Displaying items by tag: Product

US: CalPortland has announced the launch of Advancement, a product line of cements containing sustainable materials and produced using renewable processes. These include the replacement of 15% of the Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) clinker with blended limestone. The company currently offers Advancement Light for aesthetic design and Advancement High Sulphate for general use concrete applications and when high sulphate resistance is required, both of which have 10% lower embodied carbon than OPC. More products are planned to follow.

CalPortland president and chief executive officer (CEO) Allen Hamblen said, “Advancement is a line of products that can be combined with other concrete carbon reduction technologies to further enhance performance and increasingly reduce the embodied carbon of concrete.”

Russia: The Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities has announced that a technical certificate will suffice for new building materials to enter production. Glavgosexpertiza of Russia has said that the maximum period for the issuance of technical certificates for products including fibre and asbestos cement and concrete is five working days. The measures aim to support the construction industry in meeting demand in the new construction season following the coronavirus outbreak. The ministry will review the measure in mid-June 2020.

Denmark: FLSmidth has said that, following the appointment of Mikko Tepponen as its chief digital officer (CDO), it is embarking on an acceleration of digitisation projects and an expansion to its portfolio based on ‘direct collaboration and co-creation’ with customers. FLSmidth said that this aims at ‘increasing productivity in the cement industry through optimisation and efficiency, including by reduction of fuel and raw material consumption and of process heat, time and emissions, security enhancement and many other areas’ that would benefit from a digitally integrated approach.

Tepponen said, “Digitisation and sustainability go hand in hand. When you succeed in digitising key processes in any large-scale industry, you tend to see clear benefits in areas such as energy consumption, waste reduction and resource use. Without a serious focus on digitisation, it will be impossible for us at FLSmidth to reach our MissionZero sustainability ambitions.”

Rwanda: Cimerwa has officially announced the appointment of Albert Sigei as its chief executive officer (CEO). He succeeded Bheki Mthembu, following the end of his term in office.

Sigei has 17 years’ experience in the building materials sector working for LafargeHolcim. His last role was in Malawi where he served as the local CEO, following postings in Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from University of Nairobi as well as professional qualifications in accounting and information technology management.

His first months in office have included coping with the coronavirus pandemic, remarketing Cimerwa’s product range under the SURE brand and working on the company’s listing on the Rwanda Stock Exchange.

India: Nagarjuna Cement, a cement brand produced by NCL Industries, has signed the film star Varun Tej Konidela as its brand ambassador. The performer from Telugu language cinema will feature in a new song as well as in television commercials which will be launched by Nagarjuna Cement as part of its upcoming campaign that aims to connect with a broader demographic, according to the United News of India. Initiatives on radio, social media and other media channels will accompany the campaign.

Russia: Eurocement has announced the completion of Phase 2 of an upgrade project at its 2.4Mt/yr integrated Pikalevsky Cement plant. Following the modernisation of the grinding unit in the first phase of the upgrade in August 2019 at a cost of US$2.14m, Phase 2 work consisted of an expansion to ‘the assortment of high-quality products,’ including ‘large-scale construction and installation, reconstruction of air supply and aspiration systems and power supply and repair of existing buildings and structures’ at a total cost of US$2.86m. Eurocement completed the upgrade without any downtime to the existing lines.

Pikalevsky Cement director general Andrei Vashchilov said, “We have tested the new cement. The activity of cement at the age of 28 days increased by an average of  10MPa, which allows for cost-optimised concrete production. The modernisation also enabled the improvement and stabilisation of another important indicator - water separation.

Russia: Gornozavodskcement has announced that its Akkermann brand cement conforms to the standard for sulphate-resistant CEM-I cement. The Siberian Research Institute of the Cement Industry issued the certificate of conformity to the cement, which contains a ‘unique formulation’ of 100% ordinary Portland cement with special sulphate resistance.

Gornozavodskcement quality director Irina Ilyina said, “The production of this special cement in Perm Territory, where several large transport and industrial facilities are under construction, will significantly reduce transport and procurement costs for builders, as well as improving the quality and durability of products.”

Russia: Eurocement subsidiary Lipetskcement has announced that its CEM-II sulphate-resistant cement has been found to conform to the new Russian standard for its class of products. This enables its use in special types of construction, including hydraulic engineering, land reclamation, transport infrastructure and oil and gas wells.

Russia: Iskitimcement has announced the beginning of CEM-II ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) cement at its Iskitimcement plant in Novosibirsk Oblast. Regional Weekly News has reported that the cement will be used in road base concrete production and soil reinforcement. Iskitimcement says that the cement has high frost, abrasion and impact resistance and strength of over 5.5MPa. It will sell the cement, the seventh type produced at the plant, in 25kg, 50kg and 1t bags.

Czech Republic: Cemex Czech Republic has reported the delivery of Multibat PLUS cement to ten intermediaries across East Bohemia from its Prachovice, Pardubice plant. Cemex Czech Republic says that the demand for Multibat arose following the discontinuation of the product in late 2019.