Cement Americas

FAL 2014

Cement Americas provides comprehensive coverage of the North and South American cement markets from raw material extraction to delivery and tranportation to end user.

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www.cementamericas.com • Fall 2014 • CEMENT AMERICAS 7 CEMENTSCOPE Holcim Ltd. and Lafarge SA announced further details on their proposal for com- prehensive divestments in Brazil in order to gain antitrust approval for their planned merger, LafargeHolcim. The joint Divestment Committee agreed to propose to the Brazilian competition au- thority, Conselho Administrativo de De- fesa Econômica (CADE), assets that include three integrated cement plants and two grinding stations as well as one ready-mix plant in southeastern Brazil. "These proposed divestments have been presented to CADE in the context of pre-fil- ing negotiations and will now be subject to review and further discussion until a final decision is reached with the authority," the companies said in a joint statement. Holcim and Lafarge need to shed assets generating about $6.71 billion in annual revenue to help persuade competition watchdogs to back the proposed deal, which was unveiled in April and would create a combined group with $44 bil- lion in yearly sales. The divestment process will be com- pleted subject to the closing of the merger between Holcim and Lafarge. As previously announced, the closing of the planned merger is expected in H1 2015, aiming to create the most balanced and diversified portfolio in the industry, oper- ating in 90 countries and creating supe- rior value for its stakeholders. Holcim, Lafarge Announce Brazil Divestments Six Cemex Plants Earn ENERGY STAR Certification Six Cemex USA cement plants earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ENERGY STAR certifica- tion. The recognition of Cemex's plants in Brooksville and Miami, Fla.; Clinch- field, Ga.; Fairborn, Ohio; Louisville, Ky. and Victorville, Calif., demonstrates that these facilities perform among the top 25 percent of similar U.S. facilities for energy conservation. This year marks the eighth consecutive year of certification for the Clinchfield plant, an achievement realized by only one other cement plant in the United States, the fourth consecutive certifica- tion for the Miami plant, the third for the Brooksville, Victorville and Fairborn plants, and the sixth year for the Louisville plant. Throughout the year, all of the recog- nized plants put into practice the en- ergy efficiency principles established by the ENERGY STAR Guidelines for En- ergy Management developed by EPA. These plants implemented energy con- servation and monitoring technologies, promoted energy efficiency awareness among employees, and completed en- ergy reduction projects. "Cemex is committed to sustainable practices throughout our operations, in- cluding energy efficiency," said Karl Wat- son, Jr., president of Cemex USA. "We are honored to again be recognized by the EPA and Energy Star for our com- mitment to sustainable practices." The Venezuelan government is reviewing plans to unify the man- agement of the cement firms in the Corporación Socialista del Ce- mento (CSC) entity that was created in 2009 after the nationalization of the industry. At present, while Venezolana de Cementos, Indus- tria Venezolana de Cementos, Fábrica Nacional de Cementos and Cemento Andino are subsidiaries of the CSC, they each have their own administration. Three out of four cement companies have pro- duction issues, leading to cement shortages in the country. Venezuela to Centralize CSC Administration HeidelbergCement has started its Contin- uous Improvement Program (CIP) in order to continuously optimize the work- ing processes in cement production. The new program, which will be introduced at 65 cement plants worldwide, takes a systematic approach in order to generate ideas among the employees, prioritize, and implement them. The process enhance- ments shall lead to sustainable result im- provements of at least 120 million euros ($163.6 million) by the end of 2017. HeidelbergCement Puts Emphasis on Continuous Improvement

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