Displaying items by tag: GCW178

Pakistan: Cherat Cement has reportedly decided to install a new 1.3Mt/yr capacity production line, according to local media.

Abid A Vazir, executive director of Cherat Cement, said that the expansion is being undertaken to meet expected increases in domestic demand. The increase is expected to be fuelled by government spending on major infrastructure projects, with a special focus on the construction of highways and hydropower as well as housing projects. Expected improvements in the political situation in neighbouring Afghanistan, Pakistan's largest export market, may also give a boost to reconstruction activities.

Tianjin Cement Industry Design and Research Institute has reportedly been contracted to build the plant. Cherat Cement currently operates a 1.1Mt/yr capacity cement plant near Nowshera, in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan.

Turkey: Turkish cement producer Afyon Çimento has decided to allot Euro133m to reconstruct its cement plant in the western Turkish city of Afyonkarahisar, Afyon Province. The company will relocate the plant from Afyonkarahisar to a site in Halimoru Village in the same district. The plant has a clinker production capacity of 450,000t/yr and cement grinding capacity of 550,000t/yr.

Myanmar: Lafarge has opened a cement repacking and storing plant in Thilawa special economic zone (SEZ) in Myanmar. The plant cost an estimated US$10 - 20m. Lafarge owns 60% of the distribution depot, while two local firms own 20% each.

The depot, which is near Thilawa port, 20km outside Yangon, can store 20,000t of cement and will be able to expand capacity based on customer demand. The depot will mainly be used for repacking and storing cement, while the cement will be imported in bulk from Lafarge plants in the region, mainly from Malaysia and Vietnam. The company will primarily supply its cement to construction projects in the ongoing Japanese-backed Thilawa SEZ project and the rest to the local market.

Germany: The IT logistic solution VAS, of FRITZ & MACZIOL, has become an integral part of the 'Logistic Efficiency Optimisation' (LEO) initiative initiative of HeidelbergCement.

Within the project, an integrated material-flow management will be introduced that will lead to a considerable cost reduction in the fields of logistics. Globally, several plants in the cement, aggregates as well as concrete businesses will be equipped with VAS. The implementation of VAS will lead to a significant optimisation of the dispatch and related logistical processes, as the increased level of automation will result in a much faster execution of many activities within the plants.

In this context, FRITZ & MACZIOL has also been announced as a 'preferred supplier' by HeidelbergCement. "FRITZ & MACZIOL reflects an ideal partner for us in the fields of IT logistics," said Tanja Hofmann, HeidelbergCement's group purchasing spokesperson.

HeidelbergCement currently runs the IT-Logistic solution VAS at four of its German cement plants. The solution will now be further implemented in its remaining German plants. At the same time both sides will work on the international roll-out.

Egypt: El Arish Cement is extending the clinker production capacity of its existing cement plant and will add two new lines with a clinker production capacity of 5500t/day.

El Arish Cement already operates two Loesche vertical roller mills, type LM 56.4, for cement raw material grinding within its existing two lines. The new type LM 56.4 mills will have 450t/hr of grinding capacity and a product fineness of 12% R90μm. As the new mills are of the same type as the existing ones, common spare parts can be used, keeping the spare parts demand to a minimum.

For cement grinding, El Arish Cement has also selected Loesche vertical roller mills of type LM 63.3+3. The table diameter of the mills is 6.3m and will be driven by a drive system with a rated capacity of 6800kW. The mills will grind various cement types, with capacities of up to 305t/hr.

India: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has said that the LafargeHolcim merger is likely to have an adverse effect on the competition in the cement industry. The anti-trust regulator has asked the two companies to publish details of the deal on their websites as well as publish them in four leading daily newspapers. It has also sought comments or objections from the public within 15 days of the merger details being published. CCI chairman Ashok Chawla has said that the CCI would take around two months to decide on the deal.

Philippines: Cash-strapped Pacific Cement Company (PACEMCO) has decided to extend the suspension of its cement plant operations for three months to complete ongoing negotiations regarding a possible investment of funds needed to re-open the plant.

"During this period of work suspension, management has committed to respect the benefits of the employees which are clearly spelled in the minutes of the conciliation conference held at the office of the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) Secretary on 14 November 2014," said Inocencio R Cortes, executive vice president of PACEMCO. "As a result of this extended work-suspension, all employees are hereby advised not to report to the main plant site or the port site as the case may be, as well as to those in the head office in Makati City, effective 17 November 2014 and until further notice," he added.

PACEMCO's cement plant halted operations on 5 May 2014 after the Surigao del Norte Electric Cooperative cut its power supply for unsettled obligations worth at least US$555,432. Edwin Batac, union president of Pacemco Mamumuong Nagkahiusa, said that the company has 343 employees who were on forced leave after the company stopped its operations. Batac added that the company is financially drained.

UAE: Arkan Building Material Company has opened a US$354m cement plant outside Al Ain, with 4Mt/yr of clinker and 5.7Mt/yr of cement of production capacity. The company said that the cement plant will source its raw materials from its own queries in Al Ain and Oman. Arkan plans to sell 90% of its production on the domestic market and 10% will be exported to GCC countries.

Myanmar: The local Myint Investment Group has joined China's Anhui Conch Cement to upgrade the No 33 Kyaukse cement plant to 5000t/day of cement production capacity through a build-operate-transfer (BOT) system, according to the Ministry of Industry. The plant currently has a production capacity of 400t/day. The Directorate of Investment and Company Administration approved the joint venture, Myanmar Conch Cement Co Ltd, on 11 November 2014.

South Africa: PPC has concluded an agreement to source waste tyres from the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa) for use at its De Hoek cement plant in Piketburg, Westerm Cape. PPC is also investigating the possibility of using waste tyres in some of its other plants, according to Azola Lowan, the executive for investor relations and strategy.

Redisa is the only waste tyre management plan approved by the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs and is involved in the collection and processing of waste tyres. Lowan said that the use of the waste tyres in the kilns at the De Hoek plant would be introduced from the middle of 2015 and indications were that the tyres could replace 10% of its coal usage. Lowan also confirmed there was a cost benefit from using the waste tyres instead of coal and a carbon advantage because of the reduced use of coal. Some investment was required in the feeder system to use waste tyres, which meant this initiative would only generate a return over a few years.

Lowan stressed this was one of several environmental and alternative energy initiatives being undertaken by PPC to ensure that PPC is compliant with environmental legislation and regulations by 2020. PPC has already commissioned the use of carbonaceous spent pot liner, a waste material from the aluminium industry, at its Dwaalboom cement plant in Limpopo. "We basically get paid to use that product and again it replaces about 5% of the coal," Lowan said. She added that PPC was also doing a feasibility study on a waste heat recovery (WHR) system at its Dwaalboom plant. PPC also has an agreement with Innowind, which is constructing a 60MW wind farm in the Eastern Cape to provide electricity to PPC's Grassridge quarry.