Displaying items by tag: Plant

India: JK Cement’s sales rose by 10% year-on-year to US$763m in the financial year to 31 March 2020 from US$691m in the same period in 2019. Its sales volumes of cement decreased slightly to 9.8Mt and its profit after tax nearly doubled to US$63.5m. However, its sales fell slightly in the fourth quarter, sales volumes of cement dropped by 7% year-on-year to 2.9Mt and it reported a significantly reduced standalone net profit.

The cement producer said that its operations had gradually stabilising since coronavirus lockdown measures were relaxed. All of its integrated and cement grinding plants had resumed production and despatch. It noted that due to lower power demands less fly ash was available so it is sourcing this from other locations. Labour shortages are also affecting bag supplies and the availability of drivers. As part of cash conservation measures it has restricted capital expenditure to US$66m in the current financial year.

UK: Lafarge Cement, part of Aggregate Industries and LafargeHolcim, has appointed John Mulgrew as the new plant manager of its Cookstown integrated cement plant in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He succeeds Russell Larmour who is to retire after 40 years within the company. Mulgrew will report to Barry Hope, Head of Cement on the Executive Committee at Aggregate Industries.

Mulgrew joined the LafargeHolcim Group as a quality co-ordinator in 2001, holding almost 20 years of experience in the cement industry. He became production manager at the Cookstown plant in 2016. The company says that the plant achieved its best results to date in 2019 after being ranked in the top 10 of LafargeHolcim’s European cement plants when evaluated against industrial benchmarks.

Jason Bowman will succeed Mulgrew as the new production manager at the plant. He has been promoted from his current role as manufacturing manager at Cookstown.

Norway: Norcem, a subsidiary of HeidelbergCement, has signed an agreement with Aker Solutions to order a CO₂ capture, liquification and intermediate storage plant at its integrated Brevik cement plant. The final decision for the project depends on funding from the Norwegian government, which is expected to approve the unit in its national budget for 2021.

The project will use Aker Solutions’ Advanced Carbon Capture (ACC) technology and its S26 amine solvent. Once complete the unit will capture 0.4Mt/yr of CO₂. This will be transported to the Northern Lights project for permanent storage offshore beneath the North Sea.

India: The government of Tamil Nadu has responded to a labour shortage resulting from the coronavirus lockdown by training up local minors for construction jobs. The Hindu newspaper has reported that the regular workforce consists mainly of some of India’s 9m annual migrant workers who travel from rural areas to construction hubs such as Tamil Nadu’s state capital of Chennai.

The state-owned Tamil Nadu Cement Corporation (TANCEM) has said that it will increase cement production at its Arasu plant in Ariyalur to 3000t/day from 2000t/day in anticipation of construction growth in the second half of 2020.

Nigeria: Sinoma Construction Nigeria says it has completed the construction of a second 6000t/d line at BUA Group subsidiary Obu & Edo Cement’s Edo cement plant, bringing the plant’s total integrated capacity to 5.5Mt/yr. The subsidiary of China-based Sinoma said that it completed the work in spite of an outbreak of malaria and electricity shortages. It said, “The successful fulfilment of the project has laid a solid foundation for the company's in-depth localised operation and comprehensive cooperation with the BUA Group.”

Germany/Vietnam: Loesche says that it has dispatched two LM 53.3+3 CS vertical roller mills from its plant in North Rhine-Westphalia for a new line at Thanh Thang Group Cement’s integrated Bong Lang cement plant. The mills have a combined capacity of 180t/hr and grind clinker to a fineness of 4000 Blaine. The new line, installed by Sinoma-NCDRI, will be commissioned in late-2021. Loesche will also supply two cellular wheel feeders, metal detectors and sealing air blowers.

Uzbekistan: Huaxin Cement has announced that 112 of its employees took the first charter flight from Hubei Province since the coronavirus lockdown began, arriving in Jizzakh, Jizzakh Oblast on 6 June 2020. Hubei Daily News has reported that Huaxin Cement’s upcoming 1.5Mt/yr integrated Jizzakh cement plant, previously scheduled for commissioning in March 2020, will now start operation in June 2020. Huaxin Cement thanked the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Civil Aviation authority for their support.

Austria: Four local fire brigades attended a fire at Lafarge Zement’s 1.2Mt/yr Mannersdorf plant in Lower Austria on 7 - 8 June 2020. ORF News has reported that the damage to the plant is extensive. A Lower Austria State Fire Service spokesperson said that none of the five employees on site when the fire broke out were harmed. The cause of the blaze remains unidentified.

Philippines: Eagle Cement has announced the start of reduced production and distribution of cement from its 7.1Mt/yr Bulacan plant following the partial easing of the coronavirus lockdown in the Philippines in May 2020. Eagle Cement president and chief executive officer (CEO) Paul Ang said, “We are starting to ramp up production as local demand for cement picks up following the easing of restriction in markets that we serve. We fully support the government's call to prioritise critical infrastructure projects to help reboot the economy. We hope to be able to safely return to a semblance of normality, mobilise our supply chains, create jobs and stimulate consumer spending.”

Russia: Iskitimcement has completed the modernisation of the grinding plant at its 2.1Mt/yr integrated Iskitimcement plant in Novosibirskskaya following the installation of a closed-circuit dynamic separator and bag filter supplied by Christian Pfeiffer at a cost of US$3.69m. Iskitimcement director general Vladimir Skakun said that the upgrade aims, “to provide customers with separated cement that surpasses the quality of products produced with open-circuit grinding.”

The company said that the closed-circuit unit has increased productivity and reduced the temperature of cement. Dust emissions have fallen by over 90%, bringing the plant in line with current environmental strictures. “We are ready to meet the customers’ demand for quality products even at the peak of the construction season,” said Skakun.

Iskitimcement says that it is planning a modernisation of its stacks with the installation of new filters by 2024.