Displaying items by tag: Plant
Holcim Indonesia launches new cement plant in Tuban, East Java
15 September 2015Indonesia: PT Holcim Indonesia Tbk has launched its new US$800m, 3.4Mt/yr cement plant in Tuban, East Java.
Having started the construction five years ago, the plant is Holcim's first greenfield project in Indonesia. The plant will serve the East Java market and supply Sumatra and Kalimantan. With the new plant, Holcim Indonesia's cement production capacity has grown by 40% to 12.5Mt/yr.
"Currently, Holcim Indonesia is operating in an oversupply market and market slowdown. However, we believe that it is temporary as construction markets in developing countries are cyclical. The overall long-term macroeconomic fundamentals in Indonesia remain strong and the domestic economy will recover with the realisation of delayed infrastructure projects and housing," said Gary Schutz, CEO of Holcim Indonesia. "The new Tuban Plant completes our presence in Java as it will serves our markets better, ensures supplies and secures our position among the three biggest cement players in Indonesia."
China Resources Cement to pay US$237m for 40% stake in Yunnan Kunming Iron & Steel Building Materials
15 September 2015China: China Resources Holdings has agreed to pay US$237m for a 40% stake in Yunan Province-based cement producer Yunnan Kunming Iron & Steel Building Materials Group Co in a bid to lift production capacity, according to Dow Jones. Yunnan Kunming Iron & Steel Building Materials Group Co is currently a 100% owned unit of state-owned Kunming Iron & Steel Holding Co Ltd. China Resources plans to fund the investment via internal resources and bank borrowing, it said.
Arr Thit Man plans to double cement capacity in Mandalay
15 September 2015Myanmar: Local cement producer Arr Thit Man plans to double its cement production capacity from 5000t/day to 10,000t/day by 2016, according to senior officials. The company makes the Double Rhinos brand cement from its plant in Kyaukse, Mandalay. It claims to be the country's largest cement plant.
"We are a new brand, but we are focused on the quality of cement and fulfilling market demand," said the company's managing director. For the time being, Arr Thit Man plans to focus on meeting growing domestic demand rather than exports.
A number of other cement manufacturers are also looking to increase their local presence. Siam Cement Group is building a 1.8Mt/yr cement plant in Mon, which it expects to be operational in 2016. Several companies also import their cement to Myanmar.
ARM Cement’s clinker plant will boost margins
14 September 2015Kenya: Kenya's ARM Cement expects profitability to improve now that it produces its own clinker for its east African cement plants, according to managing director Pradeep Paunrana.
Reuters reported that ARM Cement posted a pre-tax loss of US$4.5m in the first six months of 2015, which the company blamed on unrealised foreign exchange losses associated with borrowing for its new clinker plant, a vital raw material for cement.
Paunrana said that the new 1.2Mt/yr clinker plant was operating at about 75% capacity since production began in April 2015. "What this essentially means is that our production cost has come down drastically because imported clinker is much more expensive, at least 70 or 80% more expensive than what we are producing locally," said Paunrana. "So we expect improvement in our margins both in Kenya and in Tanzania with the production of our own clinker." He added that ARM was also selling clinker to other companies in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.
ARM's operating margin was 13.4% in 2014 according to Thomson Reuters data, compared with an industry median of 15.5%. ARM's Tanzanian plant has 1.5Mt/yr of cement production capacity, while its Kenyan plant can produce 1Mt/yr and its plant in Rwanda can make 100,000t/yr.
Paunrana said that he expected an improved financial performance in the second half of 2015, citing the 9% rise in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the first half to US$18.4m. "The company is still very profitable, especially now that we have more clinker production and more volume growth," said Paunrana. He added that earnings in foreign exchange were rising and that ARM now had an advantage over some rivals. "We are keeping our margins steady and are now becoming a lot more competitive against those who import either clinker or finished cement."
Turkmenistan to build 220 facilities for US$18bn in 2016
14 September 2015Turkmenistan: The Republic of Turkmenistan plans to construct more than 220 facilities for US$18bn in 2016, according to president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.
The construction will take place under a large investment development programme and will include a natural gas pipeline that will transverse Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India and will ship 33Bnm3/yr of gas. The projects will also include a 1Mt/yr cement plant in Lebap, a gas-chemical complex designed to produce 467,000t/yr of polyethylene and polypropylene, a plant to produce 600t/yr of petrol from natural gas, as well new airports in the cities of Atamyrat and Garabogaz.
"Over the past few years, gross domestic product has been growing rapidly in Turkmenistan. During this past year, GDP growth hit 8.3%. Capital investments rose by 8.2% and the average monthly wages increased by 10%," said Berdymukhammedov.
From brownfield to leftfield: what happens to closed cement plants?
09 September 2015Plans for the former Shoreham cement plant on the south coast of England took an exciting turn towards the end of 2014. Zero carbon design firm Zedfactory announced its plans to regenerate the brownfield site into an eco-resort featuring holiday homes, performance space, affordable homes, a hotel and conference centre, a watersports venue, wildlife preserves and more. Or, ' hobbit homes' as the Daily Mail put it when it covered the story six months later.
This raises the question of what happens to cement plants when they close?
In the UK, where a housing shortage in certain areas collide with NIMBY (not in my back yard) attitudes and strict planning regulations, former industrial or brownfield sites are prime sites for new housing developments. Subsequently, old cement plants are attractive to builders to build houses. Two examples of current sites heading this way include the former Cemex plant in Barrington, Cambridgeshire and the former Lafarge Eastgate plant in County Durham. Both sites have gained planning permission and were still in the pre-building stage according to local press reports in mid-2015. Dylan Moore's website 'Cement Plants and Kilns in Britain and Ireland' provides a good resource on former plants in the UK and Ireland.
One of the jokes about classic UK science-fiction television series Dr Who was that during the 1970s it was either filmed on cheap studio sets or in quarries. Endless encounters with alien beings took place in cement plant quarries including Lafarge Northfleet (alien in spacesuits), Lafarge Aberthaw (tentacle faced aliens), Hanson Ketton (Arthurian knights who may in fact be aliens...) and many more. Indeed, one of the conditions of the proposed Lafarge Eastgate sale in March 2015 was that a television production company could continue to use the quarry to film an adaptation of Beowulf for five years!
On the more imaginative side of what to do with old plants, La Fabrica near Barcelona is a spectacular example. Architect Ricardo Bofill converted a 19th century plant into his firm's head office, La Fabrica, and his own personal residence. As Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura's website puts it, "Eight silos remained, which became offices, a models laboratory, archives, a library, a projections room and a gigantic space known as 'The Cathedral', used for exhibitions, concerts and a whole range of cultural functions linked to the professional activities of the architect." Architecturally the project refers to Catalan Civic Gothic style with surrealist elements.
This sense of entertainment from industrial architecture was continued by sculptor Bob Cassilly in St Louis, USA who decided to build Cementland. Cassilly purchased the former plant and slowly assembled his clinker-themed version of Disneyland. Unfortunately he died in 2001 following an accident with a bulldozer at the site before he finished.
More and more former cement plants will be seeking new purposes as Europe rationalises its cement industries and excess capacity is eliminated. China too faces similar issues as it consolidates its industry. Most will probably lie fallow before eventually being knocked down and then turned into something following the cheapest economic path forward. With luck though, some will follow the dreams of Zedfactory and people like Ricardo Bofill and Bob Cassilly.
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DG Khan releases further details of new Baluchistan cement plant
09 September 2015Pakistan: DG Khan Cement has signed a contract with Germany's Loesche GmbH to supply complete raw, cement and coal grinding mills for its greenfield cement plant in Lasbella, Baluchistan. The cement grinding mills will be provided by a German company, while Denmark's FLSmidth has been contracted for engineering and equipment, according to DG Khan Secretary Khalid Chohan. The new 9,000t/day plant will be completed with a cost of around US$300m within three years. DG Khan has already signed an agreement with K-Electric for the supply of 40MW of electricity.
Senj Sant cement plant opens in Mongolia
08 September 2015Mongolia: The Senj Sant cement plant was opened on 13 August 2015 in Urgun Soum, Dornogovi, some 450km from the capital Ulaanbaatar, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The plant will be the first greenfield cement plant in Mongolia to use the dry process, which is especially significant in the Gobi region, where water is scarce. The plant will also use a waste heat recovery power plant, which will help save energy and water.
The project includes a gender action plan, which means there will be more opportunities for women. Most of the directors of Senj Sant are women. The plant will be overseen by Munkhnasan Narmandakh, the female CEO of its parent holding company, Monpolymet Group, one of Mongolia's leading mining operations. The holding company has an all-female board of directors.
The EBRD provided a financing package of US$85m, which consisted of a US$20m equity investment and a US$65m loan to Senj Sant. The Development Bank of Mongolia lent US$65m. The remaining US$80m of the total project cost of US$230m was funded by the Monpolymet Group.
"This project will be a major step towards establishing domestic cement supply and replacing imports. It is also important for the country's economic diversification," said the EBRD's senior banker in charge of the project, Azjargal Ulziitogtokh. "The EBRD is proud to highlight that the project meets EU requirements and will be using best available technology. Personally, as a Mongolian female professional, I am also very pleased to say that the company has a gender action plan to ensure equal opportunities, which goes beyond industry standards, not only in Mongolia but in the whole region where the EBRD works."
To date, the EBRD has committed over US$1bn to Mongolia's economy. All of the Bank's projects so far have supported private sector companies.
Kyrgyzstan: Chinese cement producer Jinlong Group intends to invest US$65m towards building a 0.8Mt/yr single line cement plant in Issyk Kul province. It will operate as a subsidiary called Yatai Cement. US$15m will come from self-financing. The reminding US$50m will be funded through project financing. Approximately 400 workers will be hired to work at the new firm, which has a 30-year operation term, according to China Ciments.
Dominican Republic: Cementos Andino Dominicanos (CAD) has denied that it is planning to suspend work at its Pedernales factory after what the firm called 'a malicious media campaign.' Local reports claimed that CAD would stop production, hindering the construction of government-led tourism projects in one of Dominican Republic's most impoverished regions.
In response CAD underlined its commitment to help develop the area, where it invested US$150m to build the plant in 2002. The firm added that the facility had generated US$46.8m in cement exports and US$44m in exported added-value products since its opening.