Geocycle and Lafarge Canada, which are part of Holcim North America, commissioned a new state-of-the-art ash processing facility in Alberta - the first of its kind within Holcim’s global operations. The facility will use advanced beneficiation technology to transform landfilled fly ash from power plants to Class F fly ash, which is marketed as ECOAsh. Due to phasing out cf-power in North America the replacement of newly generated fly ash by processing and reusing landfilled ash is already a trend since several years, with many suppliers in the market. Anyhow, ECOAsh signifies Holcim solutions to reduce carbon emissions and to support the demand for quality fly ash in high-performance (green) cement and concrete.

In 2023, in Senegal the cement production increased by amazing +12.8% to 9.018 Mta, after 7.992 Mta in 2022 with very constant production rates each quarter. In the first 2 quarters of 2023 YoY production increased by almost 20% have been achieved, while in the 4.Q the increase was only +2.8% due to the high level in thew 4Q. 2022.

After a YoY decline in the cement dispatch in January by -2.4%, in February the dispatch in Brazil increased in by +3.9% YoY to 4.624 Mt, which results in a plus of 0.6% in the accumulated data for the first 2 months.

Oman Cement, in which Huaxin has a 64.66% share, is expanding its integrated cement plant in the Misfah industrial area in Muscat, Oman and will also produce different fly-ash cements. The company has 3 kiln lines and 5 cement mills with a clinker capacity of 2.6 Mta and of 3.6 Mta for cement. The plant was producing in 2023 almost at full capacity and therefore kiln line 3 will be upgraded through debottlenecking and a cooler modification from 4000 to 6500 tpd. A new mill no. 6 will be installed. The planned new greenfield plant at Duqm with a capacity of 5000 tpd of clinker is still under consideration, but not much realistic now, due to challenging market conditions.

Japan's cement exports further declined in January 2024 to only 0.482 Mt, after still 0.848 Mt in 2022. This is a decline by 43.2% in just 2 years.

In January 2024, Japan produced 3.310 Mt of cement, which is a decline by -9.8%, when compared to January 2023. Accordingly, the negative trend in Japan cement production continues.

The UK-based Breedon Group announced the acquisition of US-company BMC Enterprises Inc. for US$ 300m. BMC (Breckenridge Material Company) is a leading supplier for RMC, aggregates and building products in Missouri, in the fragmented US-market, operating 5 stone quarries, 7 sand and gravel facilities (including river dredging), more than 40 ready-mixed concrete plants (photo) and 9 building products facilities. Missouri is expected to see significant investments in the coming years and BMC has a diverse range of customers. The price for BMC represents circa 8.5x the unaudited adjusted EBITDA of 2023. The management team will remain with the business, after the takeover.