Displaying items by tag: Plant
ACC to invest over US$900m in new plant
04 July 2012India: Holcim-controlled Associated Cement Companies (ACC) is mulling a US$913m integrated cement complex in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The company is planning a 5Mt/yr integrated cement complex, along with an 8Mt/yr cement grinding unit and a 100MW captive power plant at Gollapalli village in Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh. To support the cement plant the company is also creating a 7Mt/yr captive limestone mine.
While ACC has made no official comment, industry insiders have expressed surprise that ACC is planning further cement capacity in south India, which is already reeling under excess capacity. ACC has already announced its plans to increase its capacity by 5Mt/yr through brownfield expansion at its Jamul plant in Chattisgarh.
Loesche supplies largest ever cement mill in Europe
27 June 2012Turkey: Nuryol Çimento has decided to use Loesche GmbH as the supplier of all mills for its new 4000t/day cement plant project in Karasu, around 150km east of Istanbul. Loesche will supply mills for coal grinding, cement raw material grinding and clinker grinding. The complete project execution and coordination will be done by Sintek Mining Machinery Industry Construction, which is based in Ankara.
Loesche will supply one Loesche mill type LM 46.4 to grind cement raw material at a rate of 330t/hr to a fineness of 12% R90u and a Loesche mill type LM 28.2 D to grind coal. The design capacity of the coal mill is 30t/hr, to a fineness of 3% R90u.
For cement grinding Nuryol has purchased a Loesche mill type LM 63.3+3, including process filter and fan. The mill is designed to grind OPC cement with a capacity of 240t/hr to a fineness of 3800cm2/g according to Blaine. This Loesche mill represents the largest vertical roller mill for cement grinding in Turkey as well as in the whole of Europe. It will have a table diameter of 6.3m and will be driven by a motor with a rated capacity of 7200kW.
Loesche's innovative Compact Plant design for cement grinding plants was an important factor that Nuryol says led it to choose a Loesche vertical roller mill for cement grinding. Compact Plant design eliminates the need for a large and expensive mill building, leading to massive savings in the required plant plot, in cost for structural steelworks and civil works as well as in erection time.
Lafarge to axe a further 97 jobs at home
27 June 2012France: On 22 June 2012 Lafarge announced that it expected to cut a further 97 jobs in France as part of a plan to merge its three French divisions, based around its different product lines, into one national unit to be headquartered in the Paris region.
The move came just a week after the cement maker unveiled plans to cut costs by Euro1.3bn and boost profits over the next four years as it seeks to cut its debt and regain an investment-grade rating. At the start of 2012 the group, which employs a total of 68,000 people around the globe, said that it would cut 460 jobs worldwide, including 90 in France, as part of corporate reshuffling.
Cameroonian Dangote plant back on track
19 June 2012Cameroon: Construction of a US$115m cement plant by the Nigerian cement giant Dangote has restarted in Douala after resolution of a land dispute. Work on the 1.5Mt/yr facility began in September 2011 but was halted in early 2012 after the Sawa people filed an injunction against the project, complaining it violated their sacred site on the banks of the Wouri River.
"Following instructions from the Presidency of the Republic, work has resumed at the Dangote cement factory," said Joseph Beti Assomo, the governor of the region under which Douala falls. "Let me seize this opportunity to inform you that the mix-ups surrounding the site of the Dangote project have been entirely dissipated to enable resumption of work."
India Cements gets expansion go-ahead
19 June 2012India: South India's largest cement maker by volume, The India Cements Ltd, has received clearance from the environment ministry to proceed with capacity expansion of its existing two plants.
The company sought the Terms of Reference (TOR) approval for expanding capacities in Padaveedu, Salem district at its Sankaridurg plant and in Dalavoi, Ariyalur district. The green ministry approved the TRO of India Cements on 25 April 2012 and 26 April 2012 respectively.
Company officials maintain that this is only a process and nothing has been finalised vis-a-vis expansion of capacities. "We are getting the required approvals in advance. Nothing is on the board. We want to be ready and when there is a need we should not be seen as waiting for regulatory approvals," said a company official.
Obajana line 3 launched
12 June 2012Nigeria: The cement sub-sector of the Nigerian economy received a further boost on 11 June 2012 when President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the new 5.25Mt/yr Dangote Cement Obajana Plant Line 3. The plant launch is part of the nation's drive to 'free itself' from foreign cement imports.
With the commissioning of the new line, the production capacity of the Obajana Plant will be raised to 10.25Mt/yr. In 2015 a fourth line will be completed, giving a combined production capacity of 13.25Mt/yr. This would make it the largest cement plant in the global cement industry.
The line 3 launch follows the commissioning of Dangote's 6Mt/yr Ibese plant. The company aims to lead the way in the Nigerian cement market and have sufficient material left over for export.
With the continuous expansion of the existing plants in the country and its operations across 14 other African countries, Dangote Cement will remain one of the largest producers in Africa and the world. The company said that the inauguration marked a milestone not only for the company but also for Nigeria, pointing out that the Obajana project will make Dangote Cement the 'power house of cement in Africa.'
Group President Alhaji Aliko Dangote has previously said that Dangote Cement would soon start to convert its import terminals for export terminals in readiness for exportation of its excess capacity to neighbouring countries.
Arabian Cement commissions second line
12 June 2012Egypt: Arabian Cement Company (ACC) is expanding its operations in Egypt, with the official opening of its second production line at its plant located in Suez governorate.
During a press conference attended by General Ismail Al Nagdy, President of the Egyptian Industrial Development Authority (IDA), and Fidel Sendagorta, the Spanish Ambassador in Egypt, ACC showcased the benefits of converting to an alternative fuel system, which it is planning to implement on both production lines. This will help it to reduce its gas consumption to make the plant more environmentally-friendly.
ACC said that the second production line has created 850 jobs, making ACC an employer of around 1700 workers both directly and indirectly. Operation of the second line has doubled ACC's production capacity to 5Mt/yr.
"We are extremely pleased to announce opening our second production line, which will increase our production capacity, bringing us one step closer to becoming among the largest cement producers in the market. We have already finished the commissioning of the second line and are now ready to produce high quality cement products," said Jose Maria Magrina, ACC's CEO.
"ACC has been successfully operating in the Egyptian market since 2007 and is currently the second largest Spanish investor in Egypt. As a leader in the cement sector, we are constantly keen to implement the latest techniques in our production process. By using alternative fuel in our plant, we contribute to limiting the harmful effects of the cement industry on the environment."
Using alternative fuel will reduce the consumption of natural gas, saving the company 436m3 of gas for every tonne of refuse derived fuel (RDF). ACC has obtained the required license from the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) to use alternative fuel made from waste materials in the kilns of the plant. It is expected that RDF will be introduced to the plant by the end of 2012. This will save the operation around 60,000t/yr of CO2.
Birla eyes up Ethiopian project
07 June 2012Ethiopia: In what would be its maiden overseas venture, India's Birla Corp has announced plans to set up a cement plant in Ethiopia. The MP Birla group company has recently formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, Birla CorpCement Manufacturing plc, in Ethiopia to establish a plant.
"We plan to go there for exploration of limestone to set up a cement plant," said a Birla Corp official. "We would also explore opportunities to set up power plants there."
While Ethiopia is economically poor it is endowed with significant limestone deposits. Cement companies have started eyeing projects in the country after the government started facilitating the import of coal. The country currently imports cement because local demand far outstrips supply and acute power shortages keep new investments away.
This is not the first time that Birla Corp has tried to enter the Ethiopian cement market. In 2010 it made a contract bid for the construction of a cement plant at Habesha but lost out to Chinese competitors. Chinese mining companies have taken up extensive limestone mining contracts in Ethiopia in recent years, firming up long-term off-take contracts.
CITIC invests in Belarus upgrade
06 June 2012Belarus: A new dry 1.8Mt/yr cement line has been commissioned at Kostyukovichi in Belarus. Architecture and Construction Minister Anatoly Nichkasov presided over the opening ceremony for the joint Belarusian and Chinese project, which was constructed by the Chinese company CITIC Construction. Director of OAO Belarusian Cement Plant Vladimir Kiselev said that the launch of a further cement manufacturing line in July 2012 would raise domestic output to 3Mt/yr. He also noted that it would create 154 new jobs.
Since 2007 CITIC has been implementing an investment programme in Belarus to modernise cement mills and manufacturing lines, including building three new cement mills and modernising the power supply for three existing ones. In April 2012 a cement line was commissioned at OAO Krasnoselskstroimaterialy with a capacity of 1.8Mt/yr. OAO Krichevtsementnoshifer will have a similar line to be completed by 1 July 2012. Loans from China Export and Import Bank are the main source of funding.
Dangote 6Mt Calabar plant ready by July 2012
30 May 2012Nigeria: Dangote Cement's new 6Mt/yr Calabar plant, in the Cross-River State, will be ready by the end of July 2012. Chairman Aliko Dangote made the announcement at the company's annual general meeting in Lagos.
According to Dangote the Calabar plant is almost completed, with a strategic location intended to supply both local consumers and those in Central African states like Cameroon and Gabon. Together with the planned expansion of the Ibese plant by 3Mt/yr, the June 2011 commissioning of the Obajana Plant and other operations in 14 other African countries, Dangote Cement aims to reach a capacity of 60Mt/yr by 2015. Of this total, 55% is intended to local consumption and 45% is intended for export to other sub-Saharan African countries.