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drymix.info Newsletter 155/2014; ISSN Number 1613-0111; 25. September 2014

1. 9th Annual SEADMA Conference in Singapore, 11. Nov. 2014 at Pan Pacific Hotel
2. 2nd Australia Drymix Mortar Meeting, Yarra Valley, VIC, 13. and 14. Nov. 2014: Programme
3. Dubai: MEDMA General Assembly (16. Nov.) and Workshop on Big 5 (17. Nov.)
4. Announcing: 2nd Annual Quality Assurance for Sustainable Construction Materials Conference, 10. and 11. Dec. 2014 in Dubai
5. Superplasticizer Pioneer Dr. Alois Aignesberger Died at Age 88
6. Fire at CMCI Plant in Dammam, Saudi Arabia
7. Erisim Makina Joins drymix.info as Industrial Partner
8. BASF Starts up Plant for Concrete Admixtures in Nairobi, Kenya
9. Lafarge Sells Assets in Russia to Buzzi Unicem, in Mexcio to Elementia

1. 9th Annual SEADMA Conference in Singapore, 11. Nov. 2014 at Pan Pacific Hotel

The South East Asia Drymix Mortar Association SEADMA invites for its 9th Annual  Conference to magnificient Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore. SEADMA will also hold its Annual General Assembly then. The MEDMA/SEADMA Technical Bulletin 09 will be published on occasion of this conference. This unique event traditionally unites drymix mortar experts from South East Asia in a professional and networking-oriented atmosphere. Lectures will be presented by the following companies or institutions (in alphabetical order): Avebe, Haver&Boecker, Kerneos, m-tec, Momentive, Nubiola, SE Tylose, SEADMA and Sofraden. Regular admission is 195 € (S$ 320), reduced to 165 € (S$ 270) for members of drymix.info. Like in Istanbul, we offer a reduced admission drymix mortar producers: they pay only 110 € (S$ 180). Online registration is available at www.drymix.info (Visa or Mastercard required).

2. 2nd Australia Drymix Mortar Meeting, Yarra Valley, VIC, 13. and 14. Nov. 2014: Programme

drymix.info invites all mortar experts from down under to the 2nd Australia Drymix Mortar Meeting, taking place at beautiful Yarra Valley Conference Center (about 60 km to the North-East of Melbourne). Yarra Valley Conference Center offers beautiful rooms for delegates arriving on Thursday, please reserve timely with them. A Delegate Welcome takes place in the evening of 13. November and on 14. November, after the meeting, we head out to Yering Meadows Golf Club to play 9 holes for the first drymix.info Golf Trophy. Non-golfers will enjoy a putting contest and the scenery (sponsoring for both extras is welcome).

Here is our programme (subject to change without notice):
Ardex, David Hood: Self-levelling Underlayment: Applications and Specifications
Construction Technology Australia, Scott Worthington: The Growth of Rapid Setting Dry Mix Products in the Australian Tile and Stone Market
drymix.info, Ferdinand Leopolder: The Global Markets for Drymix Mortars - Strategic Chances for Portfolio Optimization
Rockcote, Tony Wruck: The Machine Application of Renders
Sofraden, Guillaume Lafay: (working title) Automated Plants for Drymix Mortar Production
Wacker, Dr. Harold Schoonbrood: Requirements for and Testing of Cementitious Adhesive for Large Format Ceramic Tiles
WAM, Wayne Hanson: The Correct Choice, Sizing and Integration of High Intensity Mixers into Automated Mortar Plants

Online registration is available at drymix.info (Visa or Mastercard required). Regular Admission is 210 € (300 AU$), reduced admission for members of drymix.info is 180 € (260 AU$), special admission for drymix mortar manufacturers is only 110 € (160 AU$).

3. Dubai: MEDMA General Assembly (16. Nov.) and Workshop on Big 5 (17. Nov.)

The Middle East Drymix Mortar Association MEDMA e.V. invites all its members, partners and friends to its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday, 16. November 2014, 19:00. Traditionally, this meeting takes place at fantastic Al Badia Golf Club, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a nice dinner is included. The MEDMA AGM is free of charge for MEDMA members (up to two representatives for each company), all others pay 750 AED per person. Advance registration is mandatory by e-mail to info@drymix.info. JK Cement Works (Fujairah) FZC has agreed to sponsor this meeting, thank you very much.

In cooperation with The Big 5, the Middle East's undisputedly largest trade show for the construction industry, MEDMA is offering a workshop on drymix mortar technology and standards on Monday, 17. November 2014, from 10:00 until 13:30. The workshop takes place in one of the conference venues on the first level of Main Concourse (room remains tbd., follow the signage). Lectures are presented by Gypsemna, Caparol, MEDMA, Haver&Boecker, drymix.info and Sofraden (one lecturing slot about CTA is still open, please enquire with us). Admission is free of charge, advance registration is recommended by e-mail to us.

4. Announcing: 2nd Annual Quality Assurance for Sustainable Construction Materials Conference, 10. and 11. Dec. 2014 in Dubai

The Middle East Drymix Mortar Association MEDMA has announced its endorsement of the 2nd Annual Quality Assurance for Sustainable Construction Materials Conference which takes place on 10. and 11. December 14 at The Palace Hotel in Downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The conference is being organized by Sesam Business Consultants and takes place under the patronage of Dubai Municipality. Apart from MEDMA, the Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC) and ASTM International are endorsing and supporting the event. Ahmed El Bayaa of the MEDMA Workgroup on External Insulation and Finishing Systems (EIFS, ETICS) will contribute a lecture to the comprehensive programme. There are specially reduced entry fees available for MEDMA members, please enquire with drymix.info.

5. Superplasticizer Pioneer Dr. Alois Aignesberger Died at Age 88

Dr. Alois Aignesberger was a man who moved things, in particular concrete. Working at Süddeutsche Kalkstickstoffwerke Trostberg, Germany (SKW), in 1962, he discovered the dispersing effect of melamine-formaldehyde-sulfite resins on cement. They allowed to considerably reduce the water content in the mixtures while still maintaining or even improving the flow of wet concrete or mortar. The invention of the first superplasticizer revolutionized the way concrete could be designed and a new class of concrete called “flowing concrete” (in German: Fließbeton) was introduced based on Dr. Aignesbergers findings. He led the research and development department for construction chemicals at SKW Trostberg until 1988. He held over 50 patents and obtained several awards for his work (e.g. in 2003 the Hans Kühl Medaille of the German Society of Chemists GDCh).

6. Fire at CMCI Plant in Dammam, Saudi Arabia

In late July, a fire damaged many installations (plants, warehouses, offices) at Construction Material Chemical Industries (CMCI) in Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The cause fo the incident was not disclosed. CMCI is part of the Khalifa A Algosaibi Group (whose headquarters immediately nearby were not effected). CMCI produced paints and coatings, polymer flooring and technical mortars in the plant in Dammam. Thanks to the group structure, CMCI can use other facilities to fill customer orders. Mortar production will go on at sister company Tecon/Supra, which operates a highly automated drymix mortar plant in the Dammam 2nd Industrial Estate. In one of the warehouses a production unit for construction chemicals was installed as a quick response to the incidence. Information was obtained that the loss in capacity will be compensated by the 2nd production unit located in Jeddah.

7. Erişim Makina Joins drymix.info as Industrial Partner

Erişim Makina, Ankara, Turkey has decided to join drymix.info as industrial partner. Erişim Makina, founded in 1996, has specialized on turnkey plants for bulk materials handling, mixing and packaging. It offers process design, equipment fabrication, installation and commissioning of industrial projects (e.g. for gypsum powder, gypsum plasters and plasterboard, calcite and expanded perlite). Another focus lays on fine grinding and classifying units, dedusting systems for powder processing plants and mixing plants for gypsum and cement based drymix mortars.

We warmly welcome Erişim Makina to our Community.

8. BASF Starts up Plant for Concrete Admixtures in Nairobi, Kenya

BASF SE of Ludwigshafen, Germany has recently inaugurated its new production plant for concrete admixtures in Nairobi, Kenya. “We are now able to rapidly supply our customers (...in the region, especially) in urban areas such as Nairobi, Kenya, or Kampala, Uganda, where transportation of concrete to the construction site may take longer due to high traffic,” said Dick Purchase, head of BASF’s Regional Business Unit Construction Chemicals Middle East, West Asia, CIS and Africa. Kenya shows a strong growth for construction chemicals, higher than in the rest of Eastern Africa. At the opening ceremony, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador Amina Mohamed, said: “(this new BASF plant) in Eastern Africa will bring employment opportunities and expertise to the (entire) region’s construction sector.”

9. Lafarge Sells Assets in Russia to Buzzi Unicem, in Mexcio to Elementia

Lafarge SA, Paris, France has recently announced the sale of its cement activity in the Ural region - Lafarge Uralcement - to Buzzi Unicem, Casale Monferrato, Italy. The transaction value was said to have been 104 Mio Euro. Lafarge Uralcement operates one cement plant in Korkino, about 40 km to the south of Tscheljabinsk. Lafarge remains active in the important region around Moscow, where a new plant in Ferzikovo was started up only in May of this year.

Lafarge also sold its minority share of 47% in the Joint-Venture Lafarge Elementia back to Elementia, Mexico City for 175 Mio Euro. The transaction is pending internal approval. The JV between Lafarge and Elementia was formed in only August 2013 and combined the Lafarge cement plants in Vito and Tula with Elementia's new Central Mexico plant.

According to Lafarge, both transactions are intended to lower the net debt of Lafarge, it can be assumed that they are also part of the joint strategy preparing Lafarge for the merger with Holcim (we reported earlier).


The drymix.info Newsletter is being sent exclusively to registered subscribers and all members of drymix.info. Editor-in-Chief: Ferdinand Leopolder. Back issues will be published on www.drymix.info. Please also check our Chinese Edition on www.drymix.info.

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Sincerely Yours, Ferdinand Leopolder