Displaying items by tag: Plant
Lafarge Canada completes upgrade at Exshaw cement plant
13 September 2016Canada: Lafarge Canada has announced the completion of modernisation and environmental upgrades at its Exshaw cement plant in Alberta. The plant has increased its cement production capacity to 2.2Mt/yr from 1.3Mt/yr. Environmental improvements have led to a 60% reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions, a 40% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions and a reduction in fugitive dust and noise coming from the plant's equipment. The plant has also achieved zero water discharge from its operations.
"It is an incredible achievement to comple a project of this scale. Completing it safely takes focus and energy and I applaud the team for its dedication to this goal," said René Thibault, President and CEO, Lafarge, Western Canada. "By all accounts we consider the project to be a success, cementing our long term commitment to Exshaw, Alberta and western Canada."
The upgrade consisted of shutting down the plant’s kiln four in November 2015. It modernised kiln five to meet new emissions targets by retiring less efficient gravel-bed filter technology. It then built a new production line, kiln six, with a baghouse to collect particulates, as well as a vertical raw mill, a EcoDome storage facility, a pre-heater tower and a vertical cement mill.
Construction at the plant began in 2013, with more than 600 contracted employees on site at the peak of construction activity in addition to 160 permanent employees. The team achieved nearly three million hours without a lost time incident.
US: An on-going mechanical failure is to shut down the Lehigh Cement Redding plant in California for an estimated 14 weeks. The problem with a gearbox has reportedly been occurring since January 2016 and has persisted despite equipment replacements. The cement producer is currently waiting for further replacement parts, according to the Redding Record Searchlight newspaper.
39 workers will also be laid off at the plant. Lehigh previously laid off 40 employees workers at the plant in 2009 due to a fall in construction activity in the market.
PCA issues award to Cemex Lyons cement plant
08 September 2016US: The Cemex Lyons Cement Plant has been recognised by the Portland Cement Association (PCA) with its 2016 Energy and Environment Award for Land Stewardship. Representatives from the Lyons, Colorado unit accepted the award on 31 August 2016 at the PCA’s annual Fall Congress meeting in Chicago.
The Lyons plant’s land-stewardship program for 2015 included limiting invasive plants and weeds and cultivating native plants to attract local wildlife and migrating birds, an effort that was launched at the facility in 2008. The plant also optimised its quarry roads to limit fugitive dust emissions and improve energy efficiency and employee productivity. The plant has previously been recognised by the Wildlife Habitat Council for its diverse environmental programs, including increasing areas dedicated to pollinator plantings and native species to 2.33 acres. On Earth Day, plant employees installed bee boards, bat houses and bird nests.
“Cemex is committed to sustainable practices throughout our operations and to building a better future for our communities through environmental initiatives. We are very proud of our Lyons team and their commitment to land stewardship, and it’s truly an honour to be recognized by the PCA for those efforts,” said Cemex USA president Ignacio Madridejos.
The PCA created the Energy & Environmental awards program in 2000. The PCA awards are given annually to recognise environmental and community relations efforts by cement plants throughout North America. The program is open to any cement manufacturing plant in the region.
Zimbabwe: Chinese cement producer Mortal Investments Manufacturing Company is constructing a US$10 million plant in Redcliff with capacity to employ about 400 employees, while producing 1Mt/yr. Its arrival in Zimbabwe is expected to intensify competition in the market dominated by Lafarge Cement and Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC). It will be the second cement producer to invest in the Midlands Province, after Sino Zimbabwe Cement, which is located just outside Gweru.
For a town battling high unemployment levels following the closure of its major source of jobs - the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO) - the new project will add life to the town. Redcliff is strategically located for cement producers given its proximity to significant quantities of slag from ZISCO. Redcliff mayor, Freddy Kapuya, said the investment has brought hope to the town. "This will have a positive impact on the lives of the people in Redcliff. The Chinese company bought about 100,000m2 of land from us for about US$600,000 and they have since started constructing a cement plant after investing about US$10 million," he said.
Gift Mpofu, the past president of the Construction Industry Federation of Zimbabwe, welcomed the development, adding that the industry was looking forward to a better product. "As long as they don't produce a dubious or shoddy product, we will support them. This also means that cement manufacturing players will now compete in terms of prices," Mpofu said.
Mortal's interest in Zimbabwe comes a year after Nigerian billionaire; Aliko Dangote announced that Dangote Cement would set up a US$400 million plant in the country, as part of its Pan African expansion strategy. Dangote has already established an operation in Zambia, and his entry into Zimbabwe demonstrates that despite depressed demand, foreign investors are seeing a bright future in the country.
The entry of Mortal and Dangote in the cement industry has resulted in existing players taking steps to cement their dominance in their niche markets. PPC, the largest cement manufacturing company in Zimbabwe, has been working on expansion programmes, with a new plant expected in Harare to serve markets that include Mozambique.
The Zimbabwe unit of LafargeHolcim, is also increasing capacity. Lafarge, the second largest cement producer in the country, says it would continue to make innovations and introduce new products that meet customer needs. Lafarge has introduced a range of new packaging brands for its products.
Sino Zimbabwe has also invested US$2m to boost production at its plant near Gweru.
Cemex amends US asset sale to Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua
30 August 2016US: Cemex and Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) have amended the terms of a sale of assets to GCC previously announced in early May 2016. The assets being sold by an affiliate of Cemex to an affiliate of GCC in the US have changed and mainly consist of Cemex’s cement plant in Odessa, Texas, two cement terminals and the building materials business in El Paso, Texas and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Cemex’s cement plant in Lyons, Colorado and cement terminal in Florence, Colorado are no longer part of the assets being sold to GCC. Upon closing of this transaction GCC will pay Cemex US$306m.
The sale is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the US competition authorities and GCC’s shareholders, as well as GCC obtaining financing to purchase the assets. The deal is expected to be completed before the end of 2016.
ACC to expand Jamul and Sindri plants
30 August 2016India: ACC plans to expand its plants at Jamul in Chhattisgarh and Sindri in Jharkhand as part of a US$447m capital project intended to increase the company's production capacity by 5Mt/yr to 35Mt/yr. The project will also include building a ‘couple of new plants’ according to comments made by KN Rao, Director - Energy and Environment, to the Hindu newspaper. Following the upgrades the Jmaul cement plant will have a clinker capacity of 2.79Mt/yr and a cement grinding capacity of 1.1Mt/yr. The Sindri unit will have a grinding capacity of 1.35Mt/yr.
KCP Cement to expand Muktyala plant
30 August 2016India: KCP Cement is set to build a new production line at its Muktyala cement plant in Andhra Pradesh. The company intends to invest US$60m towards increasing the unit's production capacity to 3.52Mt/yr from 1.86Mt/yr. The upgrade will be completed by the end of 2017, according to the Hindu newspaper. Other planned works include spending US$7.4m towards building railway sidings for the plant.
Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement has commenced trial operation at the second production line of its Bishah cement plant. The trial operation will continue until the plant reaches a contractual design capacity of 5000t/day of clinker. Once the trial is complete the plant's production capacity from its three lines will reach 33,000t/day of clinker. The company noted in a statement that there are neither expected costs nor financial impact for this trial operation. The date of full operation will be announced later.
Indonesia: SDIC Papua Cement Indonesia's new cement plant in Manokwari, West Papua is set to start operation later in 2016. The director general of chemical, textile and numerous industries, Achmad Sigit Dwiwahyono, West Papua vice governor Irene Manibuy and president director of PT SDIC Group Lin Bing officiated at the operation of the new kiln on 27 August 2016, according to the Indonesian News Agency. The 3200t/day plant has been built at a cost of US$500m. It is hoped that the plant will stabilise the price of cement in the province and support local infrastructure development.
ARM Cement seeks US$138m investment from CDC Group
26 August 2016Kenya: ARM Cement intends to use US$138m investment from the UK government-owned fund CDC Group to finance the construction of a new cement plant in Kitui County. The cement producer is Chief executive Pradeep Paunrana said that more details on the proposed 2.5Mt/yr plant would be released after shareholders’ approval of the development finance institution’s proposed investment in return for a 40.66% stake in the cement manufacturer, according to the Daily Nation newspaper. The project is planned to be completed by 2021. Nigerian company Dangote Cement is also building a cement plant in the same area.