Cement news highlights: 28 July – 1 August

August issue now online

World Cement’s August 2014 issue is now available online. Subscribers can view the whole issue by logging in, and non-subscribers can see a preview here. The issue features a regional report on Latin America, including an overview of the cement sector in the Dominican Republic by the Executive Director of the Dominican Cement Producers Association. Alternative fuels, process control and automation and pyroprocessing are among the other topics covered in the issue, as well as an interview with Titan America’s Tim Kuebler about the work of the Titan Advocacy team.

Online platforms

Last week was an interesting one when it came to web and social media use. First, PPC announced that it had launched a new knowledge-sharing platform – Cement & Concrete Cube (C3). Second, the World Concrete Forum released its World Concrete 500 list of the top influencers on Twitter from the cement and concrete industry. World Cement was very pleased to be ranked at no. 12 on the global list. If you are interested in how firms are approaching social media, then take a look at this interview with Loesche GmbH’s Social Media Manager, Virginia Zuloaga.

Personal protective equipment

• Aggregate Industries has bought the next generation personal protective equipment from Fhoss Technology^® to keep personnel safe while working through the night.
• Slingsby reminds workers to keep their PPE on, even during the hot weather.

North and South America

Canada’s McInnis Cement announced that it has completed financing for its Port-Daniel project in Quebec. Construction work has begun on the cement plant, which will have an initial production capacity of 2.2 million tpa. Meanwhile, Spain’s Cementos Molins Group plans to expand its presence in South America. The group plans to acquire a majority stake in Bolivia’s Itacamba Cementos S.A. in partnership with Votorantim Cimentos.

The latest cement statistics for the USA and Puerto Rico have been released. In May 2014, total shipments of Portland and blended cement increased by 6% y/y to reach 8.1 million t. In Colombia volumes are also on the up. In June 2014, domestic dispatches of grey cement grew by 6.2% y/y to 918 600 t.

Not to be missed…

It’s results season, as cement and building materials manufacturers continue to release their financial reports for 2Q14 and 1H14. We have provided report highlights for a number of companies, including Italcementi, Siam Cement, Martin Marietta, Cementir Holding and the Titan Group. Keep up-to-date with all the latest results on the ‘Business news articles’ section of our website.

Written by Louise Fordham

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/04082014/cement-news-highlights-28-july-to-1-august-230/