Displaying items by tag: Shutdown

US: St Marys Cement has suspended production at its Dixon plant in Illinois. The move will result in about two-thirds of the employees losing their jobs, according to the Sauk Valley Newspapers. The company, a subsidiary of Brazil’s Votorantim, plans to continue cement grinding at the site until the summer of 2018 when its inventory will be exhausted. Then the plant will be used as a distribution terminal only.

The company said that the decision was made to improve cost efficiencies and that the plant’s location was poor compared to other sites. However, it plans to review its decision on stopping production by the end of 2018.

The Dixon cement plant originally opened in 1914 before becoming idle in 2008. Production then resumed in 2015.

India: Gujarat Sidhee Cement has extended the shutdown period of its Sidheegram plant until 28 September 2017 due to additional maintenance work on the kiln and coal mill. The maintenance period was originally scheduled to last until 25 August 2017. The cement producer said that cement grinding and packing operations will continue as normal and that the plant will meet all despatch requirements. Cement sales volumes are expected to be unaffected.

Chile: Cementos Bío Bío is to stop producing clinker at its Talcahuano cement plant. The cement producer has also laid off a third of its workforce, according to Pura Noticia. It now plans to import clinker from Asia instead, which it says, will reduce its production costs by US$19/t. The company started cement production at Talcahuano in 1961.

Saudi Arabia: Najran Cement has temporarily shut down its second production line due to poor market conditions and high inventory. The line has a clinker production capacity of 3000t/day. The cement producer intends to announce any financial impact arising from the shutdown in its financial report for the first quarter of 2017.

Saudi Arabia: Yamama Cement has temporarily shut down five of its production lines. The lines have a joint clinker production capacity of 5600t/day. The decision was made due to poor market conditions, low demand for cement and high inventory.

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.

India: The Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) in Nagpur has barred Murli Industries from selling or mortgaging its assets due to outstanding debts of over US$275m. The nine directors of the company have been asked not to leave the country without prior permission of the tribunal, according to the Times of India. Accusations of financial irregularities have also been levelled at the directors by the tribunal.

Murli Industries runs a cement plant in Chandrapur, Maharashtra that has been described by the Times as ‘practically closed down’. Workers at the unit have not been paid reportedly since the autumn of 2015. Subsequently they have preventing the company from transporting cement or raw materials out of the plant until they are compensated.

India: JK Cement has stopped clinker and cement production at its Muddapur cement plant in Karnataka. It reported finding cracks in a raw material silo.

Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) has shut down its clinker kiln for 30 days to start work on a fuel upgrade project. The US$45m project is intended to allow the kiln to use other fuels as well as the fuel oil it currently uses. A further 90-day stoppage period has been scheduled for mid-2016. The project is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

INC’s president Jorge Mendez has reassured the public that the cement supply from his plant will not drop during the maintenance period. INC will continue delivering between 50,000 - 55,000 bags/day. The firm has 86,500t of clinker in stock. In addition the government will also import 200,000t of cement to maintain levels. INC is the country’s sole integrated cement plant.

Nepal: The Hetauda Cement plant has started producing cement again following the lifting of an unofficial fuel blockade by India. The plant was shut after it could not import coal from India in the autumn of 2016. Hetauda resumed production on 11 February 2016, according to the Katmandu Post. Factory officials say the plant lost US$0.9m during the enforced closure.