India Cement and Construction Materials journal (ICCM) 39

india A CemWeek Publication

issue 39

Cement

DECEMBER 2017

& construction Materials

LEADERS Q&A

AV Dharmakrishnan Managing Director and CEO of Ramco Cements CW RESEARCH

Cement Equipment Market Trends Through 2022 Insight Analysis

Indian Petcoke Prices Clouded

by Supreme Court Ban

News

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Analysis

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Market Coverage

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Interviews

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People

World Cement Equipment Market and Forecast Report

The World Cement Equipment Market and Forecast report addresses important market dynamics and the outlook for equipment used in the production of clinker and cement, in integrated as well as grinding units. Key trends in the main production equipment segments are discussed, sized and forecasted (in USD value and capacity, where applicable), broken down into geographic segments (principal countries, regions and global by equipment type). The study offers a rigorous analysis of past and future cement plant capacity expansions (greenfield and brownfield expansions) with all the production stages covered.

Comprehensive analysis of the cement equipment market.

LET US GUIDE YOU.

This comprehensive and rigorous outlook provides: Detailed regional breakdown of cement plant equipment by unit (required in crushing, power, pyro processing and dispatch) and market size value Information derived from extensive primary interviews and industry expertise A five-year forecast of future equipment needs by type of equipment built through an end-user-informed bottom-up approach Market shares of suppliers within each main segment (i.e., mills, kilns and coolers)

CEMENT • BUILDING MATERIALS • DRY BULK CARGO & SHIPPING • CHEMICALS • INDUST RIAL MINERALS • INDUST RIAL EQ UIPMENT • PAPER & PULP • PETCOKE research.cwgrp.com •

inquiries@cwgrp.com • sales@cwgrp.com

FEATURES Leaders Q&A: AV Dharmakrishnan 06 The Managing Director and CEO of Ramco Cements AV Dharmakrishnan, talked about the Ramco Cements and its embracing innovative IT solutions.

Research: Cement equipment 08 CW market to be driven by plant

optimization and environmental regulations

CW Research profiles the current status of the world cement equipment sector, and explores how production rationalization and stricter green policies are shaping future market trends

Analysis: Indian petcoke 16 Insight prices clouded by Supreme Court ban

DEPARTMENTS 2 Editorial Letter

A clear skyline for the Indian cement sector in 2018

numbers in brief 3 Silver lining for cement manufacturers

india

Cement & construction Materials

www.cemweek.com/india

rOBERT MADEIRA cemweek publisher head of cw group research

LuĂ­sa Azevedo Editorial Coordinator

Liviu Dinu Ana Margarida Meira

cement 20 people 21 equipment highlights 22 regional news

Advertising

Filipe Gouveia Margarida Cunha Raluca Cercel Tea Vukicevic CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & RESEARCHERS

04

The months of November and December proved challenging for Indian petcoke CFR prices, as cement manufacturers struggled with a ban on the use of the commodity

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letter from editor

A clear skyline for the Indian cement sector in 2018

t the beginning of 2017, the Indian cement industry was facing a challenging time, as the impact of demonetization has had a negative impact on cement demand. With the introduction of the Union Budget for Fiscal Year 2017-18, the Indian cement makers will benefit from a reduced and rationalized excise duty structure. In addition, the global credit rating agency Indian affiliate ICRA expects a stable outlook for the Indian cement industry through 2018, a forecast that aligns with CW Research’s projections in the 2H2017 Update of the Global Cement Volumes Forecast Report. As such, a progressive recovery of the Indian cement sector is expected over the coming year.

In 2017, the global cement industry was also marked by continual investments in technology, and the power it has to improve business in a whole range of sectors. For this reason, this 39th issue features a central interview with Mr. AV Dharmakrishnan, Managing Director & CEO of Ramco Cements, an Indian company that has embraced innovative IT solutions wherever possible.

Technology will also play a vital role in the evolution of the cement equipment market in the future. As explored further ahead in this issue, cement manufacturers are leaning

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towards production optimization and trying to comply with increasingly tight environmental regulations, which is pushing equipment suppliers to refine their sales strategy.

The latest developments in the Indian petcoke sector are also impacting the cement industry. CW Research analyzes the evolution and the effect of petcoke CFR prices in the closing months of 2017, as cement producers are faced with stricter regulations on the use of the commodity.

In essence, this issue of ICCM sheds light on key sectors and trends that are bound to shape the cement industry in coming years. The future is in the making, and we will be following it at every step of the way.

Join us on this journey! We look forward to your feedback.

See you in 2018!

ROBERT MADEIRA

CEMWEEK PUBLISHER HEAD OF CW GROUP RESEARCH

India Cement and Construction Materials Journal

LuĂ­sa Azevedo

Editorial Coordinator

numbers in brief Silver lining

for cement manufacturers

Following a tumultuous period of uncertainty for cement manufacturers in regards to the legality of using petcoke as fuel, the new Supreme Court decision brightens the future of Indian cement manufacturing companies Following the December 13 decision of the Supreme Court to ease the petcoke ban for cement companies, shares of cement companies rallied in the afternoon trade, reflecting the economic importance of using petcoke for cement manufacturers.

Following the decision, Kakatiya Cements Sugar & Industries surged by almost 7 percent. Smaller, but still above the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex of the day, increases in share prices were also observed for Burcpur Cement, Prism Cement, HeidelbergCement india, JK Lakshami Cement, Shree Cement, Mangalam Ceemnt, JK Cements, Star Cements, Ambuja Cements, and ACC. Chart: BSE share surges of cement companies following the SC’s decision on petcoke (%)

8%

6%

4%

Kakatiya Cements Sugar & Industries

Burnpur Cement

Prism HeidelbergJK Cement Cement India Lakshami Cement

Shree Cement

Mangalam Cement

JK Cements

Star Cements

Ambuja Cements

ACC

Source: BSE Sensex

2%

Following the November 17 Supreme Court indication to the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan to prohibit the usage of petcoke and furnace oil, most cement companies underperformed the market. Most of the cement manufacturers making use of petcoke had recorded share price increases below the BSE Sensex from November 17 to December 13.

Not being allowed to use petocke as feedstock would have meant that cement manufacturers’ production costs would be heavily burndened. Replacing petcoke with other fuels (such as coal), would translate into a 25 percent cost surge.

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Leaders Q&A

Managing Director and CEO

AV Dharmakrishnan

Ramco Cements With more than 50 years of history in the Indian market, Ramco Cements is a well-known business group of South India. In an interview with CEO Magazine, the Managing Director & CEO of the company talked about the Ramco Cements and its embracing innovative IT solutions.

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India Cement and Construction Materials Journal

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Leaders Q&A

R

amco Cements is now one of the seven largest cement companiesin India, and since its foundation it has always aspired to bea thriving company. As such, AV Dharmakrishnan intends to continue to invest in new technologies to maintain and boost the company's modern market approach.

Q: Ramco Cements has been on the market for more than 50 years. How do you describe the main role and focus of the company today?

A:The company that Shri PAC Ramasamy Raja established in 1961 is today in good hands. In the 70s, it became the first cement factory in South India to be converted into a dry-process kiln, which brought efficiency gains. Annual capacity at the plant now stands at two million tons.

Ramco Cements is now one of the seven largest cement manufacturers in India. It began with a single plant, which used the wet process and had an operating capacity of 200 tons a day. Since then, the plant has been continually updated and upgraded.

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Under Shri PR Ramasubrahmaneya Rajha’s leadership, the company grew rapidly, from 0.2 million tons to 16 million tons without raising any share capital.

Q: How do you examinethe impressivegrowth of Ramco Cements?

A: I have worked at the company for 30 years before being promoted to my current role.

Over the course of mycareer at Ramco Cements, I have been involved in all aspects of its operation, including selecting plant and equipment, recruiting key staff, running projects and solidifying

Annual capacity at the plant now stands at two million tons

India Cement and Construction Materials Journal

processes and I havealways been looking forward to impressive growth.

The company now offers an extensive product range. In addition to its core types of cement, it produces concrete, a rapid-hardening cement, mobile technical services, and a specially engineered block mortar. The company also diversified into wind farms in 1993 with a 4MW installation, and now has more than 200 wind energy units across South India, collectively capable of producing 165MW. In addition, we are constantly looking for new products, different manufacturing processes and new ways to drive efficiency.

Q: Nowadays no company survives if it does not invest significantly in technology and innovation. How does Ramco Cements invest in new technologies?

A: In this pursuit of efficiency gains I have been particularly interested

in embracing IT solutions wherever possible, because this IT innovation is the key to our growth.

Q: What is Ramco Cements’next strategic step as a player to grow in the South Indian market?

We are a pioneer in this technologies because we implemented computerized invoicing and accounting systems when A: While we are pioneers in the adoption many of ourold-economy peers were still of technology, our promoter’s philosophy with respect to expansion is to grow with relying on manual systems. internal accruals. In the south, we are able Ramco Cements provides its salespeople to control our costs and compete strongly. with devices that allow them to access real-time information on stock levels Being a raw-materials-based industry, we and dealer performance. This builds on are looking for availability of rawmaterials an information system developed with in different areas. We are seriously Ramco Systems, a software product considering one or two places outside our company promoted to collect and analyze traditional market. If we are successful in detailed information on the company’s getting to those, then we will go outside our market. Besides, we will try to expand sales, as well as those of its competitors. within our market.

This software uses Google Maps to visualize its supply of sales data and has used IT to make the shipping process quicker and more cost-efficient, reducing losses and damages that occur during the wagon clearance process by up to 70 percent.

It also helps with more big-picture planning, allowing management to identify and analyze underperforming markets.

The company’s key stakeholders include its delivery network

That said, there is enough scope for growth in the south. Even though the capacity is higher than consumption, I am convinced there is scope for improvement in our market share here.

Q: Currently, what is Ramco Cements’ main challenge?

The biggest challenge is definitely selection of a good site. Our philosophy is that every factory of ours should have all the facilities: it should be on land with good mineral content and near transport like ports, highways and railways.

This approach has led us to long-term working partnerships with stakeholders.

When we have good relationships with contractors and suppliers, we will deal with them forever. That is one of our basic values, to ensure all our stakeholders have been taken care of.

The company’s key stakeholders include its delivery network. Cement is a lowvalue, high-volume industry, and in this context, distribution becomes extremely important. Same-day delivery is expected in the industry, and cement producers must be highly organized to avoid inefficiencies in this area.

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feature CW RESEARCH

Cement equipment market to be driven by plant optimization and environmental regulations

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India Cement and Construction Materials Journal

CW Research profiles the current status of the world cement equipment sector, and explores how production rationalization and stricter green policies are shaping future market trends.

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feature

T

he cement equipment market value is expected to decrease slightly in the next five years mainly due to fewer greenfield and brownfield capacity additions.

As projects rarefy, suppliers are competing ferociously for clients, thus pushing prices downwards. In the meantime, the pricing gap between Western and Chinese equipment manufacturers is narrowing, according to CW Research’s World Cement Equipment Market and Forecast Report.

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Capacity additions contract

A global decline in capacity additions is expected, comparing the previous five years with the next five. The cement industry is now struggling with overcapacity, particularly in markets where the drive to open new capacity has manifested itself quite chaotically. Despite the fact that global cement demand is expected to improve

The cement industry is now struggling with overcapacity

India Cement and Construction Materials Journal

steadily at an annual average rate of around two percent, additional capacity will be scarce. Cement capacity additions have been undergoing a gradual decline in the past five years, mostly driven by a steady decline in new capacity in the Chinese market, which is currently trying to rid itself of overcapacity and inferior quality cement.

In the rest of the world, commissioned additions peaked in 2016, following a number of investments in the cement industry of mostly importing markets in Africa and Asia. In turn, these projects resulted from a positive market momentum in the industry in 2013 and 2014, when investor confidence was still strong. That is not necessarily the case today, nor in the future, with expansionary drives having already simmered down in Africa – a scenario that is likely to happen also in Asia ex-China in the next five years.

In terms of industry trends regarding the types of capacity expansions, plant expansions are shifting towards a higher share of grinding units out of the total, going

up two percent points in the next five years.

Many manufacturers now prefer to enter the market with a small grinding plant, especially where cheap clinker imports are an option

Average equipment CAPEX by region (2017 USD/t)

Source: CW Research

– as the commodity is getting increasingly low-priced – and then converting it later on into an integrated one if the move proves profitable and if the market case is sufficient.

In large markets, such as India, some manufacturers also prefer to commission one integrated plant with a handful of satellite grinding stations geographically dispersed. This is the case especially if the integrated plant is located far from urban consumption centers, and infrastructure is poor. The manufacturer will then set up grinding plants in the vicinity of urban centers.

In terms of greenfield and brownfield expansions, CW Research expects a rapidly shifting trend from the first to the latter by 2022, as the cement industry matures in emerging markets, such as Asia ex-China and Africa, and cement manufacturers invest in new lines at existing locations.

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feature A buyer’s market

Regarding capital expenditure, and from a cost perspective, this is the best time to invest, given that the competition between western and Chinese equipment manufacturers is driving down pricing for equipment. The current scarcity of projects means that a larger number of suppliers are competing ferociously for the same client, turning the cement equipment market into a buyer’s market. The clients’ choice spectrum in terms of pricing varies from premium to very affordable, and choices made in the recent past towards the lower end of the spectrum have “made the premium not so premium anymore”.

Competition in the industry is high, and it is being played out in three fronts: pricing, quality of equipment and engineering

sophistication, and value-added services.

Depending on the location of the cement manufacturer and its corporate culture, clients nowadays base their decision-making process on all three considerations above, with some weighing more than other.

Western vs Chinese suppliers – a narrowing price gap

The market size for equipment is declining, and has been doing so for the last five years at a steady annual rate of 7.8 percent. Nevertheless, it’s expected to stabilize in the upcoming five years, dropping only at an annual rate of 0.7 percent. A decreasing capacity is the major reason behind this trend, which is driving the total market size for plant

Cement equipment market size* (USD bn)

Source: CW Research Note: *Refers to the market size of commissioned (not awarded) equipment

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expansions downwards. In turn, this is boosting the competitiveness between different types of manufacturers, thus contributing to a pricing decline, and, consequently, to a decrease in market size.

India Cement and Construction Materials Journal

The market size for equipment is declining

Western equipment manufacturers are trying, and so far succeeding, to keep pricing above the floating line. In spite of looming competition from Chinese counterparts, wester suppliers single themselves out through a combination of superior equipment and valueadded services. The latter are meant to strengthen the relation with the client in the long term, assuring a string of returning customers. Additionally, as suppliers cannot easily drive up the price of equipment, offering value-added services is a common strategy to secure projects.

In terms of market share by equipment providers, the pricing gap between western and Chinese players is gradually closing. In 2012, the average price practiced by a Chinese supplier for a new project would be less than half of its western counterpart’s. That is not currently the case. On one hand, western cement manufacturers are trying to improve their cost efficiency, and offer lower prices in order to capture a larger slice of the market.

Chinese equipment providers, in turn, are aiming to raise the quality of their equipment, and labor costs are rising, resulting in a gradual increase in prices.

Environmental and automation segments take the lead

Currently, the upgrades sub-segment is one that is poised to rise in the forthcoming years. This improvement will be driven by cement manufacturers’ shifting expansion policy. As such, instead of expanding in material capacity terms, cement producers are likely to lean towards optimizing existing facilities by eliminating inefficiencies and preparing for tighter regulatory environments.

The market share for spare parts is also gradually rising, albeit at a slower pace than before,

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feature owing to total capacity increasing, in turn driving demand for spare parts.

In this market, competitiveness is not as strong as in the other ones, since the contract is already tied to a cement manufacturer, and suppliers don’t have to compete between each other as frequently.

When it comes to market shares by production stage of the different types of equipment, the biggest change concerns functional equipment, which is being mostly driven by the environmental and automation sub-segments. In its turn, the environmental sub-segment – which is expected to display a 1.5 percent yearly growth rate in the next five years – is being boosted by regulations implemented by different countries, including emerging economies, which is creating a need for more precise filtering and for the reduction of plant emissions. Moreover, major players such as LafargeHolcim and HeidelbergCement are implementing a universal framework for their plants.

Thus, if a specific system is applied, for instance, in Europe, it will be replicated in production units across the rest of the world.

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Automation is projected to stand out as the fastest growing sub-segment.

Expected to show an annual average growth rate of 3.6 percent, this subsector caters to cement manufacturers seeking to centralize information and increase efficiency. Moreover, as labor costs rise in emerging markets, the

Cement upgrades in the forthcoming years are expected to rise

upward trend in the acquisition of automation equipment is only expected to solidify as time goes on.

Conversely, the low-technology equipment segment – including pyro line, and raw meal and fuel preparation – is losing its market share, in line with

India Cement and Construction Materials Journal

a higher share of new projects being grinding instead of integrated, and also with companies preferring to invest in higher technology equipment such as cement grinding mills. The latter still benefit from a premium pricing when compared to other types of equipment, and are being privileged by cement makers since they’re a crucial part of the final stage of the production process, and handle the final product that is delivered to customers.

The road optimization

towards

Regarding future scenarios for the cement equipment market, CW Research anticipates capacity additions commissioned after 2019 to be volatile to changes in market dynamics. The current economic cycle emerges as a positive trend, after 2016 proved a slow year for the cement market. So far in 2017, the global cement industry has shown resilience, with markets such as Argentina and Russia driving a steady recovery.

Nonetheless, CW Research expects the current low equipment prices will not prove a decisive incentive for

cement manufacturers to invest in new acquisitions. Instead, cement producers’ facility and capacity optimization efforts, fueled either by their production needs or/and by external regulations, are projected to translate into an increasing order intake in the cement equipment sector, particularly in the upgrades and environmental segments.

It’s still uncertain whether the upward trend in 2017 will propagate or slow down again

In essence, the innovations being deployed in the cement equipment market cater to new and more discerning needs on the side of the end user. Pricing and quality are no longer the only arguments at stake when acquiring or upgrading cement equipment. Factors such as user friendliness are increasingly important in some markets. For instance, in Brazil, language is still a big barrier for cement equipment manufacturers who don’t provide their control panels and other components in Portuguese. Flexibility – concerning, for instance, the alternation between fuel sources (petcoke to coal and vice-versa) – also comes into play in the decision-making process.

Consequently, the equipment suppliers who can best keep up with these trends, in addition to providing value-added services, are the ones more likely to secure new projects in the increasingly competitive cement equipment market.

About the report The World Cement Equipment Market and Forecast Report addresses important market dynamics and provides a five-year outlook for equipment used in the production of clinker and cement, integrated as well as grinding units.

Building on a rigorous analysis of past and future cement plant capacity expansions (greenfield and brownfield expansions), the report covers all production stages, from raw material grinding to final cement dispatch.

Key trends in the main production equipment segments are discussed, sized and forecasted (in USD value and capacity, where applicable), broken down into geographic segments (regions and global by equipment type).

More specifically, process-wise, the report covers equipment required in crushing (crushers), milling (raw meal mills, fuel mills, finishing mills), power (electricity generation and waste heat recovery), pyro processing (burners, pre-heaters / cyclones, kilns, coolers, alternative fuel preparation), and dispatch (weighing, bulk loading, bagging and palletizing equipment) is sized and forecast.

Within the principal segments additional details are provided, including mills (vertical roller, ball and roller presses) as well as other equipment such as conveying, storage (silos, stackers / reclaimers), automation, motors, environmental & emissions (e.g., filters and scrubbers), and testing and control functions are extensively covered.

More information about the report can be found here: https://www.cwgrp. com/research/research-products/ product/265-world-cementequipment-market-and-forecastreport

For more information and placing an order, please contact Liviu Dinu, Market Services & Marketing Consultant, CW Group (Europe), by phone at +40-744-67-4411, or e-mail at ld@cwgrp.com.

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Insight Analysis

Indian petcoke prices clouded by Supreme Court ban he months of Petcoke ban pressures November and cement producers’ December proved margins In November 2017, prices for high-sulfur challenging for Indian importedpetcoke for the India CFR West petcoke CFR prices, as Coast recorded a month-on-month contraction. The same trend was observable cement manufacturers for mid-sulfur imported petcoke rates. struggled with a ban on the use of the commodity. For India CFR East Coast, prices for both high-sulfur and mid-sulfurimported However, the Indian petcoke registered single-digit declines. government has reverted its decision for selected industries.

Some cement producers switched back to using coal in order to meet their fuel requirements

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By the end of the month, the average cost of burning high-sulfur petcoke stood at a premium of around 26+ percent, on an mmBTU basis, when compared to Richards Bay coal for West Coast. The figure represents an increase of over six percent compared to October.

Domestic petcoke prices were under pressure as traders were forbidden to sell the fuel in the National Capital Region (NCR). An environment panel appointed by the Supreme Court directed domestic oil companies to hand over a list of all their dealers in order to ensure that petcoke and fuel oil wouldn't be sold around Delhi and neighboring states. The Supreme Court rejected companies’ pleas for the recall of its order banning the use of the commodities by industries in the NCR. In an attempt to curb the effect of the petcoke ban on their margins, some cement producers switched back to using coal in order to meettheir fuel requirements.

Petcoke use to be allowed in cement and limestone industries By mid-December, CFR prices for high and mid-sulfur imported petcoke on the Indian West Coast continued to contract compared to November. On the East Coast, CFR import rates for high and midsulfur petcoke also registered single-digit month-on-month decreases in the first two weeksof December.

During the period, the average cost of burning high-sulfur petcoke stood at a premium of around 30+ percent, on an mmBTU basis, when compared to

The Supreme Court decided to allow the cement and limestone industries to use petcoke

Richards Bay coal for West Coast. The figure represents an improvement of over four percent compared to the previous update, in late November.

Partially reverting its previous decision, the Supreme Court decided to allow the cement and limestone industries to use petcoke.The fuel had been banned in Delhi and the surrounding area(Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan) due to environmental concerns. The government is yet to issue guidelines on the use of the byproduct, but for now petcoke will only be used as feedstock and not as a fuel by the selected industries.

Concurrently, domestic refiners are considering using petcoke for power generation. Indian oil refiners are planning to use petcoke for their power generation requirements, as well as to produce syngas.

Several refiners, including Indian Oil, have installed delayed coking units in recent years in order to produce petcoke and other byproducts.

About the report CW Research’s India Petcoke CFR Price Assessments are petcoke price markers for India East and West coast, providing prompt, end-user centric CFR prices for high and medium sulfur grades.

CW Research’s bi-monthly price assessment and monthly price index for fuel-grade petcoke reflects the transactable value for both 4.5% and 6.5% sulfur petcoke with minimum 40 and maximum 70 Hardgrove Grindability Index (HGI), delivered on 30- 60 day forward period on a cost and freight (CFR) basis India (East and West coast). The report provides market-moving news, cutting-edge and jargon-free insights and market commentaries to better understand key pricing drivers.

More information about India petcoke CFR price assessments can be found here: http://www.cwgrp.com/ research/research-products/priceassessments/product/51-priceassessment-india-petcoke-cfr For more information and placing an order, please contact Liviu Dinu, Market Services & Marketing Consultant, CW Group (Europe), by phone at +40-74467-44-11, or e-mail at ld@cwgrp.com.

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cement PEOPLE

P

eople

Orient Cement appoints new company secretary Nidhi Bisaria has been appointed by Orient Cement as its new company secretary. The nomination became effective on November 23.

Ms. Nidhi Bisaria is commerce and law graduate. She holds a fellow membership of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

She has over 14 years of experience in handling corporate secretarial and compliance functions. Prior to this assignment, she has worked with various Dalmia Group companies.

Nidhi Bisaria shall also act as the Compliance officer of the Company with effect from the date of her appointment.

Sanjeev Gemawat appointed company secretary of Dalmia Bharat Dalmia Bharat has appointed Sanjeev Gemawat as its company secretary.

He succeeds Nidhi Bisaria who has resigned. Gemawat has worked for Dalmia Bharat as an executive director

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(legal) since 2016. Previous to this he worked for DLF Group, JCB India and Modicorp amongst other companies.

A trained accountant, he is a member of the Chartered Accountants of India.

CEMENT orders & equipment

O

rders & equipment

LOESCHE awarded coal mill order for cement plant in central Nepal The cement division of the Chaudhary Group based in Kathmandu placed an order for a vertical roller mill for coal grinding for its cement plant in the Palpa region. The mill has a capacity of 25 t/h.

Loesche has received an order for coal grinding unit though KHD in the new clinkerization plant of Chaudhary Group with KHD being the lead bidder. Loesche Coal Mill, LM 26.3 D, will be in operation by the year 2018 with a throughput of 50 t/h, 15% R on 90Îźm.

Burnpur Cement appoints The plant has been designed for Saurabh Ganguly asper day producing 3,900 tons clinker brand ambassador (OPC basis). The limestone required

Burnpur announced for this Cement will be Ltd extracted from that a they signed an agreement with Saurabh nearby mine.

Ganguly, Former Captain of Indian Cricket Team, to act as the Brand Ambassador for a period of three (3) years, effective from March 11, 2016.

Under the agreement, Mr. Ganguly as the Brand Ambassador of the Company will endorse the product and brand of Burnpur Cement which may help in increase of sales of the Company.

Claudius Peters PACPAL Packing Plant for Sri Lanka

will also be carried out by Claudius Peters.

Commissioning of the facility is scheduled for the end of the year.

Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC has awarded a contract to Claudius Peters Projects for the supply of a rotary packer PACPAL Roto Fill for their plant in Sri Lanka.

The new order was placed with Claudius Peters as a result of a successful previous installation in 2000, of a silo type IC, 8-spout packing machine with a capacity of 2400 bags/h and a truck loading plant.

Claudius Peters' scope of supply will compromise of a packing plant with 12 spout rotary packer and integrated weighing system delivering 3600 bags/h packed in 50kg bags together with the bag applicator with cassette magazine and rear loader. Supervision and erection services

Tokyo Cement Company was found in 1982 and is Sri Lanka's first automated cement factory with a production of nearly two million tons of cement and more than 600 employees. In 2002, the company set up the most state-of-the-art bagging plant in Sri Lanka.

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cement Regional news

R

egional news

Capacity utilization rates in Pakistan remain high

Profitability declines in Pakistan's cement sector, 1QFY2017

In the first four months of the Pakistani fiscal year, the cement industry capacity utilization rate reached 93 percent thanks to strong demand from domestic consumers, with around 1.08 million tons of capacity remaining idle.

During October, cement consumption reached 3.15 million tons in the North, compared to just 2.49 million tons in the same month last year. In the South, cement demand grew from 519,000 to 631,000 tons in that same period.

Still, the sector continues to demand export-friendly policies that would allow for the utilization of idle capacity. According to local exports, the cement sector operates in a stiff regulatory environment and benefits from its own investment in technology.

During the first quarter of fiscal year 2018, corresponding to July-September 2017, pre-tax profits in the industry dropped by 15 percent while after-tax earnings went down by three percent.

In the same quarters of the past two fiscal years, 2016 and 2017, the profit of cement companies in Pakistan rose by 32 and 17 percent, respectively. According to market experts, profitability is now falling due to

Iranian cement exports to Qatar increase slightly During the last Iranian fiscal year, ending March 2017, the country’s main exports to Qatar included cement, pistachio, and saffron.

All those segments increased slightly during the seven months ending October 22, but a much larger increase in other commodities shrank their share in total exports.

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India Cement and Construction Materials Journal

stiffer competition due to new capacity on the market and an increase in costs than cannot be passed to the final consumer.

In the same quarter, overall cement sales grew by 11 percent year on year, powered by a surge of 21 percent in local dispatches, which were able to absorb the lower export volumes.

The sector gross margin was at 32 percent, nine percentage points lower than in the same period last year, and the lowest in 21 quarters.

During that period, exports from Iran to Qatar surged by 117.5 percent year on year, with bitumen, tomato, milk and cream, cucumber, and watermelon becoming the top exported commodities.

The shift in the export balance can be attributed to the blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to Qatar, with the country turning to Iran for supplies that it would otherwise get from those states.

Exports mar better results in the Pakistan cement sector

While overall cement sales rose by 5.16 percent yearonyear during November to 3.94 million tons, domestic demand contributed with a growth of 9.89 percent while exports plunged 27.11 percent.

Bangladesh: Lafarge, Holcim merger lingers over central bank valuation

approved the merger with the condition that Lafarge could remit a BDT 504.78 crore for those same shares – at BDT 57,202 per share – until October 17.

Low valuation of Holcim Cement Bangladesh’s shares have complicated the merger with Lafarge. When asking for permission to merge with Holcim, Lafarge Surma Bangladesh valued the company’s shares at BDT 1.06 lakh, and proposed a transfer of BDT 936 crore for 88,244 shares of Holcim.

Lafarge failed to comply with the scheduled, while the central bank kept its valuation, giving an additional 90 days for Lafarge to remit the cash to Amsterdam-based Holderfin, the holder of those shares.

However, the Bangladesh Bank contradicted that evaluation, and

If the merger succeeds, the resulting company will become the largest cement maker in Bangladesh, with the capacity to produce 4.2 million tons per annum.

Ambe Cement loses certification in Nepal

In southern Pakistan, cement plants exported just 70,000 tons of cement during the month, a decline of 45.4 percent compared to 129,000 tons in November 2016. To the north, cement exports dropped eight percent yearonyear, from 350,000 to 278,000 tons.

“The cement sector has so far withstood the impact of decline in exports due to a robust growth in the domestic market. However, the current political uncertainty may impact domestic growth too,” said the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, commenting on the figures.

The association has been asking for export-friendly policies such as an exemption on excise duty.

The Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) took away the Nepal Standard (NS) certification from the HiTech OPC cement and Ambe Premium OPC Cement brands, both belonging to Ambe Cement.

According to the bureau, the company failed to comply with the standards, and the sale of those brands in Nepalese territory is now restricted. The brands will be allowed to reenter the market after Ambe starts complying with the standards, the NBSM said.

“We had found the company using slag in its cement a few months ago and warned it to avoid doing so. As the company repeatedly

bypassed NBSM’s direction and continued using slag in its cement, we decided to scrap NS certification of the concerned cement brands,” said BishwoBabuPudasaini, director general of the NBSM.

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Flashback NEWS FLOW IN CEMWEEK.COM LAST TWO MONTHS (darker blue shows higher news volume)

Russia

20 articles

Pakistan 16 articles

United States

China

15 articles

42 articles

Egypt

24 articles

Indonesia 18 articles

South Africa 14 articles

cw group agenda / reports The CW Group will be hosting and participating in a number of webinars and conferences. We invite you to join us on-line or in person at the events to discuss our views of the industry. To learn more, please visit http://research.cwgrp.com/meetings

CW group meeting agenda include: January 24, 2018

22

Trade Price Report 4Q2017

DECember 2017

Cw research newest report:

Webinars

Global Cement Volume Forecast Report

Global Cement Trade Price Report

World Cement Equipment Market and Forecast Report

October 2017

October 2017

December 2017

India Cement and Construction Materials Journal

BUZZ

GĂŠraldinePicaud appointed Group CFO at LafargeHolcim

5.

Cementos Fortaleza enters Costa Rican market

6.

Votorantim gets loan to invest in alternative fuel

7.

LafargeHolcim inaugurates new factory in Algeria

8.

FLSmidth to supply construction of cement plant in North Africa

9.

Cemex sells stake in Cementos de Chihuahua

recorded

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Shree Cement to build new plant in Jharkhand

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UltraTech faces opposition against new cement plant

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JSW Cement prepares IPO for after 2019 election

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UltraTech Cement posts lower net profit, 3Q2017

Petcoke ban may impact cement prices in India

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India: Petcoke ban to impact EBITDA of cement makers

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India imports more coal from the US

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Petcoke production increases in Azerbaijan

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Petcoke production down on a yearly basis

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Gabon’s petcoke imports decrease in the first half of the year

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Indian Supreme Court bans petcoke in National Capital Region

output

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Edelweiss ARC rejects claims against Binani Cement

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UltraTech files bankruptcy case against Lavasa Corporation

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JSW Cement to expand the Dolvi cement plant

coke

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Indian and Chinese petcoke production recover in October; Brazil remains pressured

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Heidelberg to set new grinding unit in Bangladesh

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1h2016

CEO of Dangote Cement to resign by the end of 2017

India: cement makers prepare for switching from petcoke to coal

petroleum

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increased

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CRH considers bid on PPC

TOP petcokeweek STORIES

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US: Fly ash regulations to be reconsidered Adelaide Brighton to supply cement to road project Eagle Materials appoints new board of directors member Sika opens new production line in Angola UK: Smiths Concrete acquires new Liebherr mixer drums Construction sector in the UK posts growth in October South Africa: Group Five could leave construction business Saudi Aramco to create construction company Sika wants to step up acquisition drive

India Cement and Construction Materials Journal

DECember 2017

23

World Oil Well Cement Markets and Outlook

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