19 January 2015
ANH Refractories rebrands as HarbisonWalker International 19 January 2015
US: ANH Refractories Company has announced the decision to rebrand itself under the new name of HarbisonWalker International (HWI), effective immediately. The decision was made following an exhaustive market research and branding initiative in which one of the company's legacy brands, Harbison-Walker, returned the highest awareness and positive customer perception of all of the company's brands, as well as the brands of its refractory competitors.
The new HWI said that it is 'positioning itself as the first and only choice for comprehensive solutions to address the needs of its growing international customer base.' It also hopes to reinvigorate the strong bond between the company and both its employees and its customers.
"We have hard-working, dedicated employees and generations of loyal customers who have successfully weathered a storm of uncertainty over a number of years," said Stephen M Delo, chairman and CEO of HWI. "With our branding decision and the launch of our new customer-centric mission, vision and values, we intend to send the message that HWI is committed to investing in and growing both our company's future, as well as that of our partner and customers."
US: The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has granted approval for Lafarge North America to use scrap plastic and asphalt shingles at its cement kilns in Alpena, Michigan State.
Lafarge had requested to be allowed to burn additional fuels in the five cement kilns at its cement plant. Prior to receiving approval to use plastics and shingles as a fuel, the company had used coal, petroleum coke, clean wood and non-halogenated polyethylene and polypropylene as fuel. In its application, Lafarge said that it could use nearly 140,000t/yr of plastics, more than 82,000t/yr of wood and 54,673t/yr of shingles as a replacement fuel for the coal and coke.
Lafarge was issued a permit in 2012 to install technology to allow for a trial burn of shingles in the kilns. The permit required Lafarge to conduct stack testing for emissions of concern from the combustion of shingles. The emissions testing demonstrated that the emissions were less than what Lafarge had originally estimated, according to the DEQ.
Following analyses conducted by the DEQ, staff concluded that the proposed project would comply with all applicable federal air quality requirements and with all of the Michigan DEQ Air Quality Division regulations. The staff concluded that the project, as proposed, would not violate the federal policies.
JSW to boost cement capacity to 30Mt/yr by 2025 19 January 2015
India: JSW plans to expand its cement production capacity to 30Mt/yr from 5Mt/yr by setting up grinding units closer to its steel plants. As part of its diversification, it is also considering the production of aluminium, if the government allocates bauxite mines to it.
Seshagiri Rao, joint managing director of JSW Steel, said that the company's presence in the cement business is small compared with other companies with 60 – 70Mt/yr of production capacity. JSW's plan is to become a significant player in the sector, with 30Mt/yr of production capacity by 2025, he added.
For instance, a grinding unit installed closer to the Dolvi steel plant in Maharashtra State could source clinker from Gujarat State, mix it with slag available from the plant and tap the vibrant western market. "Alternatively, we could also set up grinding units closer to the cement market and take our slag there," said Rao. "We would source clinker from the closest available location so that we remain competitive."
The Tamil Nadu State Government recently notified a scheme whereby cement companies are asked to quote their factory gate price. Contractors were given the price list to source cement for their projects. JSW Cement has also placed its bids under the scheme. "I believe that other State Governments will also emulate the Tamil Nadu Government model to make cement available for their projects at a competitive price without any subsidy," said Rao.
Iran stops producing clinker for 30 days 19 January 2015
Iran: Iran's cement plants have all stopped producing clinker for 30 days, as of 14 January 2015. Abdolreza Sheykhan, an official with Iran's Cement Producers Association, said that the country currently has 17Mt of clinker in store.
"We have stopped producing clinker in order to turn the current inventory to cement," said Sheykhan, adding that the country's need is only 10Mt until the end of the current Iranian calendar year on 20 March 2014. The Iranian oil ministry will pay US$7/t of cement to production plants to compensate for their loss. "Iran's current cement output is around 6.5Mt/month," said Sheykhan. "The country's need, however, is around 4.5 – 5Mt/month."
Iran exported nearly 9.25Mt of cement in the first eight months of the current Iranian year, which started on 21 March 2014. This is 8.5% lower compared to the same period in the previous year. Sheykhan had previously said that the insecurity in Iraq and reduction in the number of destination markets for Iran's cement are the major reasons behind the fall in exports.
"Azerbaijan was one of the major importers of Iran's cement, but the country has now reached self-sufficiency and reduced its imports from Iran," said Sheykhan. He named Russia and African countries as new markets for Iran's cement exports, adding that by taking the mentioned markets, Iran can increase its cement and clinker exports by 1.5Mt/yr.