Displaying items by tag: FLSmidth

Denmark/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 NO_x 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.

Bolivia: FLSmidth has confirmed that it has signed a contract with Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (SOBOCE) for supplies of equipment and machinery for a cement plant in Bolivia. Full information regarding the order will be released once the contract is considered binding, following exchange of down payment and guarantees. Local media has reported that the US$180m Yacuses, Puerto Suarez cement plant will have a cement production capacity of 0.8Mt/yr.

Startling news from Hebei, China this week. The northerly province intends to move out its excess capacity in heavy industries, including cement, to other countries by 2023. 5Mt of cement production capacity is planned for transfer by 2017 and 30Mt is planned for transfer by 2023. The larger figure is about the same as the cement production capacity of France or Germany!

Hebei isn't the biggest cement-producing province in China but it has received attention as the authorities have cut down on 'out-dated' production capacity. The region was targeted in a programme to cut emissions from heavy industry due to its proximity to Beijing and that city's smog issues.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) set a target of 60Mt/yr in cement production capacity to be cut by 2017. The region was also the site of massive cement plant demolitions in late 2013 and early 2014. 18 cement plants were demolished in December 2013 followed by 17 cement plants in February 2014 alongside the destruction of connected grinding and storage capacity. Overall an incredible 74 cement plants in the area surrounding Shijiazhuang alone were targeted for demolition by March 2014.

Following this massive spate of capacity elimination, the public announcement to actively move abroad marks a stark change to China's general cement industry strategy so far. The country's equipment suppliers like Sinoma have been taking business from European rivals like FLSmidth or KHD for some time now especially in developing markets.

In 2013, FLSmidth reported a cement market order intake of US$575m and KHD reported an order intake of US$216m. In comparison Sinoma's cement equipment and engineering services reported order intake of US$5.59bn. In its annual report for 2013 FLSmidth estimated that the global market for new kiln capacity was 50Mt. At a capacity construction price of US$150/t this suggests that Sinoma took orders for nearly three quarters of the world's required capacity for new cement kilns in 2013. Order intake covers more than just building cement plants, so this quick calculation presents only a rough impression of what's going on.

More recently Chinese cement producers have started building their own cement plants or funding them outside of China. In October 2014 State Development and Investment Corp and Anhui Conch Cement Company announced plans to fund a plant in Indonesia. In September 2014 ground breaking was held for a Chinese-funded plant in Kyrgyzstan. In June 2014, Huaxin Cement invested in Cambodia Cement. This was its second overseas investment following a project in Tajikistan in 2011.

With China's government still attempting to avoid a hard economic landing as its growth slows, moving industrial overcapacity overseas makes sense. International and national players must be worried about the potential scale of this transition. On the plus side, however, those notorious inscrutable Chinese production figures in the cement industry will be far easier to analyse in plants outside of China facing international competition. Today Hebei, tomorrow the world!

Democratic Republic of Congo: The Danish cement plant manufacturer FLSmidth & Co has announced that it has secured a contract to supply Nyumba Ya Akiba SARL in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a 'complete package of equipment and engineering for a greenfield cement plant.' The deal is worth US$90.3m.

Egypt: Sinai Cement Company (SCC) has contracted Danish engineering company FLSmidth to provide the equipment for it to start using coal. SCC added that it would also partner with local contractors and suppliers to equip the factory to use coal as an alternative fuel source to natural gas and Mazut fuel oil.

The industrial sector, which is represented by the Federation of Egyptian Industries, has shown signs of accepting recent increases in automotive petroleum products prices, including fuel, diesel and natural gas. The sector said that it would bear the cost of the energy price increases taking into account the current economic situation 'that doesn't allow for any alternative.'

Following the fuel price hike announcement, the government has raised gas prices for cement plants to US$8 per million British Thermal Units (BTUs) compared to US$6 previously. The price of fuel oil increased from US$209/t to US$315/t.

Despite the Ministry of Environment's opposition, the interim government approved the industrial use of coal as an alternative energy source in April 2014. The move came to address the energy shortage, pending the endorsement of the Environmental Impact Assessment. After issuing the decision, the government said that it would impose a tax on coal usage, while also amending laws and tightening penalties for violating environmental standards and regulations.

Minister of Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said that importing coal would not start until the environmental standards and regulations for the industrial use of coal have been finalised and ratified. However, cement plants have already started taking steps towards this. In a bid to shift to coal usage, the Arabian Cement Company commenced testing coal in June 2014 in thermal power generation. It aims to shift to this energy source for 50% of its needs. Suez Cement also recently announced plans to invest US$14.9m to convert two of its four cement plants to use coal. The conversion process for each plant will cost around US$21m.

Paraguay: The Paraguayan Congress is set to approve a US$67m loan to state-owned cement producer Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) to resume investment in its Villeta and Vallemi cement plants. The funding will allow INC to continue its US$25.7m contract with FLSmidth to convert its fuel from fuel oil to coke as well as its US$6.3m contract with Claudius Peters, according to Esmerk news service. Other contracts are with Haver & Boecker, for US$7m to install two bagging facilities, and with Daca to optimise an agricultural lime plant, which is suspended due to legal issues, for US$5.9m. Overall, the investments that will be made with the loan will save INC US$30m/yr.

Denmark: FLSmidth has appointed Lars Vestergaard as its new Chief Financial Officer and member of Group Executive Management. Vestergaard succeeds Ben Guren who has decided to leave the company due to personal reasons. Vestergaard will take up the position as CFO on 1 April 2014. Brian Iversen, Vice President Corporate Finance, FLSmidth will be acting CFO until Vestergaard starts.

Vestergaard, aged 39 and a Danish citizen, holds a Master of Science in Business Management and brings with him international experience in the role as CFO as well as international experience in change management, IT management and treasury from his various management positions in Carlsberg (2004 - 2014) and the global facility service provider ISS (2000 - 2004).

Tunisia: Geometrica has released details of bulk-storage structures built for Carthage Cement at its Djebel Ressas cement plant in 2013. The dome and space frame structure builder supplied three storage buildings for additives, coal and limestone. The additives and coal longitudinal buildings are 200m and 300m long respectively with a span of 50m. The limestone building is a 90m circular dome.

Carthage Cement contracted FLSmidth to supply machinery and engineering at the 5800t/day cement plant. Turkish contractor, EKON, was FLSmidth's partner for the civil works, including civil design, supply of structural steel and plate work, site preparation, plant erection. Construction at the plant started in late 2010 and was completed in 2013.

Indonesia: FLSmidth has received a Euro42m order from Indonesian cement producer PT Semen Gresik for a greenfield cement plant with a capacity of 8000t/day. The new plant will be located just outside of the city of Rembang in the north east of Java, Indonesia.

The order comprises equipment for the main part of the production line, including a raw mill, coal mill, preheater, kiln, burner, clinker cooler and silo equipment as well as a complete control system for the entire plant. The order will be booked by the Cement Division and will contribute beneficially to FLSmidth's earnings until the end of 2015.

The new cement plant will be PT Semen Gresik's fifth production line. FLSmidth has supplied the company's four other production lines that are located in Tuban, Java. PT Semen Gresik is part of the PT Semen Indonesia Group, which currently has a total capacity of 30Mt/yr of cement from all of its plants.

"This is the second order to FLSmidth from the PT Semen Indonesia Group within two months and we are happy to continue our long successful partnership with the group," said president of the Cement Division, Per Mejnert Kristensen.

Oman: FLSmidth has received an order worth US$38m from Oman Cement Company for the supply of milling equipment for a cement plant located in Rusayl Industrial Area, 60km from Port Sultan Qaboos, Muscat.

The order includes a 150t/hr closed circuit ball mill system that consists of two 8000t capacity cement silos. The scope of supply also includes a high-efficiency central drive for the ball mill and a dynamic separator and fabric filters to reduce dust emissions.

"Infrastructure growth in Oman has created a huge demand for cement. Oman Cement Company are already upgrading their existing production lines and now want to set up a fifth cement grinding unit. FLSmidth has a strong service capability and presence in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and therefore has good relations with the company," said group executive vice president Bjarne Moltke Hansen.

The order will be booked by the Cement division and contribute to FLSmidth's earnings until mid-2015.