsidiary of Lafarge, the French building materials group, has reported that its H1 2014 cement sales rose by 3.2% in value and 6.2% in volume compared with the same period in 2013. For Central and Eastern Europe, which covers Poland, Romania and Russia, cement sales for Lafarge rose 6% in the first half in terms of volume and 7.8% in terms of value compared with the same period in 2013.

Spanish cement firm, Cementos Molins, generated a profit of €17.97 million during the first six months of 2014, which represents a 116.9% growth. This has been attributed to a 39% decrease in losses in Spain to €13.6 million. International activity brought in profits of €31.6 million. Other figures show that turnover fell 6.7% to €248.4 million, whilst gross operating profit stood at €1.5 million.

Terex Trucks MD Paul Douglas said it’s “business as usual – but with added muscle” at the firm following its recent acquisition by Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE).

In his first public announcement since the company’s acquisition was completed on 1 June 2014, Douglas said Terex Trucks would continue to operate as an independent business while at the same time drawing on the resources and expertise of its parent company.

Terex Trucks, said Douglas, will also retain its long-term commitment to it

Heidelberg Cement reports a strong operating performance for the second quarter of 2014 compared with previous year.
The group says it increased sales volumes in all business lines and group revenue was stable at €3.6 billion (like-for-like/+8%) and operating income improved slightly to €516 million despite negative exchange rate effects (like-for-like: +12%).
Operating cash flow improved significantly and net debt was reduced, while the group says the outlook for 2014 is confirmed with a positive outlook

Holcim says its first half-year 2014 results show cement volumes up and a like-for-like growth in operating EBITDA and operating profit based on recent restructurings and cost discipline.
Bernard Fontana, CEO, said: “Holcim increased sales of both cement and aggregates in the first half of 2014, despite an uneven development of the global economy.
“Group regions North America, Africa Middle East and Europe recorded particularly strong cement sales. Mild weather conditions at the beginning of the year supp

German diesel engine manufacturer Deutz is to vacate its exchange Xchange production site in Übersee on Lake Chiemsee, Bavaria. The company gave notice three months ago that it was investigating a possible relocation of the Deutz Xchange plant to its Ulm site. Following a thorough and comprehensive process of analysis, the Deutz Board of Management has decided to approve the Xchange production transfer to Ulm.

Deutz says that concentrating production on one site will enable productivity to be increased a

Workers are put at risk every year due to exposure to harmful workplace dust, according to a new study from the University of Stirling, Scotland.

According to Profs Rory O'Neill and Andrew Watterson of the University of Stirling's Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Research Group, crystalline silica is second only to asbestos as a cause of occupational cancer deaths.

Currently, a workplace exposure limit of 0.1 milligrams per m³ is set in the US and the UK under health and safety law.

Komatsu posted a 1.1% gain in first-quarter profit as sales in Europe, Africa and parts of Asia helped overcome a slump in China.
The world’s second-biggest maker of construction equipment reported a net income rose to 37.7 billion yen (US$370 million) in the three months ended 30 June from 37.3 billion yen a year ago, the Tokyo, Japan-based company said today in a statement reported by Bloomberg. Revenue also rose 1.1% to 460.2 billion yen.
Sales of construction, mining and utility equipment, Komatsu’s b

The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has published its Government & Industry Action Plan which sets out key actions for both the next government and the mineral products and quarrying industry, to help ensure that policy objectives supporting sustained economic recovery can be delivered.

The five key actions MPA is calling for from government are:

To focus on encouraging UK growth, indigenous production and investment including the delivery of the national infrastructure programme and meeting housin

International construction equipment manufacturer Chicago Pneumatic has appointed Mercury Invest as its authorised distributor in Bulgaria. With a large customer base ranging from civil engineering to road construction contractors, the Chicago Pneumatic says the new distributor will help strengthen its presence in Eastern Europe.

“Eastern Europe is an important market for Chicago Pneumatic and represents a potential area of growth,” says Thrassos Pitsilos, business development manager for south-east Eur