KENYA: BAMBURI CEMENT´S NEW CEO

Cement manufacturer Bamburi Cement has announced the appointment of Bruno Pescheux as the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors with effect from July 21, 2014.

Mr Pescheux previously held the position of Chief Executive Officer at Lafarge Syria ( Lafarge is Bamburi’s parent company).

While making the announcement on Wednesday, the company’s Board re-affirmed that with a legacy of 60 years of cement manufacture and innovation in East Africa, the Company remains committed to excellence in the provision of construction solutions to the market.

The change will not have any effect on the company’s strategic orientation within East Africa, in particular its presence in Uganda or shareholding in any of its subsidiaries.

"We are poised to take full advantage as the construction trends continue to favour our Global commitment of Building Better Cities by delivering superior customer service, leveraging on the strong brand equity, industrial excellence, a committed work force and in a safe and healthy work place" said the Board in a statement.

Pescheux takes over from Hussein Mansi who has been Bamburi Cement’s CEO over the past five years.

NEW ZEALAND: Holcim progresses cement import plan, signals exit of lime business

Holcim New Zealand is moving ahead with plans to exit manufacturing in New Zealand and chief executive Jeremy Smith is losing his job as the business will be run from Australia in future.

The company's Westport cement plant will close by the second half of 2016 when new import facilities at Waitemata in Auckland and Timaru are fully operational.

Plans for a new cement manufacturing plant at Weston in North Otago remain on hold but the company is keeping the assets so it has the option of "eventually building a new cement plant". Cement for the rebuilding of Christchurch will be imported through Timaru's port.

The company is also trying to sell its lime business in New Zealand, which it no longer regards as core business.

McDonalds Lime Ltd is majority owned by Holcim NZ and part-owned by New Zealand Steel and it has the country's largest lime quarry at Oparure, north of Te Kuiti. The company also wholly owns Taylor's Lime at Dunback in North Otago.

The company announced in August 2013 that imported cement would replace local production at Westport.

"The company now has all the final approvals to go ahead with its investment of more than $100 million to build two 30,000 tonne import terminals, one in Timaru and one in Auckland," Smith said.

Construction will start at PrimePort Timaru during August and work will start in Auckland in December. Each site will employ 50 people during the construction phase and each terminal will have just six employees when operating.

"This confirmation of start dates can be taken as a sign of the global company's confidence in the strength of the New Zealand market and in particular opportunities with the rebuild of Christchurch post-earthquake," Smith said.

The changes in the business model reduce the scale of the New Zealand business so it will need fewer managers.

"The decision has been taken that it would be logical to now combine the New Zealand and Australian operations," Smith said.

The position of managing director held by Smith is being dis-established at the end of 2014 and he will remain with the company into 2015 to assist with the handover. A country manager will be appointed for New Zealand.

Smith said whilst his role was being dis-established he believed this was the right strategy for the industry and the New Zealand operation.

NIGERIA: Lafarge Group’s consolidation will create more jobs

Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc on Saturday said the consolidation of its Nigeria and South Africa businesses would create more jobs for Nigerians and enhance return on investment.

The company’s Head, Corporate Affairs, Mr Ademola Ojowolo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that Lafarge Africa’s consolidation of share holding was not aimed at jobs reduction.

NAN reports that Lafarge had on June 3 announced plans to combine its Nigeria and South Africa businesses to create Lafarge Africa to become a leading sub-Sahara Africa building materials platform.

Ojowolo said the transaction would also create more opportunities for employees and communities in the various countries through expansion of projects.

He said the company would be renamed Lafarge Africa at the end of the transaction and would remain listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

In his comment, the Chairman of Lafarge WAPCO, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, said he was proud to be part of the creation of the leading African building materials platform.

Osunkeye said that the exercise would provide access to growth in two of the largest economies on the continent.

“It will mean that our shareholders are investing in a larger and more geographically diverse business and it will contribute significantly to the economic growth of both nations,” Osunkeye said.

Also, Mr Guillaume Roux, Lafarge Country Chief Executive Officer Nigeria, described the consolidation as a key milestone that would create value for shareholders.

Roux said that the decision would enable the company to be more innovative, increase and improve its product portfolio.

He said, “Our objective is to bring more housing and ever better solutions to contribute to building better cities that are more beautiful, more compact, more connected and more durable.”

NAN reports that under the proposed terms, Lafarge Group would transfer its direct and indirect share holdings in Lafarge South Africa Holdings (Pty) Ltd.

The transaction will be concluded through a cash consideration of 200 million dollars (over N32 billion) and the issuance of 1.4 million Lafarge Africa shares to Lafarge Group.

NAN reports that the transaction will be completed during the second half of 2014.

Lafarge Group also announced its intention to transfer all its shares and businesses in Nigeria and South Africa into Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc.

The new entity, according to the company, will have nationwide coverage in both Nigeria and South Africa with cement capacity of about 12 million tonnes and operations in aggregates, ready-mix and fly ash. (NAN)

COLOMBIA: Nueva cementera llega a operar

Trinidad Cement Limited instalará su planta de transformación en Barrancabermeja.

Colombia tendrá un nuevo jugador en el mercado del cemento.

Se trata de la multinacional TCL (Trinidad Cement Limited) que acaba de importar, desde su centro de producción en Trinidad, la primera carga de cemento para procesarla en Barrancabermeja (Santander), donde se instalará la planta de transformación.

Son las primeras 300 toneladas de cemento tipo G, un producto que por sus condiciones de resistencia y durabilidad es el más apropiado para el procedimiento de sellado durante la perforación petrolera.

La compañía iniciará las ventas en nuestro país a partir del mes de Junio.

“Esta primera importación a Colombia de cemento petrolero marca TCL, es un paso importante en la estrategia de expandir nuestras fronteras. Para TCL el ingreso al mercado colombiano representa, además, poder ofrecer a nuestros clientes diferenciación de producto tanto en calidad como en precio”, enfatizó Andrés Peña Vieira, Gerente de Negocios Estratégicos de la compañía para Latinoamérica.

Agregó que la estrategia está soportada, también, en la ventaja de empezar a actuar como proveedor local desde Barrancabermeja, donde la inversión inicial alcanza los 600 millones de pesos, dentro de un paquete de inversiones que viene siendo ejecutado por la compañía desde el 2013 y que comprende un proyecto similar en los Llanos Orientales para el segundo semestre del presente año.

TCL, UNA COMPAÑÍA CONSOLIDADA EN EL MERCADO CARIBEÑO

TCL produce 3,3 millones de toneladas anuales de cemento desde sus tres plantas en el Caribe. 

Tiene 60 años de historia en el mercado caribeño, donde opera como líder. 

TCL comenzó la producción de cemento Tipo G hace 20 años, y cerró el año 2013 con una facturación de 301,3 millones de dólares. El grupo en su conjunto genera cerca de 1.200 empleos directos.

“Creemos firmemente en el crecimiento del sector petrolero en Colombia, razón por la cual confiamos en el crecimiento sostenible de las ventas y por ende de nuestra operación en el país”, puntualizó Peña Vieira.

La compañía es dueña de aproximadamente 120 hectáreas de reservas de piedra caliza que, basada en las actuales tasas de extracción anual, confirmó su duración por cientos de años.

INDIA: Cement firms declined to bring down prices

Cement firms have declined to bring down prices as proposed by the Telangana government.

The firms, which sought time to take a decision on the government proposal, held discussions among themselves for three days. However, all firms were unanimous in their decision to not decrease prices.

Cement industry representatives have decided to meet Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to explain the reasons for increase in prices.

However, as a “goodwill gesture”, the firms are willing to offer cement at lower prices for the government to take up its housing programme for the poor.

Representatives of different cement firms on Thursday met Chief Secretary Dr Rajiv Sharma at the Secretariat in this regard

Sources said, the firms brought to the notice of the CS that cement prices were Rs 320 per bag in July 2013, but came down to Rs 230 later due to poor demand in the state and started increasing from May 2014. They pointed out that though the price fluctuated from Rs 300 to Rs 340 recently, it has stabilised between Rs 300 and Rs 320 now, which is at par with prices elsewhere in the country.

They told the CS that the production cost has increased significantly with the rise in power, coal and transport charges and cement firms will face a crisis if prices are kept low. 

When the CS asked how lower rates were possible until recently, they explained that they deliberately kept the production low due to poor demand and none of the cement plants in the state could produce cement to their full capacity.

“All plants have been utilising just 55 to 65 per cent of their total capacity for the last three years due to poor demand on account of the bifurcation. Now that a stable government is in place and taking up infrastructure and irrigation projects, the outlook for the cement industry has turned positive All plants will start operating at full capacity incurring huge production expenditure. Prices have to be aligned with national prices to save the cement industry here from a crisis,” they said.

Dr Sharma told them that he will convey their contention to the CM who will take a final decision.