The Americas

Samuel Doria Medina has sold his controlling stake in Bolivian cement manufacturer Soboce to Holding Cementero S.A., part of Peru’s Grupo Gloria.

Domestic cement sales totalled 929 000 t in Peru in November, while dispatches were up 0.57% y/y in the first 11 months of 2014.

Bolivia’s Itacamba Cemento S.A. has ordered an MPS 3750 B raw mill from Gebr. Pfeiffer for its new cement plant in Yacuces.

State Rep. Peter Pettalia has requested that a Canadian government loan for the Port-Daniel-Gascons cement plant in Québec be reviewed for World Trade Organisation rules compliance.

Interested parties can now visit the conference website to sign up for the event, which is taking place in Toronto, Canada from 26 – 30 April.

On 13 December, Caricom Cement Company Incorporated commissioned its newly constructed cement manufacturing plant at Everton, Berbice.

Lime specialist Graymont has entered into an agreement with Holcim New Zealand and New Zealand Steel Limited to acquire their shares in McDonald’s Lime, and a formed a further agreement with Holcim to purchase its Taylor’s Lime assets.

Catch up with the latest international cement industry news via our weekly round-up, which includes the latest mergers and acquisitions news.

In the second part of this abridged article from World Cement’s December issue, Flexco talks through some quick solutions to problems facing belt conveyors, such as mistracking and spillage.

The Portland Cement Association has drawn attention to the need for tighter building codes.

Antitrust authorities have given the deal the go-ahead, subject to the divestment of Veyance’s air springs plant in Mexico.

Lafarge NewCem® slag cement and Agilia® self-consolidating concrete are helping to build better-connected cities in Virginia.

Holcim Canada has formed an agreement with Van Houtte Coffee Services Inc., which will see it process used K-Cup® packs as an alternative fuel at the Joliette cement plant in Quebec.

Peru’s Union Andina de Cementos has completed the purchase of Lafarge’s cement operations in Ecuador after acquiring 98.57% of shares in Lafarge Cementos via Public Stock Offering.

Brazil’s competition authority has approved the LafargeHolcim merger proposal on the condition of a number of asset disposals; Colombia’s Cementos Argos has announced that it will no longer participate in the bidding process for divested Lafarge and Holcim operations in Brazil.