Displaying items by tag: Plant

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has opened a bag manufacturing unit at its Ewekoro cement plant in Ogun State. It has a bag production capacity of 105m/yr. The company says it is the first of its kind in the country. It is intended to increase the availability of bags through large-scale production locally. The project is a joint-venture run with MDV Industries.

Khaled El Dokani, the country chief executive officer for Lafarge Africa, said “We are using the best technology that produces the most efficient and durable bag in Nigeria. It is a very great day for us at Lafarge Africa.”

US: Swede-based Bruks Siwertell has received a conveyor system order for use at the integrated Capitol Aggregates cement plant in San Antonio, Texas. The order has been placed by Borton, a construction company.
Three new conveyor systems will modify the site’s existing material transport system and the addition of a new storage silos. They are all standard widths of 91cm. The C-810 type conveyor will be 148m in length and will transfer clinker to a bucket elevator at a rated capacity of 150t/hr. The 84m long C-940 type conveyor will have a rated capacity of 200t/hr and will transfer clinker to the silo reclaim, while the C-975 type conveyor will be 40m long and connect to an existing conveyor. It will also have a rated capacity of 200t/hr.

The conveyors are being fabricated in Mexico and will be delivered to the operator later in 2023.

India: The state government of Assam signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) worth over US$974m on 9 May 2023. The MOUs include three new planned cement plant projects. Agreements have been signed with Calcom Cement India, Star Cement and Taj Cement Manufacturing.

The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the government said “There are another US$852 - 974m investment proposals in the pipeline. Investors are touring Upper and Lower Assam, scanning for locations for investment projects.”

Pakistan: Lucky Cement’s sales totalled US$1.2bn during the first nine months of the 2023 financial year, a rise of 28% year-on-year from US$941m during the corresponding period in the 2022 financial year. The Balochistan Times newspaper has reported that Lucky Cement attributed the growth to the commencement of operations of its new subsidiary, utilities provider Lucky Electric Power. The company increased its profit after tax by 83%, to US$172m.

Lucky Cement commissioned its Pezu cement plant’s new Line 2 at the end of the second quarter of the 2023 financial year. This increased the company’s installed production capacity by 26% to 15.3Mt/yr. The producer also inaugurated a new 34MW solar power plant, and completed negotiations for another, 25MW, solar power plant at its Karachi cement plant. The latest solar power plant is scheduled for commissioning later in 2023.

Afghanistan: State-owned Jabal al-Saraj Cement has served eviction notices to 40 families living in company accommodation. Hasht e Subh News has reported that the occupants are the families of former Jabal al-Saraj Cement employees who worked at the company’s cement plant for a minimum of 30 years, as per a pre-existing agreement between the cement producer and employees.

Cement production at the Jabal al-Saraj cement plant has been suspended since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-2021.

Belgium: France-based Air Liquide has signed a memorandum of understanding with Holcim to supply and operate a Cryocap Oxy carbon capture unit for the forthcoming upgrade to the Obourg cement plant. The intention is that 95% of the CO₂ generated from the new production line will be captured and then transported via the Antwerp@C export terminal for under-sea sequestration. Air Liquide and Holcim have co-applied for the European Innovation Fund to support the project.

Pascal Vinet, Senior Vice President at Air Liquide Group, said “The decarbonisation of the industry is at the heart of our Advance strategy. We are committed to accompany our customers through providing a wide range of innovative solutions. As an example, Air Liquide's proprietary Cryocap technology is particularly well suited to decarbonise the cement industry.”

North Korea: The Sunchon cement plant near Pyongyang is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding. President Kim Il Sung visited the site in May 1973 before construction started, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Cement from the plant has been used to build the West Sea Barrage, Kwangbok Street, Ryomyong Street, the Paektusan Hero Youth Power Station and additional ‘monumental edifices.’ Other the years of its operations workers at the site have been awarded the Order of Kim Il Sung and Order of Kim Jong Il, the title of Labour Hero, the title of Merited Calcinations Worker and other forms of recognition.

US: Heidelberg Materials says that the first clinker has been produced on the new production line at its integrated Mitchell cement plant in Indiana. Construction work on the project started in 2019 and the majority of the work is now completed. The US$600m upgrade is expected to increase the production capacity at the unit to over 2.4Mt/yr. It will also create 50 new full-time jobs at the site, bringing the total to 170.

Chris Ward, president and chief executive officer of Heidelberg Materials North America, said “We are extremely pleased to have the new Mitchell kiln online and producing clinker.” He added “With the capabilities of the new facility, we will be able to supply our customers more efficiently, consistently and sustainably than ever before.”

US: Taiheiyo Cement says that its subsidiary CalPortland has terminated its deal to buy the Tehachapi cement plant from Martin Marietta Materials. It has blamed the situation on the two parties being unable to “timely obtain the necessary approval by the US Federal Trade Commission.” The deal was originally announced in August 2022 with CalPortland agreeing to buy the integrated plant in California and two terminals.

India: UltraTech Cement has transported a shipment of 57,000t of phosphogypsum by coastal and inland waterways to its Gujarat plant at Kovaya in Amreli district. The subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group says this is the first operation of its kind in the country, according to Orissa Diary.

K C Jhanwar, the managing director of UltraTech Cement, said "The cement industry plays a pivotal role in driving the circular economy in India through the use of industrial and municipal waste in cement manufacturing. This industry-first initiative of UltraTech Cement in using inland and coastal waterways for transport of phosphogypsum will help to further strengthen the role of the cement sector in driving the circular economy in India."

The cement company sourced the phosphogypsum from the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative and Paradeep Phosphates. Legacy stock of the by-product from fertiliser plants in the country are estimated to be about 70Mt.