Displaying items by tag: Upgrade
PPC Zimbabwe invests US$75m on Harare plant in 2015
11 March 2015Zimbabwe: PPC Zimbabwe intends to invest US$75m in 2015 on its Harare cement mill to develop its export market. The mill will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2016 according to PPC Zimbabwe managing director Njombo Lekula. The cement producer is also spending US$6.4m on production upgrades at its Bulawayo and Colleen Bawn cement plants.
Lekula told local press that PPC Zimbabwe's export market had been cut by 40% due to the strengthening of the US dollar. However, he expected the export market to improve in the remainder of 2015.
Ecuador: Holcim Ecuador has inaugurated the second phase of its modernisation project at the 4500t/day clinker capacity Guayaquil plant. The expanded production capacity replaces the need for imports. Approximately US$400m has been invested in the modernisation work in the last five years. The project has included a particular focus on limiting the plant's environmental impact. Around 20% of investment has been spent on environmental control equipment. The new clinker line will help Holcim Ecuador to reduce its CO2 emissions by 700,000t/yr.
Italcementi to upgrade two cement plants in 2015
09 March 2015Egypt: Italcementi plans to upgrade two of its cement plants in 2015 via its Suez Cement subsidiary, following the two plants that it upgraded in 2014, according to Italcementi managing director Bruno Carrè.
"We will invest US$52.4m/yr for four years," said Carrè. "We finished converting two plants two plants in the first year. Now we have another two plants to complete." Italcementi will not disclose any expectations about their investments in 2015, although it expects the market to grow. In January 2015, Carrè said that its 2014 revenues will exceed US$721m, some 20% higher than in 2013, with 2015 revenues projected to grow by 10 - 15%.
Carrè said that the expansion plans are targeting renewable energy in Egpt and the Gulf. He highlighted that 2015 will see the continuation of investments to convert the energy mix and to improve Italcementi's environmental impact to international standards.
Hope announces Euro17.8m expansion upgrades at cement plant
07 January 2015UK: Hope Construction Materials is investing Euro17.8m to boost production at its Hope Works cement plant. The upgrades include a completed 20,000t clinker store, a system to increase the plant's capacity to use waste-derived fuels and an internal upgrade of the plant's chimney, improvements to the way the raw materials are fed into the twin kilns and maintenance and refurbishment of a large section of one of the kilns.
"The installation of the new kiln shell section is a spectacular piece of engineering involving several teams and very careful planning. We are delighted with the way that this individual project has evolved and look forward to seeing the others progress to schedule... We are very excited to be involved in the largest investment programme on site for many years," said Hope Works Operations Manager Ed Cavanagh.
The announcement comes on Hope Construction Materials' second birthday. Hope has owned and operated the 85 year old cement plant since January 2013.
UK: Production has restarted at the Cemex UK South Ferriby cement plant following flooding in December 2013. One of the two cement kilns has been commissioned and is producing clinker.
"Rebuilding the plant in 12 months has been no mean feat and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. The refurbished plant will allow us to continue our heritage of producing quality cement, sustainably, safely and efficiently, now and for many years to come," said Philip Baynes-Clarke, plant director. "South Ferriby plant had grown organically through the site for the last 80 years, the flood gave us the opportunity to rebuild it in a logical way to today's standards with tomorrow's production in mind."
The flood cut off the 11,000 volt electric supply and destroyed 30 switch rooms and two substations. Today over 6.4km of high voltage cable has been laid to create a new infrastructure of cables to supply the various operations throughout the site. These cables lead to one electrical substation, which houses modern electrical switchgear. In addition 30 switchrooms have been rebuilt along with the vast majority of the site's electrical systems. Other efficiencies such as LED lighting have been built in to the systems to provide savings in electricity.
With the failure of the electric supply when the flood hit, one of the kilns stopped in mid-production with hot material still in it. This caused the kiln shell to bend due to the high thermal load. Subsequently a 22m section of the 65m long kiln was replaced. All elements of the cement production process are now controlled from a centralised computer. This new control system replaces five control rooms, which are all marked for demolition in the coming months.
Suez Cement to convert two cement plants to run on coal
17 December 2014Egypt: Suez Cement plans to spend US$84m in 2015 to convert its Helwan and Tora 2 cement plants to use coal. The move is a response to Egypt's on-going energy crisis.
The company reported a 40.5% rise year-on-year in third-quarter profit in November 2014 after it managed to pass on higher production costs to consumers. However, its nine month profit fell by 14.6% year-on-year due to severe energy shortages that forced the company to cut output by 40% so far in 2014. Suez Cement was one of the companies affected when the government cut natural gas supplies to factories in January 2014 and has had to import clinker at higher cost.
Saudi City Cement starts trial operations of new production line
17 December 2014Saudi Arabia: Saudi City Cement Company has started trial operations of a second production line. Without disclosing any financial details, Saudi City Cement said that the new production line will have a production capacity of 5,500t/day. The trial period will last about four months.
Cemex to resume Tepeaca cement plant expansion
03 December 2014Mexico: Cemex has announced that it is restarting its expansion of the Tepeaca cement plant in Puebla State. By 2017 its total production capacity will reach 7.6Mt/yr. Total investment is estimated to be approximately US$650m. The additional investment, in order to add 4.4Mt/yr to the current capacity, will be approximately US$200m, since the company had already invested close to US$450m by 2008.
"We are encouraged by our industry's positive outlook in Mexico. With this investment, Cemex reaffirms its confidence in the country's future" said Rogelio Zambrano, chairman of the board of Cemex. The expansion is expected to generate approximately 1500 jobs during the construction phase and about 100 direct and 240 indirect jobs once operation begins.
The announcement was made during a ceremony at the plant with the attendance of Ildefonso Guajardo, Secretary of Economy of Mexico, Rafael Moreno, Governor of Puebla, Amelio Flores, Mayor of Cuautinchan, Rogelio Zambrano, Chairman of the Board of Cemex, Fernando A Gonzalez, CEO of Cemex and Juan Romero, President of Cemex Mexico.
FLSmidth to supply new production line for Cemex Odessa plant
26 November 2014Denmark/US: FLSmidth has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Cemex for the supply of a new cement production line at its Odessa cement plant in Texas, US. Once the installation is finished, the cement production line is expected to have a capacity of approximately 2540t/day.
The expansion will focus on higher fuel efficiency and improved productivity. The equipment scope includes a five-stage ILC preheater with a Low NOx Calciner, three-pier kiln, FLSmidth Cross-Bar cooler, Duoflex burner, Pfister weighing and dosing systems, gas analysers and three Fuller-Kinyon pumps. The line will also use an FLSmidth control system.
Cherat Cement plans to build new line
26 November 2014Pakistan: Cherat Cement has reportedly decided to install a new 1.3Mt/yr capacity production line, according to local media.
Abid A Vazir, executive director of Cherat Cement, said that the expansion is being undertaken to meet expected increases in domestic demand. The increase is expected to be fuelled by government spending on major infrastructure projects, with a special focus on the construction of highways and hydropower as well as housing projects. Expected improvements in the political situation in neighbouring Afghanistan, Pakistan's largest export market, may also give a boost to reconstruction activities.
Tianjin Cement Industry Design and Research Institute has reportedly been contracted to build the plant. Cherat Cement currently operates a 1.1Mt/yr capacity cement plant near Nowshera, in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan.