Displaying items by tag: Plant

France: Denmark-based FLSmidth has won a contract to supply a 400t/day calcined clay production line to Vicat’s Xeuilley integrated cement plant. The order includes flash calciner technology, an environmental control system and alternative fuel (AF) firing, handling and storage equipment. The line will have a design capacity of up to 525t/day and is scheduled for commissioning in 2023. It will enable clinker substitution in cement of up to 40%, according to the supplier. It says that cement produced using calcined clay will have a 16% smaller carbon footprint than its clinker-based equivalent. The value of the contract is Euro26.8m.

Vicat deputy chief executive officer Eric Bourdon said, “EU regulations and increasing demand for more sustainable cement has accelerated the decision to introduce clay as an environmental alternative to clinker in our production. With clay readily available in the area and positive results from pilots at FLSmidth’s test facilities in Denmark, we feel confident about the technology and hope to be able to expand further in the future.”

Colombia: The Colombian prosecution service intends to summon former Cemex Colombia chief executive officer (CEO) Carlos Jacks to face charges in relation to the Maceo cement plant corruption case. Jacks was CEO of the company for 24 years and previously headed Cemex operations in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, according to the Noticias Caracol television channel. A statement made by Camilo González Téllez, the former Legal Vice President, has been used by the prosecutor’s office to press charges against Jacks. So far González is the only senior Cemex executive to have received a custodial sentence in relation to the affair.

In 2016 Cemex fired several senior staff members in relation to the Maceo project and its subsidiary’s chief executive resigned. This followed an internal audit and investigation into payments worth around US$20m made to a non-governmental third party in connection with the acquisition of the land, mining rights and benefits of the tax free zone for the project. Legal proceedings followed in Colombia and the US.

Ghana: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agents and police have raided China-based Empire Cement’s McCarthy Hills cement plant in Accra. The Ghana News Agency has reported that the facility had entered cement production without a licence. The authorities stopped operations at the site and dismissed the staff, including Chinese nationals. Previously, local residents had complained about potential environmental concerns at the site.

India: The Andhra Pradesh branch of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved Sagar Power’s resolution plan for the start of operations at the mothballed Panyam cement plant at Kurnool. Sagar Power intends to pay US$13.5m, together with RV Consulting Services, to settle the debts from the plant’s previous owners, according to the Times of India newspaper. The partners also plan to inject a further US$20.2m of fresh capital into the venture.

India: Visaka Industries plans to establish a US$10.8m cement boards plant at Coimabatore, Tamil Nadu. The Hindu newspaper has reported that the plant will be the company’s fourth to produce its Vnext product range of cement boards.

Joint managing director Vamsi Gaddam said that, together with a new US$6.74m roofing plant, the Coimbatore will add US$27.0m-worth of additional turnover in their first full year of operation. She added, “While the company passed through a tough phase due to Covid-19 led disruption, we managed to do well after the lockdown with volumes coming back to normality. We are adding these two plants due to the demand for our sustainable products.”

Mexico: Cemex says that it will invest US$925m in 2021 – 2023 in production capacity expansions and upgrades, as well as in other projects to improve financial margins. Chief executive officer Fernando González said at its Cemex Day 2021 business update that the group is planning a 10Mt/yr cement capacity expansion consisting of an extra 7.5Mt/yr in the Americas, 1.5Mt/yr in the Philippines and 1.0Mt/yr in Europe. It expects a total increase in 2023 full-year profit of US$520m as result of the investments. Around US$425m will be spent on the cement capacity additions and the remainder will go towards projects on urbanisation and its other business lines.

Strategic planning and business development executive vice president José González said “We focus on high-growth metropolitan areas, where our products and solutions nurture the urbanisation needs of these markets. These areas represent around 70% of the population and around 80% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of construction.”

Pakistan: Cherat Cement’s board of directors has approved plans for a US$215m integrated cement plant at Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakthunkhwa. The company has already invested US$8.24m in acquiring land and leases for the plant. When commissioned in mid-2024, it will have a capacity of 11,000t/day.

Guyana: Vas Energy subsidiary Georgetown Cement Company has broken ground on construction of its upcoming La Resource, Essequibo Coast cement plant. The Guyana Chronicle newspaper has reported that the company plans to spend US$100m in establishing the plant.  When commissioned in mid-2022, it will supply all of Guyana with the possibility of export to neighbouring countries. This will reduce the cost of imported cement by 30%. Georgetown Cement Company plans to employ 180 – 200 people at the plant.

India: NCL Industries is planning to expand its 2.7Mt/yr Mattapalli plant in Suryapet district, Telangana, to 3.6Mt/yr capacity at a cost of US$13.5m. The work includes the installation of vertical roller mills to replace the plant’s ball mills. Times of India newspaper has reported that the company says that it will complete the expansion by 2022.

Its plan also involves the establishment of a new 660,000t/yr grinding plant at nearby Anakapalle, at a cost of US$26.9m. The producer will invest a further US$810,000 in setting up three new ready-mix concrete plants in Hyderabad and Vizag, bringing its total number of concrete plants in the state to eight.

Mexico: Holcim subsidiary Holcim Mexico has inaugurated its new 650,000t/yr cement grinding plant at Umán in Yucatán. The cost of the project was US$40m. The plant will receive clinker from its integrated plants at Macuspana in Tabasco, and Orizaba in Veracruz. The producer says that the plant will optimise delivery times for cement customers in the area. It says that it will create 400 local jobs.

General director Jaime Hill Tinoco said, “At Holcim we are very proud to continue growing with the community, as well as to continue promoting well-being in the region through the creation of direct jobs, infrastructure and investment with this new grinding plant that, as I pointed out on the day that the first stone was laid, will strengthen national and foreign investments in benefit of the growth of the region.”