Holderbank acquires stake in five Caribbean terminals Holderbank has acquired a 20% stake in Guatemala's cement producer Cementos Progreso S.A. via a share capital increase.

Through group companies Cementos Caribe, Venezuela, and UMAR, Spain, Holderbank has also acquired from Devcon International 100% control of five cement import terminals on the U.S. Virgin Islands St. Thomas and St. Croix; on St. Martin, Netherlands Antilles; Antigua; and Dominica.

Operating under the company name Caricement, these new positions ideally round out the group's presence in Caribbean markets while securing a sales volume of some 200,000 mtpy.

In other news, Mexican-based Apasco S.A. de C.V., a group company of Holderbank,will double annual cement capacity at its Ramos Arizpe plant to 2.5 mt over the next two years to meet the demands of a booming construction industry.

Lafarge criticizes Blue Circle defense document France's Lafarge strongly criticized UK-based Blue Circle Industries' defense document (see "Cementscope," Cement Americas, April 2000, p. 5), in which Blue Circle said it would return about Pound800 million (US$1.27 billion), or roughly Pound1 (US$1.60) per share, to its shareholders. Blue Circle said it would return about Pound400 million (US$636 million) as soon as possible after Lafarge's bid lapses, with the balance returned by the end of this year.

On April 10, the European Commission cleared Lafarge's Pound3.4 billion (US$5.4 billion) offer for Blue Circle on the condition that Lafarge sell its Danish concrete-tile business, to which Lafarge has agreed.

APCA, PCA sponsor NESHAP workshops The American Portland Cement Alliance (APCA) and the Portland Cement Association (PCA) will sponsor three NESHAP implementation workshops. Each workshop will provide information on the new national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP), also known as the portland cement MACT rule (see page 33).

The three regional workshops will be held in Atlanta, May 24-25 at Blue Circle Corporate Headquarters in Marietta, Ga.; Denver, June 28-29 at the Executive Tower Hotel (tentative); San Francisco, July 26-27 at the Berkeley Marina Radisson Hotel in Berkeley, Calif. (tentative).

Experts from within the cement industry and leading consultants will facilitate two days of interactive discussion of NESHAP topics. Topics will include an overview of the NESHAP rule applicability and major/area source determinations; enhancing control of particulate matter emissions; harmonizing NESHAP monitoring requirements with Title V permitting requirements; dioxin/furan formation, minimization, and reduction; and a hypothetical plant implementation case study.

Registration is $425 for APCA and PCA members and $500 for non-members. Early registration, the first of the month for each respective workshop, is $375 for members and $450 for non-members. Early registrants will also be able to reserve hotel rooms at a reduced rate.

For more information, contact Tom Carter, director, environmental affairs, APCA, 1225 Eye Street, NW, Ste. 300, Washington, D.C. 20005; telephone: (+1) 202-408-9494; fax: (+1) 202-408-0877.

Ingersoll-Rand, Aggreko announce five-year alliance Ingersoll-Rand Co. and Aggreko have entered into a five-year global supply, design, and marketing agreement.

The two companies will jointly design new, specialized oil-free air rental products, which Ingersoll-Rand will manufacture exclusively for Aggreko's global network.

In addition, Ingersoll-Rand has sold its North American oil-free air compressor rental fleet and accessories to Aggreko for US$13 million.

Lafarge forms joint venture with Rock-Tenn Lafarge Corp. and Rock-Tenn Co. announced the formation of a joint venture to produce gypsum paperboard liner for Lafarge's U.S. drywall manufacturing plants.

The joint venture, Seven Hills Paperboard, will own and operate a paperboard mill located at Rock-Tenn's Lynchburg, Va. manufacturing site. Rock-Tenn will contribute a portion of its existing Lynchburg assets to the venture, which will manufacture gypsum paperboard liner using Lafarge's processes. Lafarge owns 51% of the joint venture.

Low-basis weight paper technology, made popular in Europe, allows for reduced costs based on lower usage of recovered paper. When implemented, Lafarge will be one of the few domestic drywall producers to use it.

Seven Hills will sell all of its production to Lafarge's U.S. drywall plants with full-scale production of gypsum paperboard liner projected to commence in the later half of 2001. The Seven Hills mill will have an annual capacity of 75,000 tpy that could be expanded over time to a level in excess of 100,000 tpy of low-basis weight paperboard.

GE Industrial Systems forms new integrator business GE Industrial Systems announced the consolidation of its three systems integration businesses into one business unit, to be known as GE Automation Services.

GE combined Dallas-based GE Team Controls; GE Instrument Control Service, headquartered in Pensacola, Fla.; and St. Louis-based GE Magnum Technologies to form one of the nation's largest systems integrators with regional offices throughout the United States.