Displaying items by tag: Aggregate Industries

UK: Aggregate Industries subsidiary Lafarge Cement has begun installing a new Euro10m bag filter system at its 1Mt/yr Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire. The project is due for delivery in early 2024. The system consists of 2080 fabric bags to remove particulates from the plant's flue gases. It will replace the plant's existing electrostatic precipitation system. The company says that the system will triple the removal rate of particulates, reducing them to 10mg/Nm³ from 30mg/Nm³.

Cauldon cement plant manager Thierry Davila said “The installation of the new system will help us provide a step change in our efficiency and effectiveness, and optimise kiln performance. The plant and our operations will hugely benefit from up-to-date technology, which will result in more consistent running of the site, but also it will improve environmental performance and benefit the local community. The new filter system will mean less dust and emissions into the atmosphere and a reduction in pollutants, which is hugely positive and in line with our approach to sustainability.”

UK: Holcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries has announced the appointment of Thierry Davila as manager of Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire. Davila has 27 years’ experience in the cement industry, including working on projects affecting Cauldon cement plant since November 2021. Aggregate Industries says that he brings a wealth of global experience and a proven track record in technical capability. In his new role, Davila will focus on strategic operations, including ensuring that the plant can navigate market challenges while providing innovative solutions to customers.

Aggregate Industries CEO Dragan Maksimovic said “Thierry brings an enormous amount of global experience of the cement industry to Cauldon. Having been part of the Holcim Group for almost 20 years, I am confident in Thierry’s ability to drive the business forward and meet the demands of an ever-changing market. I would like to congratulate Thierry on his new appointment, and I look forward to working with him in the coming months.”

UK: Aggregate Industries, Breedon, Lhoist and Tarmac have announced the launch of the Peak Cluster, a carbon capture and storage cluster of cement and lime plants. The partners aim to eliminate 3Mt/yr of emissions from operations across their plants in Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire by capturing 100% of their CO₂ emissions. Progressive Energy will oversee the capture and transportation of CO₂ from the plants for storage below the Irish Sea. Possible storage partners for the cluster are Liverpool Bay CCS or the upcoming Morecambe Net Zero storage project. When operational, the Peak Cluster will eliminate 40% of emissions from UK cement and lime production. Participating cement plants are Aggregate Industries' 1Mt/yr Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire, Breedon's 1.5Mt/yr Hope plant in Derbyshire and Tarmac's 0.8Mt/yr Tunstead plant in Derbyshire.

Mineral Products Association (MPA) energy and climate change director Diana Casey said “The launch of the Peak Cluster is an exciting and vital step forward in the journey of the cement and lime sectors towards net zero. The region is a historic heartland for cement and lime production providing highly skilled jobs for local communities, and a secure supply of essential materials to the UK economy." She concluded "The UK Concrete and Cement Industry Roadmap to Beyond Net Zero highlighted the importance of carbon capture for the decarbonisation of the cement and concrete supply chain, and the Peak Cluster is an essential part of that transition. This launch demonstrates the commitment of cement and lime producers to transition to net zero to secure the future of these important industries, and the vital products they produce, in a net zero world.”

UK: Aggregate Industries has launched the ECOPlanet product range. The products offer a reduction of at least 30% in the carbon footprint of cement, compared to CEM I ordinary Portland cement, by using second cementitious materials such as fly ash. The launch of the ECOPlanet range is part of the subsidiary of Holcim’s 2030 sustainability strategy, Building Progress for a Sustainable Future.

Dragan Maksimovic, the chief executive officer of Aggregate Industries, said “The launch of ECOPlanet expands on our existing low carbon products including ECOPact, the world’s broadest range of green concrete or Super-Low Carbon, the first asphalt using biogenic material within the bitumen. The product is driven by innovation and by our ambitions to build a net zero future, and we’re delighted once again to be pushing the boundaries of low carbon construction solutions.”

UK: Holcim has acquired leading London construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling company Sivyer Logistics. Sivyer Logistics produced 500,000t of recycled aggregates and manufactured soils from 1Mt of CDW across its six sites in 2022. Holcim says that the acquisition represents a step towards realising its target of 10Mt/yr of construction and demolition waste in Holcim products by 2025.

The group’s Europe regional head Miljan Gutovic said “Sivyer Logistics is an excellent addition to help us drive circular construction.” He added “I look forward to welcoming all employees of Sivyer Logistics and investing in our next era of growth together.”

UK: Doppelmayr Transport Technology says that a 1000t/hr RopeCon ropeway conveying system is in operation at Aggregate Industries' Bardon Hill quarry in Leicestershire. Doppelmayr Transport Technology supplied the equipment to help move overburden from a new quarry extension for emplacement in an area where mining has finished. The total 600m-long system consists of one 500m section and one 100m section.

UK: Aggregate Industries and Coomtech have partnered to develop low-energy kinetic drying technology for pulverised fuel ash (PFA) from power plant. The partnership will see Aggregate Industries use Coomtech’s kinetic dryers in its PFA processing, as part of its effort towards increasing the volume of waste materials incorporated in its products to 3Mt/yr from 1.5Mt/yr by 2025. The project has attracted funding from the UK government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Chief commercial officer Chris Every said “We’re delighted to have the support of Aggregate Industries in this grant project. Coomtech is especially pleased to have the business’ ongoing technical and commercial input to the project operation and analysis of performance. In addition, the opportunity to work together with a brand that is leading the way in creating new materials that will prove fundamental to the future of the construction sector and meet net zero objectives.” Every continued “The added benefit of our new drying technology is its flexibility - providing the potential to dry a wide range of materials being considered to aid the greening of the cement industry, including limestone, ground blast furnace slag (GBFS), natural pozzolans and other crushed and milled minerals that can offer an activated character to combine in cement and concrete mixes.”

UK: Holcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries has invested in a new monitoring system from Envirosuite for its Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire. Called EVS Omnis, the cloud-based environmental management software will collate complex environmental information from surrounding sites outside the plant to facilitate proactive monitoring and management of its impacts. The producer expects to commission the system later in 2022.

Sustainability director Kirstin McCarthy said “Understanding the environment we operate in and the impact we’re having is integral to our business strategy and our commitment to building progress towards a more sustainable construction industry. We know that noise and dust can have an impact on surrounding communities, which is why we’re extremely proud to become the first cement plant in the world to commit to using a complete monitoring solution. EVS Omnis will allow us to continuously monitor at key community locations, 365 days a year. This will help us to not only better understand our operations within the local community but also give us insights into our processes to proactively manage them.”

UK: Aggregate Industries’ Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire has become the first industrial facility to operate a PRISMA liquid air energy storage system. Green technology developer Innovatium developed the product in collaboration with the University of Birmingham. The supplier says that it can deliver 25% energy savings for air compression and will help Aggregate Industries to realise its 2030 goal of 500kg/t of CO₂ emissions for its cementitious products.

Aggregate Industries sustainability director Kirstin McCarthy said “We are very proud to be the first partner to install the PRISMA system in an operational environment. Aggregate Industries is committed to transitioning to net zero, and supporting innovations like PRISMA is vital in helping us achieve that goal. McCarthy continued “We believe PRISMA can play a major role in addressing the ‘energy trilemma’ of managing energy efficiency, energy cost and energy security, and we're confident that its installation at Cauldon will further prove its decarbonisation credentials - a big step towards full commercialisation of the technology.”

UK: Aggregate Industries has appointed Kirstin McCarthy as its sustainability director as part of its executive committee. She will be responsible for the company’s ambitions to become a leading sustainable business and net-zero company. McCarthy brings over 20 years’ experience in environmental management to the role. Prior to joining the subsidiary of Switzerland-based Lafarge-Holcim business, she was Head of Sustainability at Birmingham Airport for more than six years.