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drymix.info Newsletter 298/2024; ISSN Number 1613-0111; 27. March 2024

drymix.info welcomes the Ten Thousandth subscriber to the Newsletter...
...it is Ms. Asmaa Zaid Weli of LafargeHolcim Iraq. Asmaa obtained her B.Sc. in Civil Engineering (focus on construction materials) at University of Sulaimanyah, Iraq, in 2010. She worked as a Site Engineer for Nabaz Group and joined LafargeHolcim in 2015. Since 2020 Asmaa works in the drymix mortar department there (Sulaimanyah plant), where she is Quality Control Supervisor. We are glad to have Asmaa as a subscriber to the drymix.info Newsletter.

1. 2024 MEDMA Members Convention, MON 15APR24 in Dubai, UAE
2. The 1st UK & Ireland Drymix Mortar Meeting, Manchester, 24. and 25APR24: Update
3. News on Upcoming Events (Watch out for Changes!)
3.1. 5th Central American Drymix Mortar Meeting, Monterrey, Mexico, 25JUN24
3.2. 8th Central and South European Drymix Mortar Conference cedmmc8, Istanbul, 19SEP24
3.3. Moved to Vietnam: the 17th Annual SEADMA Conference, Ho-Chi-Minh City, 14NOV24
3.4. Drymix Mortars in the Middle East - The 17th Annual MEDMA Conference, UAE
4. Revision of Indonesia National Standard for CTA, New EC of PROMINDO
5. Mapei Opens New Plant in Portugal
6. Celotech Joins MEDMA as Industrial Partner
7. MC Bauchemie Opens Subsidiary in Tanzania
8. Hongshi New Materials Joins drymix.info as Industrial Partner

1. 2024 MEDMA Members Convention, MON 15APR24 in Dubai, UAE

Laith Haboubi, President of the Middle East Drymix Mortar Association MEDMA invites all its members and partners to its 2024 Members Convention on 15. April 2024, 15:00. The convention will be led by Laith, Mohammed Sanaobar (Technical Chairman) and Ferdinand Leopolder (Secretary General). Wacker Chemie has agreed to host our meeting at their premises at Dubai Silicon Oasis, thanks a lot for this wonderful support.

Discussion topics:
a) Summary of MEDMA Activities before and after CoVid
b) Report on MEDMA Member- and Partnerships development
c) Members and Partners input (Q&A)
d) Goals and Targets for UAE and Beyond (especially Saudi Arabia and Egypt)
e) organizational prerequisites (resources, volunteers, committees and financing)
f) activities: determination of date and location of our 17th Annual MEDMA Conference 2024.

The 2024 MEDMA Members Convention is reserved to members and partners of MEDMA only, it is free of charge (max. 2 delegates per company, RSVP is mandatory).

2. The 1st UK & Ireland Drymix Mortar Meeting, Manchester, 24. and 25APR24: Update

Registrations are still running strong for our  First UK & Ireland Drymix Mortar Meeting in Manchester, UK. The event takes place on Wednesday, 24. April and Thursday, 25. April 2024. We start with the Blackburn Golf Competition on Wednesday morning (tee-times from 10:30 until 13:10, RSVP), followed by our Delegate Welcome at 19:00 (RSVP mandatory). All this is taking place at Worsley Park Marriott Hotel and Country Club in Manchester. Thursday will feature a full-day comprehensive technical program and great networking opportunities.  Without the support from the industry an event like this would not be possible (or would cost much more!), we particularly thank Actemium, Atlas, Arodo, Beumer Group, Bischof + Klein, Blackburn, Calucem, Cemkem, Cimsa, Concetti, Haver & Boecker, Imerys, Kilwaughter Minerals, Maltech, Mapei, Omya, Organik Kimya and Poraver

The Golf competition is open to all delegates, (RSVP is mandatory here, as well as for the Delegate Welcome). 

Admission to the 1st UK & Ireland Drymix Mortar Meeting including the Golf competition is £ 480 | 550 €, reduced to £ 395 | 450 € for drymix.info members or partners. Drymix mortar manufacturers pay only £ 170 | 190 €. There is a special £ 78 | 90 € travel rebate for drymix mortar manufacturers coming from Iceland, Ireland and any other Nation other than the UK, please enquire with us.

3. News on Upcoming Events (Watch out for Changes!)

General Remark: Our admission prices have been fixed for all events mentioned below despite regional differences: 550 Euro per Person, reduced to 450 Euro p.P. for drymix.info, SEADMA or MEDMA Partners. Drymix mortar manufacturers pay only 190 Euro p.P., for some events there are additional travel rebates for drymix mortar manufacturers when they come from far away (please enquire with us).

3.1. 5th Central American Drymix Mortar Meeting, Monterrey, Mexico, 25JUN24
Registration has started for our Mexico meeting, it will take place at splendid and historic Monterrey Casino (downtown) as full-day event. The Call for Papers has ended recently, we will announce the program in our next Newsletter. As of today, support for the 5th Central American Drymix Mortar Meeting comes from Altana/BYK, Beumer Group, Cemix, Haver & Boecker, Imerys, Kemikals, Maltech, Omya and Organik Kimya

3.2. 8th Central and South European Drymix Mortar Conference cedmmc8, Istanbul, 19SEP24
Also for Istanbul, our registration has started, the program will be announced soon. The Bosphorus Cruise is confirmed, sponsors will be announced in the next Newsletter. As of today, support for cedmmc8 comes from Altana/BYK, Billerud, Blackburn, Calucem, Cimsa, Dow, Elotex/Celanese, Evonik, Günkem, Haver & Boecker, Imerys, Kalekim, m-tec, Mapei, Omya, Organik Kimya, Paul-Scherrer-Institut, Saint Gobain Weber and Wacker Chemie

3.3. Moved to Vietnam: the 17th Annual SEADMA Conference, Ho-Chi-Minh City, 14NOV24
The Call for Papers has started for our 17th Annual SEADMA Conference, the exact location still remains to be determined. This event had been initially planned for Manila - the next (5th) Philippine Drymix Mortar Meeting will be taking place in 2025 (date to be announced soon).

3.4. Drymix Mortars in the Middle East - The 17th Annual MEDMA Conference, UAE
The date for this event will be fixed during our upcoming MEDMA Members Convention on 15APR24 (see item 1 above).

4. Revision of Indonesia National Standard for CTA, New EC of PROMINDO

PROMINDO, Jakarta, Indonesia (the local chapter of The South East Asia Drymix Mortar Association SEADMA, Singapore) has published its plans for 2024: one focus will be on a revision of Indonesia National Standard for (Cementitious) Tile Adhesives SNI 8837-1:2019. In close cooperation with the technical committee of Badan Standardisasi Nasional (BSN, within the Ministry of Industry MOI). It is planned to include the classifications F, E, T and S, similar to the performance requirements of ISO 13007. PROMINDO is also pushing the standard for thinbed adhesives for  ACC Blocks SNI 8837-2:2023 (we reported earlier), the third goal is to set up a certified, neutral third-party testing laboratory specialized on testing of Cementitious Tile Adhesives in accordance with SNI, for the use of specifiers and industry alike to improve the overall product quality in Indonesia.

PROMINDO's Annual General Assembly was hosted at the 16th Annual SEADMA Conference in Bogor, Indonesia on 23. November 2023. During this meeting, the Technical Committee was appointed, it consists of experts from Sika, Uzindo, Saint Gobain Weber (MU), AM and Powerblock. Also Sika, AMA/Triputra Holding (includes Mortindo and PT Drymix), MU and S3 were confirmed for the Executive Committee (EC). Ruslin Widjaya was reinstated as Secretary General of PROMINDO, advisors to the EC come from Wacker Chemie and SEADMA.

5. Mapei Opens New Plant in Portugal

Mapei Spa of Milano, Italy has recently inaugurated its new plant in Catanhede, Central Portugal (between Porto and Lisboa). On a plot of 26.500 sq. m. (11.500 of it covered by buildings), Mapei has established several manufacturing units for drymix mortars and construction chemicals, a large logistics-hub as well as a training center (Mapei Academy). Construction had began in late 2022 and, according to Mapei, the total investment for the new plant amounted to 13 mio Euro.


6. Celotech Joins MEDMA as Industrial Partner

Celotech Chemical Co., Ltd., Suzhou, China has joined The Middle East Drymix Mortar Association MEDMA as Industrial Partner. Celotech was founded in 2005 to facilitate the industrial production of cellulose ethers. In the course of the years, Celotech has expanded its production range to include MHEC, HEC and cellulose fiber (tradenames Celopro and Celofiber). Celotech also offers construction chemical products such as redispersible powders, superplasticizers, defoamers, retarders, hydrophobing agents and starch ethers in powder form.

MEDMA warmly welcomes Celotech as a Partner!

7. MC Bauchemie Opens Subsidiary in Tanzania

MC Bauchemie of Bottrop, Germany has announced the start of operations of the recently established MC-Bauchemie Tanzania Ltd in Dar es Salaam. From this location, the entire East African market for construction chemicals can be reached. MC Bauchemie intends to introduce first concrete admixtures and grinding aids for the cement industry, followed by waterproofing compounds and concrete renovation systems. After Ghana, Guinea and Ethiopia, this is the fourth subsidiary of MC-Bauchemie in Africa.

8. Hongshi New Materials Joins drymix.info as Industrial Partner

Hongshi (Jiangsu) New Material Technology Yangzhou, China (to the North-West of Shanghai) has decided to join drymix.info as Industrial Partner. The company was founded in 2021 and is a subsidiary of Oriental Yuhong Holding Group, Beijing, China. Hongshi produces liquid dispersions and redispersible powders based on Vinyl-Acetate/Ethylene copolimerisates. Its production is located in Yangzhou Chemical Industry Park, Jiangsu. Hongshi's R&D and application technology team works out of Shanghai (Caohejing District).


drymix.info warmly welcomes Hongshi (Jiangsu) New Material Technology to our community!

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Editor-in-Chief: Ferdinand Leopolder.

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Sincerely Yours, Ferdinand Leopolder