Displaying items by tag: Silo

New 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.

New Zealand: A controversial new US$50m dome-shaped silo for storing cement has been inflated on Auckland's waterfront in New Zealand.

The state-of-the-art 28m-high silo holds 30,000t of cement and is located at a Ports of Auckland site on the corner of Plumer and Quay Streets, opposite Vector Arena. The dome's outer skin is made of a membrane similar to that used to build the Cloud on Queens Wharf. Consent to build the silo was granted on a non-notified basis, meaning the public did not have a say, angering groups concerned about the port's growing footprint on the waterfront.

Holcim New Zealand country manager Glenda Harvey said that the storage dome signalled a major milestone for the company. Holcim is investing US$100m to build two 30,000t new storage facilities in Auckland and Timaru as part of its business strategy of global sourcing for supply into the New Zealand market. The Auckland terminal will provide effective access to the major market of the greater Auckland and upper North Island while the terminal in Timaru would provide effective distribution to the whole of the South Island market and lower North Island.

"The project falls within the existing port operations and the company has all the approvals required," said Harvey. "We continue to work closely with the Ports of Auckland and the Auckland Council to ensure all regulatory requirements are met. We have contacted residents and businesses in the nearby vicinity of the new terminal in Auckland around the timing of the dome going up, as part of our commitment to keep them informed." Holcim hopes to have the terminal fully operational by the end of 2016.

New Zealand: Holcim New Zealand is building a new cement silo at the Waitemata Port. Cement ships will relocate from Onehunga to the new site, which is expected to be completed in the middle of 2016, according to the Manukau Courier. A Holcim spokesperson said that the Onehunga Port will continue to be used as a bagging plant and the silos will remain operational.

US: After more than three days of searching, on 11 January 2015 firefighters found the body of a worker who was missing after a full cement silo collapsed in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania. The missing worker was identified as Anthony Gabriele (48) of Tullytown. The collapse happened at the Riverside Cement distribution facility in the Riverside Industrial Complex on 8 January 2015. An investigation into the collapse is still ongoing.

Oman: Raysut Cement Company (RCC) intends to build a distribution terminal in Duqm and additional silo capacity at its Salalah cement plant. The company is also building an offshore unloader and blow pump system in the north of the country to facilitate bulk cement handling.

"The work is in a progressive stage and the company will reap benefits from these starting from the new facilities from the early part of 2015," said Ahmed bin Alawi bin Abdulla Al Ibrahim, chairman of Raysut Cement.

Indonesia: Claudius Peters has received an order from Semen Indonesia to supply three new cement storage silos for their new integrated cement plant in Rembang, Central Java.

Claudius Peters will supply three Expansion Chamber (EC type) storage silos, with a diameter of 24m and a volume of 20,000t each. Cement will be discharged to two mobile VME-type bulk loading stations underneath each silo. Separate aeroslide transport to the packing plant is also included. These three new cement storage silos will be integrated with the four new packing plants which Semen Indonesia ordered at the start of 2014 from Claudius Peters.

Switzerland: Thorwesten Vent has completed a turnkey contract for the design and assembly of a large capacity silo for the storage of pulverised lignite in Switzerland. In close cooperation with its sister company, Silobau Thorwesten, the engineering teams of both companies designed a 2300m³ silo that is 55m high and 9m in diameter.

Besides the silo cell, which is equipped with a maintenance-friendly flat roof, Thorwesten delivered all of the safety equipment for required conformation to regulations. The company used its newly-developed self-reclosing explosion venting devices based on a carbon-fibre lid and an emergency inerting system in combination with an intelligent analysis and monitoring system. Additional components, including instrumentation and an in-feed line, completed the order.

US: Two workers at the Staker Parson cement plant, Tucson, Arizona, were exposed to cement powder when a silo malfunctioned and dumped the material onto them on 28 October 2013. When crews from the fire department arrived, their first priority was to decontaminate the employees by washing the cement powder off them using hoses.

Both men had respiratory complaints and one man had eye irritation. Both were taken to hospital for further treatment. Two other employees worked for one hour to plug the silo to keep the cement powder from continuing to leak out. They wore protective clothing, but also had to be decontaminated and were also taken to hospital for further evaluation.

All of the men were released from the hospital shortly after the incident.

Indonesia: PT Holcim Indonesia has commissioned a new cement packing plant and silo in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. The packing plant and 6000t silo will be located at Jalan Raya Wajok Hilir, 25km from Pontianak and it is intended to improve the company's logistic network in Kalimantan.

"With the facility we hope to reach our operational target. Our customers will easily find our product in the market in West Kalimantan," said President Director of Holcim Indonesia Eamon Ginley. Holcim Indonesia currently operates packing plants and silos in Dumai, Batam, and Celukan.