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World Cement News

FLSmidth focus on the environment at new Indian cement plant

Using all state-of-the-art technology for the project, Dalmia Bharat Group will minimise its environmental impact and maximise its productivity at their new Rajgangpur site.

From crusher to packing plant, the project is designed to optimise power and fuel efficiency. The purpose is not only to reduce operating costs, but also to achieve the smallest possible environmental footprint. To meet the high ambitions for the project, Dalamia Bharat selected FLSmidth to deliver the complete full flow sheet of the latest equipment and machinery including; electrical, instrumentation and automation equipment.

The purpose is not only to reduce operating costs, but also to achieve the smallest possible environmental footprint.

Dalmia Bharat has been one of the top performing companies in cement manufacturing since 1939. The company now controls an expandable capacity of 26.1 million tonnes of cement, which is among the highest capacities in the Indian cement industry.

Once completed in 2019, the new integrated cement plant will set new standards for Indian cement production both in terms productivity and its environmental impact.

“We have worked closely with Dalmia Bharat for the past many years. This is a company strongly committed to its environmental responsibility. We are very proud to have been chosen to partner in this project, which will increase the company’s overall output and lower their cost of operations, all with a minimal impact on the environment during the lifetime of the plant,” says Hari TR, Head of Cement at FLSmidth in India.

Publish by Flsmidth

PPC lobbies for cement import tariffs

The cement producer says the tariffs will level the playing field as imports jumped 80% between January and November 2018

Listed cement producer PPC is lobbying government body International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) for the imposition of tariffs to curb the influx of cement imports.  

For PPC, the cement imports, which jumped 80% between January and November 2018, worsened the subdued consumer environment and gloomy construction sector. The increase comes on the back of a 71% increase in imported cement in the six months to end-September 2018.

The company said the majority of the cement imports were from Vietnam, China and Pakistan.

“PPC is lobbying for appropriate tariffs for imports for all countries, which will level the playing field. Currently, tariffs are only levied on cement imports from Pakistan. Furthermore, considering the current muted economic environment, a total ban would be appropriate,” PPC said in a statement. 

The company pointed to over-capacity in the local market, saying current capacity was about 18-million tonnes a year, compared to a demand of approximately 14-million tonnes a year “with the growth outlook being muted”.

PPC said imports into Cape Town increased by 48% to approximately 209,000 tonnes. This, however, was still substantially lower than the imports into Durban which increased by 84%.

On Tuesday, PPC said in the nine months to end-December 2018 cement volumes slumped between 2% and 3% “against the backdrop of estimated market contraction of [between] 4% and 5%”.

PPC attributed the fall in cement sales for the nine months to an “uncharacteristically weak” December as well as subdued construction activity.

PPC’s drop off in volumes followed the latest FNB/BER civil confidence index rising by one point to 18 in the fourth quarter of 2018 and remaining below 20 for the sixth consecutive quarter. The civil confidence index reflects the state of business conditions in the civil engineering industry. 

The group, which also makes aggregates, ready-mix cement, lime and limestone, as well as fly ash, said average cement prices only increased 1% to 2% in Southern Africa. The company also implemented price increases of between 8% and 12% on January 15 in certain regions.

PPC said its lime business has shown resilience in profitability, while the aggregates and ready-mix business remains under pressure.  The group said volumes at its Zimbabwean business experienced operational problems in the third quarter of the financial year, resulting in lower growth of volumes. It raised alarm over the impact of the fuel hikes in that country, which it said had placed Zimbabweans under strain.

PPC shares were up 0.36% to R5.65 on Tuesday.

Published by Business Day

Supplying the cement industry

Raysut Cement to upgrade clinker cooler with Ayoki Engineering and IKN

Global cement demand forecast to grow 1.5 percent in 2019

Global demand for cement is seen growing by 1.5 percent next year, the World Cement Association said on Wednesday, as economic risks and trade tensions weigh on the construction industry in many countries.

The demand forecast is an improvement from the 0.5 percent dip in cement volumes seen in 2018, and 1 percent increase during 2017, the trade association said.

Next year’s improvement is mainly down to a better situation in China, which consumes more than half of the world’s cement and where demand is expected to grow by 0.5 percent after two years of declines.

But outside China, the WCA foresaw subdued demand. In the world excluding China, it forecast cement demand to increase by 2.8 percent in 2019, down from a 3.3 percent rise in 2018.

The body, which has 72 members, cited rising economic risks and companies’ shuttering plants to tackle over-capacity as the main reasons for the deceleration.

“Overall WCA forecasts indicate 2019 will be a year when the world cement market will see subdued demand, and the outlook is relatively weaker than 2017 and 2018,” it said, adding the year ahead would be “challenging” for many cement producers.

LafargeHolcim (LHN.S), the world’s largest cement company, last week said it expected its 2019 sales to grow at a slower rate than in 2018, although it expects core profit to grow faster than sales as it cuts costs.

In 2019, the WCA expects the U.S. cement market will grow by 3 percent, lower than the 4 percent rate in 2018, after President Donald Trump’s large infrastructure investments failed to materialize.

Demand in Germany is expected to remain flat, while political uncertainty in Italy will likely hit demand there, the WCA said.

Turkey will see a significant downturn, it added, while Saudi Arabia and Malaysia will also see reduced cement demand.

Chinese firm whets appetite for Tanzanian cement sector

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The Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) has granted an operation licence to Chinese investors that had expressed interest in establishing a cement manufacturing plant in the country.

The Chinese company, Sinoma and Hengya (T) Limited, pledged to commence the construction of a Tshs.2.3 trillion ($1 billion) cement factory in the Tanga region`s Mkinga District, very soon.

Sinoma and Hengya (T) Limited is a union of Hengya Cement which is a subsidiary of China`s Hengyuan International Engineering Group and Sinoma Cement which is a subsidiary of Sinoma International Engineering Company. Hengya Cement was appointed as the associate developer for the project while Sinoma Cement will undertake the construction works on the project which includes construction of a grinding unit, a clinker unit, warehouses, processing units as well as the installation of machinery and equipment.

The Chinese firm is set to construct a cement factory with an initial cement production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes annually with an eventual target of 7 million tonnes following further investment. Alongside cement factory, the company plans to establish a power plant that can generate 1,200 Megawatts. The power plant will help to reduce on the country`s electricity deficiency which is characterized by multiple power shortages and crippling load shedding and will also help to steer the country towards the envisioned industrialized economy by 2025.

At least 70 per cent of the cement production will be exported through the Indian Ocean to the neighboring Somalia, Kenya and Mozambique and 30 per cent will be for the domestic market. The company has also proposed the construction of a dock at the Tanga port that will facilitate the exportation of cement. The proposed investment will offer direct and indirect employment opportunities to over 7000 individuals and will generate annual revenues amounting to Tshs.400 billion ($173 million). TIC gives investors a licence that gives them three years during which implementation must start and failure to do results into licence revocation.

Currently, Tanzania`s cement producers have installed a capacity of about 11 million tonnes per annum against a domestic market demand of about 5 million tonnes annually with average cement consumption of 88 kilograms per individual. The overcapacity has in the previous years resulted in price wars among cement makers resulting in the reduction of profits and hurting their revenues.

Tanzania`s cement producers include Dangote Industries Tanzania, Lake Cement Limited, Tanga Cement PLC, Camel Cement Company, Kilimanjaro Cement Limited, Lee Building Materials Limited, ARM Cement Tanzania Limited, Mbeya Cement Company Limited, Tanzania Portland Cement Limited, Rhino Cement, Mtwara Cement, Kisarawe Cement Company Limited. As of 2016, Tanzania Cement Manufacturers were producing an estimated 2.8 million tonnes annually, with Tanzania Portland Cement Limited being the production leader, accounting for 36 per cent of the market share followed by Tanga Cement Plc and Dangote Industries Tanzania. By December of the same year, five new manufacturers had set up industries in the country raising annual installed capacity to 10.8 million metric tonnes with total production in 2016 amount to 7.1 million tonnes. Annual consumption in 2016 was 4.1 million tonnes with the balance exported to the neighbors including Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Africa`s leading cement producer, Dangote Cement stated that in 2016, the capita cement consumption was around 50 kilograms per annum which was below the global average and even low for Africa. The company further stated that the increased performance of the economy had fueled strength in cement demand and the prospects remained favorable, given the linear relationship between economic growth and the consumption of cement in the country citing ongoing implementation of flagship public infrastructure projects and the growth of the housing sector.

In August last year, three major cement industries slowed down their production which led to an acute shortage of the commodity  throughout the country, pushing up the prices despite the fact that Tanzania has overcapacity in cement production. Retail prices in Dar es Salaam and elsewhere increased by more than 20 per cent from Tshs.13000 ($5.6) per 50-kilogram bag up to between Tshs.16000 ($6.9) and Tshs.20000 ($8.6).

Source: The Exchange