- Written by Robert McCaffrey, editor, Global Cement Magazine
The well-known German engineering firm Gebr. Pfeiffer has held its two-yearly Pfeiffer Convention, with the added bonus this year of celebrating an important milestone: 150 years of continuous business since the company was started back in 1864 in Kaiserslautern. Delegates travelled from around the world to attend the meeting and were treated to a variety of informative presentations on comminution and other topics.
- Written by Peter Edwards, Global Cement Magazine
Building materials have been produced on the site of the current Essroc Cement plant in Martinsburg, West Virginia, USA since the late 1800s. Today the site is owned by Essroc's parent company Italcementi Group, which is celebrating 150 years of business in 2014. In 2010, the plant underwent a massive overhaul under Essroc, when it was switched from three wet-process kilns to a single FLSmidth dry-process line. The upgrade increased the plant's clinker production capacity from around 0.6Mt/yr to 1.6Mt/yr. Global Cement's Peter Edwards visited the plant and spoke to key members of staff ahead of the field trip by delegates of the 56th IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Conference.
- Written by Peter Edwards, Global Cement Magazine
Integrated cement plants are recognised as a source of undesirable airborne emissions. In an attempt to moderate the effects of these on the environment and local populations, local, regional and national governments legislate maximum permissable limits for a multitude of emission types. As with many other aspects of cement manufacturing, there are variations between jurisdictions and even individual plants. Here, Global Cement attempts to untangle the web of emissions regulations for four key pollutant categories: sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), mercury (Hg) and dust / particulate matter (PM).
- Written by Amy Saunders, Global Cement Magazine
The Republic of Austria, situated in central Europe, is a federal republic with 8.46m inhabitants in 2012.1 Spanning 83,855 square km, 68% of Austria is more than 500m above sea level. Austria is characterised by an extremely low poverty level, high living standards and a GDP/capita of US$43,100 in 2012, rendering it one of the richest countries in the world. To coincide with the Global CemFuels Conference on 24 - 25 February 2014 in Vienna, Global Cement Magazine has produced an overview of the Austrian cement industry, with particular focus upon new technologies and recent developments.
- Written by Peter Edwards, Global Cement Magazine
The Lafarge Mannersdorf cement plant in Mannersdorf, Austria, is one of two Lafarge facilities in the central European country. In this plant visit report, plant manager Dr Joseph Kitzweger provides a detailed run-down of the plant's history, production process, use of alternative fuels, environmental performance, products and distribution. Dr Kitzweger also gives his frank assessment of the Austrian cement market and his thoughts on the EU Emissions Trading scheme.
