Displaying items by tag: Bagging

Mexico: Beumer Group has won a contract to supply Cooperativa La Cruz Azul’s cement plants with 14 new 5500 – 6000 bag/hr palletisers. The cement company made the decision to modernise palletising operations at its plants following a law change requiring cement to be packaged in 25kg bags, instead of 50kg, from the start of 2023. Beumer Group plans to deliver the first five palletisers in the third quarter of 2022. The other nine machines will follow by 2023.

The supplier said “Cruz Azul and Beumer Group have had a trustful and successful partnership for decades. The system provider has convinced with its highly developed and sustainable technology and a sophisticated concept, which will enable the cement manufacturer to achieve the required performance in its packaging terminal” It continued “Covid-19 presented a particular challenge in this project. Due to the pandemic, it was not possible for Beumer experts to be on site with the customer in person. All concepts were discussed, debated and agreed online and with the support of the local group company in Mexico City.”

UK: Cemex UK has commissioned a new 25kg plasticcement bag packing line at its Rugby cement plant in Warwickshire. The line will operate alongside an existing paper bagging line.

Cemex UK's packed cement sales manager Graeme Barton said “The packaging of our products is under routine scrutiny to meet customer demand and reduce waste. We have listened to what our merchants and customers need, and by investing in higher, more reliable capacity, Cemex can now meet the demand from the market in peak months with greater confidence. In turn, our stockists can meet their customers’ requirements by supplying what they need, in a format that works better for them. Our merchants and end-users are already seeing the immediate benefits of the new packaging by reporting fewer breakages in branch and onsite – which helps to cut down on waste."

Indonesia: Donny Arsal, the chief executive officer of Semen Indonesia, has told the government that the ongoing war in Ukraine has negatively affected supplies of coal and kraft paper to the cement industry.

The head of the state-owned company said that the international price of coal had driven local mines to export it rather than sell it locally at capped prices, according to the Jakarta Post newspaper. This had made it more difficult for cement producers to buy coal at the lower price. The Indonesian coal index (HBA) price rose to high of US$288/t in April 2022 following the introduction of international economic sanctions but the local domestic market obligation (DMO) price is US$70/t. Around 160Mt of coal is sold at the capped price. The majority of this goes to power generation and the remaining quarter of this is made available to cement and other industries.

Arsal lobbied the government to clarify its supply policy for DMO. He said that the cement sector needs 16Mt/yr of coal. Semen Indonesia needs about half of this. However, at present, it is only receiving about 63% of its coal requirements at the DMO price.

Arsal also mentioned that imports of kraft paper from Russia had stopped since the war started. Semen Indonesia uses the paper to make cement bags. Most of its kraft is sourced from Russia. The company spends around US$68m/yr on paper. It is now switching to using a woven material instead.

Egypt: Mondi has acquired the paper bag converting lines from National Bag and Egypt Sack, two subsidiaries of Lafarge Cement Egypt, for an undisclosed sum. The production lines will increase Mondi’s capacity by around 150 – 180m bags/yr and strengthen its position in the Egyptian paper bag market. Local subsidiary Mondi Paper Bags already operates two plants in Egypt and with this acquisition will become a key supplier of paper bags to Lafarge Cement Egypt.

Claudio Fedalto, the chief operating officer of Mondi Paper Bags, said “We are excited to have signed a long-term supply agreement with Lafarge Cement Egypt and to servicing them locally in Egypt. The collaboration will offer Lafarge access to our latest innovations, industry expertise, strong plant network and customer service.”

Sri Lanka: Lanwa Sanstha Cement says that it will commission its Hambantota grinding plant in the Mirijjawila export processing zone of Hambantota International Port in January 2022. The company says that the plant will have a capacity of 3Mt/yr and cost US$80m. The Daily News newspaper has reported that the owner aims to help to counteract the domestic cement shortage.

Chair Nandana Lokuwithana said "One of the highlights of this first-of-its-kind facility in Sri Lanka will be the emphasis on new technology, with all mixing carried out using the latest European technology, while much of the other equipment used throughout the production process has been customised by world-renowned pioneers in innovation with environmental friendliness in mind." He added "Packaging is done using state-of-the-art technology for improved efficiency and minimal wastage."

Once commissioned, the Hambantona plant will produce ordinary Portland cement (OPC), Portland slag cement (PSC), Portland limestone cement (PLC) and blended hydraulic cement (BHC), according to Lanwa Sanstha Cement.

Vietnam: SCG Packaging plans to invest US$354m to establish a new 370,000t/yr packaging plant in Vinh Phuc province. The Tuoi Tre newspaper has reported that operations at the plant will commence in early 2024. The product will be Vina Kraft Paper brand bags. The Siam Cement Group (SCG) subsidiary will finance the expansion through cash and debt.

UK: Mannok has commissioned a Euro2.1m bagging system supplied by Germany-based Haver & Boecker. The order included a Roto-Packer Adams 10 spout bag filling system and a new automatic film reel changer, designed to run at 1200 bags/hr. Installation took place in the second quarter of 2021 and the new bagging unit is now in production. The upgrade now gives Mannok the capacity to pack around 50t/hr of cement in weatherproof bags.

Chief executive officer Liam McCaffrey said, “This is a major investment in our Cement operations which completes the second phase of our investment in our weatherproof bagging line, upgrading it from a single to a double bagging line with a significant increase in output capacity. Our initial investment to bring our weatherproof polyethylene bags to the market was in response to demand from Great Britain-based merchants and we later introduced the bags to the Irish market, where the response was equally positive.”

The cement producer operates an integrated plant at Derrylin, Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. It previously installed a weatherproof bagging line in 2018 that allows it to extend its range of bagged cements.

India: Cochin Port Trust has announced plans for expansion projects to the Port of Cochin in Kerala worth around US$420m. The Times of India has reported that the new developments are to include a cement terminal and bagging facility. Other initiatives covered by the memorandum of understandings include a hospital, an oil refinery, a petrochemical terminal and a multi-modal logistics hub. The projects are scheduled for completion by the end of 2023.

Ghana: Dzata Cement, a 1.2Mt/yr bagging plant based in Tema, plans to start commercial production by June 2021. The unit cost US$100m and includes a two line bagging and packaging equipment supplied by Germany-based Haver & Boecker, according to the Ghana News Agency. It will use imported cement. Proposed later phases at the site will see an upgrade in bagging operations to 2.4Mt/yr and the eventual installation of two 3Mt/yr vertical roller mills. As a safeguard against surges of cement imports the government has also introduced new export and import legislation requiring licenses for imports from outside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region.

The plant’s founder Ibrahim Mahama is the brother of former Ghanian president John Dramani Mahama. In November 2020 the Ghana News Agency reported that Kofi Amoabeng, the former chief executive officer of UT Bank, said that loans made to companies including Dzata Cement had contributed to the bank being declared insolvent in 2017.

Argentina: Holcim Argentina, part of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim, has completed a US$120m upgrade at its integrated Malagueño cement plant in Córdoba province. In a meeting with the Minister of Productive Development, Matías Kulfas, the cement producer said it was planning in inaugurate a newly refurbished 0.51Mt/yr production line at the site later in May 2021. The work also included adding a vertical roller mill and new bagging area with a capacity of 120,000bags/day. The project was originally announced in late 2017 and Germany-based KHD was awarded a related contract in early 2018.