Displaying items by tag: UK
UK: Production has restarted at the Cemex UK South Ferriby cement plant following flooding in December 2013. One of the two cement kilns has been commissioned and is producing clinker.
"Rebuilding the plant in 12 months has been no mean feat and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. The refurbished plant will allow us to continue our heritage of producing quality cement, sustainably, safely and efficiently, now and for many years to come," said Philip Baynes-Clarke, plant director. "South Ferriby plant had grown organically through the site for the last 80 years, the flood gave us the opportunity to rebuild it in a logical way to today's standards with tomorrow's production in mind."
The flood cut off the 11,000 volt electric supply and destroyed 30 switch rooms and two substations. Today over 6.4km of high voltage cable has been laid to create a new infrastructure of cables to supply the various operations throughout the site. These cables lead to one electrical substation, which houses modern electrical switchgear. In addition 30 switchrooms have been rebuilt along with the vast majority of the site's electrical systems. Other efficiencies such as LED lighting have been built in to the systems to provide savings in electricity.
With the failure of the electric supply when the flood hit, one of the kilns stopped in mid-production with hot material still in it. This caused the kiln shell to bend due to the high thermal load. Subsequently a 22m section of the 65m long kiln was replaced. All elements of the cement production process are now controlled from a centralised computer. This new control system replaces five control rooms, which are all marked for demolition in the coming months.
UK/Portugal: N+P Group, a Netherlands-based waste processing firm, has landed a contract to supply 0.7Mt of solid recovered fuel (SRF) from UK recycling companies to cement plants operated by the Portuguese companies Secil and Cimpor. This follows N+P's first shipment of SRF from Grimsby, Lincolnshire to Portugal earlier in 2014. A 'minor part' of the contract will be satisfied by using waste from France and Italy.
Chairman Karel Jennissen said, "In recent years we have invested millions in developing the UK market to provide end users of our SRF sustainable supply concept. We put a lot of effort towards optimising quality levels of SRF in the UK market and have invested in the development of sustainable logistics chains. Now N+P has several port sites at strategic locations and the possibility to use a large number of sea containers."
N+P signs solid recovered fuels deal with Secil and Cimpor
03 December 2014Portugal: N+P International has announced the signing of a five year contract for the supply of solid recovered fuels (SRF) into a number of cement plants belonging to the Portuguese cement companies Secil and Cimpor. The contract was signed by Gestão Ambiental e Valorização Energética, a subsidiary company of Secil, Cimpor and SGVR, responsible for sourcing and supply of alternative fuels and raw materials into the Portuguese cement industry.
"In the past years we have invested millions to develop UK market, to provide end users of our SRF sustainable supply concept. We have put a lot of effort in optimising quality levels of SRF in the UK market, as well as investing in the development of sustainable logistic chains. Now N+P has several port sites at strategic locations and the possibility to use a large number of sea containers," said Karel Jennissen, chairman of N+P.
By signing the contract N+P has committed to supply over 700,000t of SRF in the next five years. The majority of the SRF is already sourced and contracted by companies in the UK recycling market. A minor part of the volume will be sourced in Italy and France.
Coretrax launches CX-IST technology for well cement placement
14 November 2014UK: Coretrax, leading engineered service for wellbore clean and abandonment, has launched its CX-IST (Inflation Support Tool) to the oil and gas market, following a US$3m development investment.
The CX-IST significantly reduces rig time, offering substantial cost savings. It gives a positive indication that the cement will be set in the correct place before latching at the bottom of the work string, using a pre-installed landing sub. Once secure, pump pressure inflates the elastomer to seal the wellbore. The IST is then released by picking up the work string. The CX-IST creates a 100% wall-to-wall base for well cement or fluid. The operator can deploy as many ISTs as needed in the same or multiple zones without tripping the drill pipe in and out of the hole, providing significant operator time and cost reductions.
"This is a monumental success for Coretrax and a game changer for the entire industry," said Kenny Murray, managing director at Coretrax. "The team is passionate about the business and has worked tirelessly for three years, from initial stages, to produce an innovative product, which will benefit the oil and gas sector."
LafargeHolcim to retain Cauldon cement plant
10 November 2014UK: In January 2014, the UK Competition Commission (CC) instructed Lafarge Tarmac to sell one of its two cement plants to enable a new company to compete in the industry. In light of the LafargeHolcim merger, Lafarge plans to sell Lafarge Tarmac and all of its assets in the UK, with the exception of the Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire, to a new market entrant. Following the merger, the newly-formed LafargeHolcim would retain the Cauldon cement plant.
The Cauldon plant would remain under the management of Lafarge Tarmac until the merger. "There is unlikely to be much change for employees," said a Lafarge Tarmac spokesperson. "Until the LafargeHolcim merger is completed, the plant remains part of Lafarge Tarmac and will be managed as such with no change for employees, customers or suppliers." The decision was made by the company's shareholders.
Votorantim interested in Lafarge Tarmac
02 October 2014Brazil/UK: Lafarge Tarmac, the UK's largest cement firm, may be bought by the Latin American conglomerate Votorantim. The mooted deal comes as giant cement firms Lafarge of France and Holcim of Switzerland sell off assets as they pursue their merger, announced in April 2014.
Scotland’s Cement Industry
17 September 2014Tomorrow (18 September 2014) the residents of Scotland, one of the UK's four 'home nations', will vote in a referendum. The question will be whether or not the country should leave the UK and become fully independent. Rival 'Yes' and 'No' campaigns have spent the best part of two years trying to convince the electorate of the benefits of either leaving or staying in the UK.
Leaving the political discussion to one side, where would a 'Yes' vote leave the Scottish cement industry? The only cement plant in Scotland is the 1Mt/yr Lafarge Tarmac plant at Dunbar, East Lothian, so on the face of it, Scotland's cement industry would be 100% owned by one operator. At this stage, however, it is (hopefully) fair to assume that relations between Scotland and the rest of the UK should be cordial enough to allow normal supply chains and contracts to continue over the border. Lafarge Tarmac, or any future operator, should expect business as (mostly) usual.
However, there are potential issues when it comes to the ongoing UK Competition Commission's (CC) investigation into competition in the UK cement and blast furnace slag markets. The removal of Dunbar from the list of UK cement assets is small but significant. Would the CC come to the same conclusion regardless of the outcome of the Scottish vote? And (how) would any decisions filter into the EU-wide investigations into the LafargeHolcim merger disposals?
Part of the discussion around Scottish independence has been the suggestion that Welsh nationalists might ask for a similar referendum in the event of a Scottish 'Yes.' In our cement plant thought experiment, this has much more of an effect on the current UK situation, with two Welsh plants at Mold, Flintshire and Aberthaw, Roose, which is also a Lafarge Tarmac plant. This would really re-shape the former UK's cement industry and pose new questions for regulators. Elsewhere, Northern Ireland's only cement plant is also a Lafarge Tarmac facility.
Also, a 'Yes' for Scotland has the potential to reverberate around the rest of the European Union (EU). Catalonia, the autonomous region in Spain, has a long-standing and separate identity to the rest of Spain. By contrast to Scotland, its cement industry is massive, with Ciment Català listing eight plants across four operators. If it left Spain, there would be 30 plants in the country instead of 38.
More provocatively, Belgium is a country that, while at the centre of Europe, is often divided at home. French-speaking Wallonia has all five of Belgium's cement plants, but separation between this region and the Dutch-speaking Flemish region would require a number of unlikely changes.
Elsewhere, there are calls to separate the north of Italy from the south, although cement plants are roughly in proportion throughout the country. In France, Brittany also has its fair share of nationalist sentiment. However, any moves here would not trouble the French operators - there are no cement plants in Brittany. Normandy is in the same situation, although a Breton would probably claim that Normandy is 'just part of France.'
The above is only a scratch on the surface. A quick internet search for 'separatist movements in Europe' leads to a large number of hits. The most illustrative of the links is this map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_separatist_movements_in_Europe#mediaviewer/File:Active_separatist_movements_in_the_European_Union.png
It appears that many EU residents would like the map of Europe redrawn.
Looking outside of the EU, the cement industry of Texas has the largest cement industry of all US states. With huge oil reserves, a large and growing population and fast development, Texas' cement industry would thrive in the event of its secession. Discussion of this was particularly strong following the re-election of President Barack Obama in 2012.
Of course, much of the above is hypothetical... or is it? Just two year's ago nobody was talking about Scottish independence. We will find out tomorrow if Europe will get a new (Scottish) cement industry.
HeidelbergCement’s Hanson Building Products files for IPO
16 September 2014UK/US: Hanson Building Products Ltd, which is owned by HeidelbergCement AG, filed with US regulators for an initial public offering of ordinary shares. BofA Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank Securities are underwriting the IPO, Hanson told the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a preliminary prospectus on 15 September 2014.
HeidelbergCement agreed to buy Hanson plc, which includes Hanson Building, for Euro10Bn in 2007 to create the world's second-largest construction materials company. Hanson Building produces concrete gravity pipe, concrete and steel pressure pipe and clay bricks in the US, eastern Canada and the UK. However, HeidelbergCement has been aiming to offload its US and UK building products business in 2014 to have the best chance of buying cement assets that Lafarge and Holcim must sell when they merge, according to Reuters.
Hanson Building's filing included a nominal fundraising target of about Euro77.3m. The filing did not reveal how many shares the company planned to sell or their expected price. Hanson Building intends to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange but did not specify the symbol. HeidelbergCement, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the German cement manufacturer, is selling all the shares in the offering and Hanson Building will not receive any of the proceeds.
Hanson Building reported net income of Euro11.5m for the first six months of 2014, compared with a loss of Euro195m during the same period of 2013. Net sales, however, dropped by 47% year-on-year to Euro462m.
UK/Singapore: The private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is in discussion with Singapore's Government Investment Corporation (GIC) about a combined bid for assets being sold by Holcim and Lafarge as they prepare to merge, according to Sky News. CVC is also understood to be talking to other state investment funds about the proposed deal.
At least two other private equity groups have been formed to bid for the divestments that Holcim and Lafarge are preparing to sell. Blackstone has teamed up with Cinven and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. BC Partners and Advent International are also preparing a joint bid. Initial offers are understood to be due in September 2014.
Environnement SA acquires monitoring firm PCME
08 August 2014France/UK: Environnement SA, the French supplier of environmental monitoring equipment and the company PCME Ltd, the UK-based supplier of continuous particulate monitors for industrial processes, have announced the acquisition of PCME by Environnement SA.
The firms say that the acquisition allows the enlarged group to offer the most advanced and wide range of solutions worldwide so that it can match present and future challenges in respect of process or regulatory environmental monitoring requirements for industrial processes. This new alliance will shortly launch a new range of flow emission monitors and will engage in innovative joint research and development projects towards the production of new product ranges. Each entity will keep its own autonomy, with PCME retaining its current management team and employees.
François Gourdon, president and founder of Environnement SA, said, "We are very enthusiastic about the opportunities that we'll be able to provide to our worldwide industrial customers. The expertise of PCME for the monitoring of particulate in industrial processes, combined with the expertise of Environnement SA in the monitoring and detection of very low concentrations of gas and fine particulate, including PM10 or PM2.5, will definitively provide a new generation of equipment for the industrial regulatory market."
William Averdieck, managing director and founder of PCME Ltd, said, "Both management teams have known each other for many years and have respect for the success they have both achieved in similar markets with complementary product lines. This strong partnership announced today will boost our organic growth plan and strategy, allowing us to double our revenue within five years, reaching new customers, new markets and new applications worldwide, while maintaining our strength as an innovative (and passionate) manufacturer of particulate and flow instruments."