Displaying items by tag: Plant
Cimentos de Mocambique installs kiln filters at Matola
23 September 2015Mozambique: Cimentos de Mocambique, part of Intercement, has concluded the installation of kiln filters at its cement plant in Matola, Maputo. The company invested US$10m in the equipment to reduce air pollution levels in the area.
Holcim's Westport job cuts near as cement import facilities open sooner
23 September 2015New Zealand: Holcim, part of LafargeHolcim, is making faster than expected progress on an operational restructure that will lead to 120 job losses on the west coast.
The New Zealand operation has revealed plans to close its manufacturing plant at Cape Foulwind, Westport, with cement instead to be imported from the Mitsubishi Kanda plant in Fukuoka, Japan, via the Timaru and Auckland ports. Holcim will now close its Westport cement plant in the middle of 2016, with 120 job losses expected. The company said that some employees have switched to other roles.
Holcim is building a 30,000t cement silo at Timaru Port and is spending a similar amount at the Port of Auckland. The company had previously said that the silo and importing facilities would be finished in the second half of 2016. However, Holcim New Zealand country manager Glenda Harvey said that the Timaru facility could be operational in January or February 2016 and that the Auckland facility should be completed in May 2016 rather than June 2016. The Westport cement plant will remain operational until the Auckland import site is fully commissioned, then it will be closed.
When the Timaru and Auckland terminals are completed, there will be about 30 staff employed in sales, operations and technical laboratory roles. Westport cement plant staff have been able to apply for positions at Holcim's Timaru and Auckland operations and also overseas, with a small number having taken up roles in other parts of the business. Workers have redundancy provisions in their contracts. The company has about 40 staff within its Christchurch head office operation and 360 in the country across the cement and aggregates businesses.
Some Westport residents have said that the Westport cement plant site and buildings could be used as an industrial park, for electricity generation or as an eco park. Harvey said there has been no update on the site, or if alternative uses could be found. The cement plant has been operating for 57 years.
Philippines: San Miguel Corporation will invest US$1bn to build five new cement plants in different parts of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The amount is higher than the earlier announced US$800m due to the addition of three new cement plants to the two previously disclosed facilities.
San Miguel president and COO Ramon Ang said that the five new plants would have a total capacity of 10Mt/yr, 2Mt/yr at each plant. The plants are expected to be operational in 2017. The projects will be undertaken by affiliates Northern Cement and Eagle Cement in Pangasinan, Bulacan, Quezon, Cebu and Davao. San Miguel owns a 35% stake in Northern Cement, while Eagle Cement is privately-owned by Ang.
Ang said that now is a good time to invest in cement because a lot of people are investing in real estate. He added that if ever there were ever oversupply, the market would correct in two to three years. The additional 10Mt/yr capacity would bring San Miguel's cement capacity to roughly 16Mt/yr. Ang said that the cement industry of the Philippines currently has 33Mt/yr of cement capacity, which would increase to 43Mt/yr once San Miguel's new cement plants are in place.
UltraTech Cement commissions grinding plant at Jhajjar, Haryana
22 September 2015India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned a 1.6Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Jhajjar, Haryana.
Alkhalij Cement Company to increase production by 50%
22 September 2015Qatar: In an effort to meet growing demand, Alkhalij Cement Company, part of Qatari Investors Group, intends to invest nearly US$220m on a new production line.
The country's construction market is putting strain on cement supply and Firas Tayssir Ibrahim, chief administration officer of Qatari Investors Group, said that the new line is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2016. The new line is expected to increase cement production by 50%.
Ibrahim's statement was underscored by Alkhalij Cement Company COO Jose Escalera, who emphasised the extraordinary growth in the country's construction sector. "The unprecedented growth in Qatar's construction remains the primary motive of all companies to place more efforts in improving their products and services to meet the terms of this growth and support it with emphasis on quality and effectiveness factors. This has prompted Alkhalij Cement Company to increase its production capacity to cope with the increasing market demands. While the production of clinker will reach around 2Mt/yr and cement around 3Mt/yr by the end of 2015, our projections show that in 2016 and when our new line is operational, we will need to produce close to 4Mt/yr of clinker and 4.5Mt/yr of cement," said Escalera.
Cementos Pacasmayo starts commercial cement production from Piura plant
18 September 2015Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo has begun commercial production from its new Piura cement plant. According to the company, the Piura plant will be the most modern cement plant in Latin America and features a multi-fuel kiln. Its final capacity will be 1.6Mt/yr of cement and 1Mt/yr of clinker.
"I am delighted to announce the beginning of commercial operations at the Piura plant, an important milestone for Cementos Pacasmayo and the Peruvian cement industry," said Humberto Nadal, CEO of Cementos Pacasmayo. "Piura will offer our clients high-quality cement, with improved logistics, while simultaneously lowering our cost of production. We continue to execute this project on time and under budget, demonstrating our expertise in large-scale, advanced facilities. We look forward to moving the plant along its production curve, creating value for all stakeholders."
Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua on the lookout for acquisitions in Central and South America
18 September 2015Mexico/US: Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) is ready to grow its operations in the USA and make an acquisition in Central and South America after refinancing its debt and improving its earnings margins via a cost cutting programme, according to local business daily El Universal.
Luis Carlos Arias, director of corporate treasury at GCC, explained that the company currently has only one syndicated bank loan of US$194m, which has been refinanced. As such, it has a more flexible credit structure, which allows it to take advantage of different growth opportunities.
In the US, GCC will invest US$90m in 2015 - 2018 to boost production capacity at its plant in South Dakota by 60% to 1.2Mt/yr. GCC has six cement plants, 117 concrete plants and 21 distribution centres from the north of Mexico to the north of the USA.
According to Arias, GCC is looking for opportunities to expand its business to Central and South America in order to have alternative revenues during the harsh winter in North America, which does not allow production during the coldest months. The company has not decided in which country it could make an acquisition as the cement market is highly concentrated in a few big companies. "There are not many opportunities, we are looking at the region as a whole," said Arias.
UltraTech Cement to expand Maharashtra cement plant
18 September 2015India: Aditya Birla's UltraTech Cement has got the Environment Ministry's clearance to increase the capacity of its Awarpur plant in Maharasthra, which would entail an investment of US$37.7m.
The company plans to increase its clinker capacity to 4.5Mt/yr from 3.3Mt/yr and to increase its cement capacity from 4.48Mt/yr to 6Mt/yr.
"Based on the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Environment Ministry recommendation, the Environment Ministry granted the final clearance subject to certain conditions. The EC was issued to the company on 11 September 2015," said a senior Environment Ministry official.
The company has been asked to comply with specific conditions like developing green belt over 33% of the total project area, installing air monitoring devices to monitor air emission and continuous stack monitoring of facilities to monitor gaseous emissions, among others. The company has also been asked to earmark at least 5% of the total cost of the project towards enterprise social commitment and prepare a detailed corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan for every five years for the existing expansion project.
UltraTech Cement has informed the Ministry that the proposed expansion will be carried out within the existing plant area. The additional power required for the proposed expansion will be 5.1MW.
Ecuador: Gebr. Pfeiffer Inc, a subsidiary of Germany's Gebr. Pfeiffer SE, was recently contracted to supply a complete grinding unit to replace aging ball mills at the Hormicreto clinker plant in Ecuador.
The new grinding unit helps reduce energy consumption and improves the overall grinding efficiency, allowing the plant to increase production from a single mill. Gebr. Pfeiffer supplied the following components of the new grinding station:
• MPS 2500 BC swing mill with 'Lift and Swing' technology;
• SLS 2250 BC classifier;
• Bucket elevator;
• Reject conveyor belt;
• Chutes and divert chutes;
• Reject silo;
• Weigh feeder;
• Dedusting unit;
• Metal detector;
• Separator;
• Rotary locks;
• Bag filter;
• Mill fan;
• Ducting, expansion joints and dampers;
• HML 1250 Pfeiffer hot gas generator;
• MCC, control and instrumentation;
• Related engineering services.
Delivery of the grinding unit is expected to be complete by December 2015.
Westbury cement plant chimney to be demolished
15 September 2015UK: The Westbury cement plant in Wiltshire County, which was constructed in the early 1960s and mothballed in 2009, is now set to be partly demolished. In a bid to attract investors, non-operational parts of the site, including the 122m-high chimney, will be cleared. The structure will be brought down with a series of controlled explosions, according to site owner Tarmac, now part of CRH.
Earlier in September 2015, Tarmac said that it had submitted a prior notice to Wiltshire Council to demolish part of the complex. At present, the site is an 'attraction to trespassers' and is 'a security and maintenance liability.' According to Tarmac management, the demolition will result in reduced trespass and a reduced need for maintenance.