The Influence of India

The cement industry in India is growing rapidly. P. Somarajan, Holtec Consulting, India, describes the changes taking place and how they may affect the surrounding regions.

August 2008: CRH releases results for first half

CRH plc has released the following statement regarding its H1 results

August 2008: Price rises not really possible despite rising input costs

Although cement companies have stressed that a price rise will be necessary to counter increasing production costs, it looks like this will not go over well in the current climate. New capacities are coming online all the time, and will continue to do so over the next few years, resulting in an oversupply situation of as much as 10 million t in FY08/09 alone.

August 2008: Venezuela will reopen negotiations with Cemex

In response to a direct request from President Felipe Calderon, talks between Cemex and the Venezuelan government will be reopened following last week’s nationalisation of the Mexican company.

August 2008: Vietnam will draw up timeline for price increases

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam has signed a document requesting that a draft timeline for cement price increases be drawn up.

August 2008: Nigerian prices still high, despite efforts

Nigerian newspaper, Saturday Vanguard, is reporting that cement prices in the country remain high despite government efforts to increase availability. The newspaper claims that a bag of cement still costs as much as N1800.

August 2008: Free education for 600 students, thanks to ACPL

Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd (ACPL) is to establish a primary and secondary school for 600 students in Balochistan at a cost of Rs.40 million. This will mean free, quality education for the children in the area.

August 2008: Analysts announce predictions for FY08/09 in Pakistan

JS Research is anticipating overall sales in fiscal 2008/09 to remain at 30.2 million t, made up of approximately two-thirds local sales to one-third exports. In the domestic market, cement sales are expected to decline in the face of high inflation, which results in high prices and reduced government spending.

August 2008: Disagreements over tariff-free imports in Russia

The Russian government is keen for tariff-free imports of cement to continue until October 2009, contrary to the wishes of local producers.

August 2008: New plant to be built in Vietnam

A new plant is to be built in the Binh Phuoc province of Vietnam. The plant will produce 5000 t of clinker and 2 million t of cement and will utilise the local rich stone and lay ores.

August 2008: JK Lakshmi reveals rmc plans

JK Lakshmi has confirmed its plans with regard to establishing new ready-mix concrete facilities across India.

The Growth of an Industry

S.M. Imran, Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited, presents an overview of the cement industry in Pakistan.

Cleaner White Cement

Ahmed Hamza, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt, discusses new trends in manufacturing environmentally friendly white cement.

A Celebration of Sustainable Practices

In the July issue of World Cement, we ran our annual World Review – a plant-by-plant look at activity in the cement industry over the last year. Anyone reading through the epic list of contracts will have spotted that the majority of the entries told of at least one of the following: capacity expansion, conversion to alternative fuel firing, and/or emissions reduction. There is no way around it. The world’s population is growing, and with it the demand for cement increases. Simultaneously, fossil fuel prices are soaring, and obtaining the necessary quantities to run a cement plant whilst maintaining profit margins is becoming next to impossible. Climate change, or more specifically manmade global warming, has been thrown into the spotlight and the world is finally (mostly) united in its agreement that action must be taken. Emissions reduction is a hot topic, and for an industry such as ours, finding ways to reduce emissions and meet the requirements of increasingly stringent legislation is key. In this special two-part article*, Katherine Markham takes a look at ongoing projects by cement companies and related parties around the globe that are adapting to the demands of today’s society.

Each package provides you with all the essential information you need to stay ahead in a highly competitive and fast moving industry, in one complete reference source. Packages on the following six industry sectors are currently available (please select one to view articles included, and to purchase a package):

• Case Studies
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• Eliminating Dust
• Reducing Emissions
• Regional Reports
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Each package consists of a collection of recent articles, reproduced exactly as published in World Cement, emailed to you as PDFs.

Emerging Markets Report 2008

DUE FOR PUBLICATION IN EARLY 2008: ORDER YOUR COPY NOW. The second issue of this exciting publication from the publisher of World Cement: a collection of specially commissioned articles on the world's developing markets.

World Cement China

In this all-Chinese language magazine, technical articles and regional reviews are specifically published for China's rapidly expanding cement industry.