Displaying items by tag: Flood

Nepal: Flooding has damaged the Huaxin Narayani Cement plant being built at Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality in Dhading. Rising water from the Malekhu River caused around US$90,000 damage to the construction site, according to the Himalayan Times newspaper. The deluge wrecked a storeroom and swept away five vehicles. Work on the US$137m project started earlier in 2019.

US: Mississippi Lime has declared a force majeure event due to flooding by the Mississippi River caused by ‘significant’ precipitation in the central US. The flooding has impacted the lime producer’s distribution and supply capabilities. This is expected to cause delays in supplying products to customers and will incur additional costs that it will pass through as a surcharge. The company added that, despite this, the flooding has not affected production.

Flooding on the Mississippi River forced the closure of Mississippi Lime’s barge loading facilities in early May 2019 and an alternate barge loading facility later in the month. The company does not anticipate re-opening its facility until the flood waters recede to a safe level, possibly in late June 2019. In the meantime the closure of flood gates near the company’s Ste Genevieve, Missouri unit has forced the company to use an alternate rail route with reduced shipment capacity, additional transit time and higher cost for both inbound and outbound shipments. Mississippi Lime anticipates resuming rail shipments in late June 2019, depending on weather conditions.

UK: Construction work has started on a new flood embankment west of the Cemex’s South Ferriby cement plant in North Lincolnshire. New brick-clad walls will also be built around Ferriby Sluice. The project, led by the Environment Agency, has an investment of around Euro14m. The scheme is scheduled for completion by 2021.

“We are delighted to be contributing building materials to construct the new flood defences. In December 2013 floods damaged the plant putting it out of production for over 12 months and causing immense damage to local homes and businesses. It was estimated that over Euro55m worth of damage was caused,” said Piotr Klepak, Cemex Plant Director.

Egypt: Suez Cement’s Kattameya plant has been damaged by the collapse of a soil barrier around a nearby wastewater treatment lake. The incident caused a flood of 1.5Mm³ of treated water that reached the edge of the cement plant. The plant’s quarry, some power cables and lighting and a road was damaged. No members of staff at the plant were hurt.

The subsidiary of HeidelbergCement estimates that the flood caused around Euro0.5m worth of damage. It says that it previously raised the issue of the wastewater treatment lake with its owner in 2010 following a risk assessment. This led to the construction of the soil barriers.

Sri Lanka: Insee Cement is working with the local government to supported rebuilding and renovation efforts in flooded parts of Northern Province. The cement producer has distributed 10 bags of its Insee Sanstha product to over 250 displaced families, according to the Daily News newspaper. It said it would continue to monitor the situation and offer more support.

Thailand: Siam Cement Group’s Building Materials division’s sales fell by 2% year-on-year to US$1.29bn in the first quarter of 2017 due to lower prices and falling volumes in the local market. The group reported that domestic cement demand fell by 7% in the quarter due to flooding in the south of the country. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) for the division were also negatively affected by the weather falling by 10% to US$181m. Overall the group’s sales and EBITDA rose due to earnings from its Chemical division.

UK: Production has restarted at the Cemex UK South Ferriby cement plant following flooding in December 2013. One of the two cement kilns has been commissioned and is producing clinker.

"Rebuilding the plant in 12 months has been no mean feat and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. The refurbished plant will allow us to continue our heritage of producing quality cement, sustainably, safely and efficiently, now and for many years to come," said Philip Baynes-Clarke, plant director. "South Ferriby plant had grown organically through the site for the last 80 years, the flood gave us the opportunity to rebuild it in a logical way to today's standards with tomorrow's production in mind."

The flood cut off the 11,000 volt electric supply and destroyed 30 switch rooms and two substations. Today over 6.4km of high voltage cable has been laid to create a new infrastructure of cables to supply the various operations throughout the site. These cables lead to one electrical substation, which houses modern electrical switchgear. In addition 30 switchrooms have been rebuilt along with the vast majority of the site's electrical systems. Other efficiencies such as LED lighting have been built in to the systems to provide savings in electricity.

With the failure of the electric supply when the flood hit, one of the kilns stopped in mid-production with hot material still in it. This caused the kiln shell to bend due to the high thermal load. Subsequently a 22m section of the 65m long kiln was replaced. All elements of the cement production process are now controlled from a centralised computer. This new control system replaces five control rooms, which are all marked for demolition in the coming months.

UK: Repairs to the flood-damaged Cemex UK cement plant at South Ferriby are said to be making 'good' progress according to Cemex UK. The 0.8Mt/yr plant was flooded by a tidal surge from the River Humber in early December 2013.

Partial production started in April 2014 and a Cemex UK spokesman has reported to the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph that they plan on resuming full production later in 2014. Repair efforts are now focusing on the kiln systems and the two raw mills and coal mills. Cemex UK has declined to comment on how much the repairs have cost although it is rumoured to have cost as much as Euro14m. The plant employs 150 people and contributes Euro 12.5m/yr to the economy of North Lincolnshire.

UK: Cement production is due to restart at Cemex's South Ferriby plant in February 2014. The 0.8Mt/yr cement plant was flooded on 5 December 2013 with water from the neighbouring Humber Estuary causing considerable damage to the site's electrical network, according to the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph.

"From our other UK sources we have been able to ensure a continued supply to all of our customers since the flooding took place and will continue to do so, ensuring that all receive the excellent service they expect from Cemex UK," said a spokesperson for Cemex. "The work entailed clearing up the site from the debris and silt deposited by the flood water, drying out buildings and components and working closely with our insurers, developing and starting to implement a plan to get the plant back to production as soon as possible." Silos at the site were not damaged in the flooding.

Thailand: The Thai cement industry is still waiting to see more details of the government's programme for infrastructure projects following the recent devastating floods. It is anxious to determine whether growth will exceed the normal annual rate of 3-5%. The government so far has not laid out clear plans on repairing the flood damage to roads and other infrastructure installations or for how it intends to bolster the Kingdom's disaster-protection system with floodways and/or drainage tunnels.

Kan Trakulhoon, president and chief executive officer of Siam Cement Group, said that demand for the cement in 2012 was now anticipated to grow by 5%. This rate is expected to continue for several years thanks to the demand for repairs to roads, houses and other buildings, as well as improving the flood-protection system and constructing new homes. However, it has to wait for an outline of new infrastructure projects from the government before making a clear forecast of cement demand in 2012 and the medium-term.

Trakulhoon said that sales of building materials had bright growth prospects after the flood water recedes. "Because of the floods, the demand for high-rise condominiums in central Bangkok will be higher. I have always believed that the number of high-rise residences such as condominiums has not reached saturation. I have an optimistic view that demand for cement will keep growing."

Trakulhoon also pointed to the overall improved sales of building materials and cement in October 2011 as evidence for his optimism. In that month, sales of cement in the centre of Thailand dropped by 40% but sales in the north, south and northeast were good, indicating a strong background of cement growth.

Chantana Sukhumanont, executive vice president of Siam City Cement, the country's second-largest cement producer, pointed out that restoration itself does not require particularly large amounts of cement. She said that cement consumption in 2012 would not grow significantly from building restoration, highlighting a greater need for fittings and finishings such as plumbing fixtures and electrical wiring.