Armenia: Hrazdan Cement has been purchased by GM Holding and is back in operation. According to local media reports the cement plant was bought by a company owned by Arsen Mikaelyan, the chairman of Armbusinessbank, in late 2017. The bankrupt cement producer was previously taken over by its creditor, the VTB Bank (Armenia).

Hrazdan Cement, originally known as Mika Cement, was built in 1970. The company was privatised in 2001 and has had financial problems since 2013. The cement plant has two production lines and a clinker production capacity of 1Mt/yr and a cement production capacity of 1.2Mt/yr.

Czech Republic: Lafarge Cement, LafargeHolcim’s local subsidiary, has launched a new range of Standard Plus cement products under the trademark Český Čížkovický Cement. The range has a standardised compressive strength of 32.5MPa after 28 days. The products are sold in 25kg bags and are available in bulk.

US: Schenck Process has launched a new Vertical Cartridge Filter (VCF) that removes industrial dust when handling medium to high air volumes. A core feature of the product is a cartridge clamp system that is intended to simplify replacement of the filter media and minimise maintenance time.

The filter is also equipped with a smart timer which includes an on-board sensor that reads the pressure drop across the filtering elements for on demand cleaning. A standard radial inlet allows for material separation during moderate air volume applications while an optional high entry inlet with a pre-separation chamber is designed for high volume systems. The chamber separates the largest powder particles protecting the media from excess loads of pollutants and aiding longer media life.

Each unit is constructed with reinforced carbon steel that is rated for 6.5psi Pred. The VCF has also been Pred validated through a full scale third party explosion test. Explosion mitigation devices are also available with the new VCF. The new filter will be manufactured in the US.

Italy: The Administrative Regional Court of Lazio has confirmed fines on local cement producers for cartel-like behaviour after an appeal process. Italcementi has been fined Euro84m, Buzzi Unicem has been fined Euro60m and Cementi Moccia has been fined Euro0.69m, according to the ANSA news agency.

The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) originally imposed total fines of over Euro180m in late 2017 upon Italcementi, Buzzi Unicem, Colacem, Cementir, Sacci, Holcim, Cementirossi, Barbetti, Cementeria di Monselice, Cementizillo, Calme, Cementi Moccia, TSC and the Italian Cement Association (AITEC) for allegedly coordinating sales prices and agreeing market share from June 2011 to January 2016. The other cement companies are currently awaiting the outcome of their own appeals.

Spain: LafargeHolcim has chosen its Carboneras cement plant in Almeria as a refrence training centre for its European operations. The plant was selected due to its port and high level of staff expertise amongst other reasons. A group of LafargeHolcim engineers from Poland, France, the UK, Romania, Croatia, Greece and Serbia have all recently visited the site for a training course.

Russia: Yakutcement has started the third kiln at its plant at Mokhsogollokh in Khangalassky. The new production line has a clinker production capacity of 0.5Mt/yr, according to Sakha Life. Representatives of local government and the management of the cement plant’s owner’s Vostokcement attended the opening. Cement from the new line is intended to support local demand in the region.

Mozambique: The Mozambican customs service has defended the seizure of a 1440t import consignment of cement from South Africa in early June 2018. Fernando Tinga, the press attaché of the National Customs Directorate, said that the seizure of the cement was because the importing company Kawena did not present the legally required documentation at the time, according to the Noticias newspaper. Kawena has defended its actions saying that it has imported cement from South Africa for ‘many years’ and that its goods belonging to Mozambican migrant workers living in South Africa are exempt from taxes. However, it admitted that it did not have the correct documentation for the consignment.

Pakistan: Germany’s Aumund Fördertechnik is supplying equipment for a new 8000t/day production line that Flying Cement is building at its Mangowal plant in Punjab Province. Aumund is providing bucket elevators, pan conveyors and silo discharge gates for the project.

One belt bucket elevator will feed raw meal to the silo. It is designed with a centre distance of 87.6m and will reach a capacity of around 650t/hr. The other belt bucket elevator will also have a capacity of 650t/hr. Its centre distance is 115m and it will take raw meal to the heat exchanger. Flying Cement will use an Aumund KZB 1200/400 pan conveyor to transport clinker to the main silo. This conveyor will be approximately 115m long, with a lift of 43.5m, and a capacity of up to 580t/hr. The off-spec silo will be served by an Aumund KZB 1200/400 pan conveyor which is 42m long and has a capacity of 580t/hr. The order also includes 13 silo discharge gates.

The bucket elevators will be dispatched to Pakistan at the beginning of August 2018 and the pan conveyors will be supplied in a second consignment at the end the year.

China: Anhui Conch has suspended production at three of its production lines at the cement plant run by its Tongling Conch subsidiary at Gusheng in Anhui province. The suspension has followed the temporary closure of a pier used by the plant in late May 2018 in accordance with new government regulations on drinking water supply and pollution.

Use of the pier has been suspended as it is close to the Tongling Water Treatment Plant. The pier is used to export cement and clinker products from the unit and bring in raw materials such as coal. The temporary suspension of the plant’s production lines will reduce its clinker production capacity by 58% to just under 9Mt/yr from 15Mt/yr.

The cement producer has defended its environmental record, pointing out that the pier was approved with all the necessary licences and environmental approvals in 1987. Construction of the water treatment plant started in 1992.

Clinker products produced by Tongling Conch are mainly sold to Anhui Conch’s subsidiaries, including cement grinding plants along the Yangtze River and on the coast. The company plans to source clinker from other plants to continue supporting the affected grinding plants.

India: My Home Industries is preparing to increase its cement production capacity by 50% to 15Mt/yr. At present the cement producer produces 10Mt/yr of cement from four plants, according to The Hindu newspaper. The company’s board is currently considering whether to build a new plant or expand an existing one. A final decision is expected in mid-June 2018.