Displaying items by tag: US

US: Schenck Process has launched a new Vertical Cartridge Filter (VCF) that removes industrial dust when handling medium to high air volumes. A core feature of the product is a cartridge clamp system that is intended to simplify replacement of the filter media and minimise maintenance time.

The filter is also equipped with a smart timer which includes an on-board sensor that reads the pressure drop across the filtering elements for on demand cleaning. A standard radial inlet allows for material separation during moderate air volume applications while an optional high entry inlet with a pre-separation chamber is designed for high volume systems. The chamber separates the largest powder particles protecting the media from excess loads of pollutants and aiding longer media life.

Each unit is constructed with reinforced carbon steel that is rated for 6.5psi Pred. The VCF has also been Pred validated through a full scale third party explosion test. Explosion mitigation devices are also available with the new VCF. The new filter will be manufactured in the US.

Germany’s Knauf announced this week that it is set to buy North American wallboard producer USG. The news is relevant for the cement industry because both companies are prominent gypsum producers. They are leading gypsum wallboard producers, with assets around the world, including gypsum mines. Although their focus is on wallboard a significant proportion of raw gypsum ends up being used in cement production. Hence, the takeover of a major North American producer by a European one deserves attention.

First a little background on the deal between Knauf and USG. The takeover has been a particularly acrimonious one at times, with both parties throwing strong language at each other and, although it has avoided being a hostile takeover, at times it seemed close. The deal became public in March 2018 when USG publicly said that it had rejected a bid of US$5.9bn from Knauf. It described the offer at the time as ‘wholly inadequate.’ Knauf then fought back by sending a letter to USG’s shareholders urging them to vote against director nominees at the next annual general meeting. Knauf owns 10.5% of USG’s shares. Then, in April 2018, Warren Buffett, the chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway, USG’s largest shareholder with a 31% stake, swung behind Knauf’s scheme. At this point it was revealed that Buffett had facilitated the initial talks between USG and Knauf. He even described the investment in USG as ‘disappointing.’ Buffett’s public move against USG in April 2018 signalled the death knell to USG’s independence. The US$7bn deal between Knauf and USG was agreed and announced on 11 June 2018. The transaction is expected to complete in early 2019.

USG operates 12 mines or quarries in North America. It also has other assets around the world including three gypsum mines in Oman, Thailand and Australia respectively that it runs in conjunction with its USG Boral joint venture in the Middle East and Asia. By contrast Knauf held over 60 quarries in 2014 with a focus on Europe.

The interesting implications from the merger may arise from what Knauf plans to do in certain regions. North America for example saw a reduction in raw mined gypsum production since the financial crash in 2008 as building markets suffered. Rising levels of synthetic gypsum production from coal power plants partly compensated for this. Buying USG gives Knauf a truly global base of natural gypsum production with which it can supply both itself and any cement customers. Knauf has a real shot of cornering the market in raw gypsum production provided it can keep the price low enough to stop enough rival mines being opened. Knauf might decide, as the construction market continues to recover in the US, to bring in the extra gypsum from elsewhere if it proved cost effective. Hooking up USG-Boral gypsum resources in Asia with Knauf’s might have implications for cement producing countries that lack sufficient gypsum supplies such as India. Oman is building itself up as the major gypsum exporter to Asia and USG-Boral is a part of it, with major gypsum resources in the country.

In terms of the cement industry it seems likely that there will be no immediate shakeup of gypsum supply. Long term supply contracts with either USG or Knauf should remain as they were and will stransfer to the new enlarged company. Knauf’s main market for gypsum is to use it to make wallboard but gypsum use for cement is a significant market as well. The ‘fun’ starts when or if Knauf starts to reorganise its supply chains. As its focus is on the wallboard business there may be implications thereafter for cement users. And since Knauf’s only major competitor at scale is Saint-Gobain, the market has just shrunk.

US: Cadence Environmental Energy has promoted Ted T Reese to Executive Vice President. Cadence provides technology for waste fuel recycling and emission reduction technology to the cement industry and is the exclusive supplier of waste-derived fuels for Ash Grove Cement. As part of the company’s succession plan founder Ted J Reese plans to hand over the presidency to Ted T Reese in 2019.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has called on the US Congress to reauthorise Federal legislation to build, maintain and improve the country’s water infrastructure. The US House of Representatives is considering two-year reauthorisation of the Water Resources Development Act of 2018, while the US Senate is considering companion legislation, America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.

“America deserves safe, strong and resilient water infrastructure – our economy depends on it,” said PCA President and chief executive office (CEO) Michael Ireland. “Water infrastructure built with concrete is long-lived, has a low life-cycle cost and is resilient to man-made and natural disasters. We need this legislation to ensure our drinking water is safe, our waterways are navigable and secure and that we have water infrastructure capable of serving generations to come.”

The PCA supports reauthorisation of water infrastructure legislation to include: increased investment in waterway and flood control infrastructure; increased funding for water infrastructure construction programs; and to promote resilient construction techniques that use materials such as concrete.

Brazil/US/Vietnam: FCT Combustion has released details on new burner projects it is involved with. Selected projects include the commissioning of Gyro-Therm burners for Kilns 1 and 2 for use with natural gas, coal, petcoke and solid alternative fuels at Lehigh Cement’s Evansville plant in Pennnsylvania in the US. The supply also included the burner management system, valve trains, fans and other accessories.

The company is also working on an upgrade to the hot gas generator at Votorantim Cimentos’ Vidal Ramos plant in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Also in this country it is supplying Turbu-Jet AF burners with blowers, ignition and flame detection systems to CSN Cimentos’ Arcos plant in Minas Gerais.

Finally, in Vietnam the burner supplier is to provide a Turbu-Jet AF burner firing low calorific value coal with fuel oil to Vinacomin’s Quan Trieu Cement plant.

US: Plibrico has appointed Aaron Ingalls as Territory Manager for the Northeastern section of the US. He is tasked with supporting and developing relationships with a network of partners and Plibrico owned construction operations. He will report to Plibrico’s Vice President of Sales, Norm Phelps.

During Ingalls’ 24-year refractory industry career, he has held various business development and sales management positions at Resco and companies that were acquired by Resco. Most recently he worked for Emerald Refractories, a refractory specialty company in Pennsylvania that he helped to launch in 2014.

US: Simon Shipp has taken over as general manager at Aumund Corporation USA, Aumund Fördertechnik’s subsidiary in the US. Shipp holds over 25 years of experience in mechanical engineering, in particular with conveying equipment for bulk materials. He succeeds Geoffrey Conroy, who has retired after 20 years in the role. Conroy will remain with the business as a consultant.

US: US Cement is in the process of obtaining a draft air permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to build a white cement plant in Brady, Texas. A public hearing on the application will be made in late June 2018. The subsidiary of Royal White Cement plans to build a single line 0.5Mt/yr white cement plant.

Canada: NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers (NACC) has bought a 25% stake in JT Cement. It joins Norway’s KGJ Cement Holdings (KGJ) and Sweden’s Erik Thun (Thun) in ownership of the cement company, which operates a fleet of seven smaller specialised pneumatic cement carriers. The investment is intended to expand NACC's global footprint into the Northern European market where KGJ and Thun have a strong presence. The daily operations of the JT Cement fleet will not change as a result of the NACC investment, with the vessels continuing to be commercially managed by KGJ's office in Bergen, Norway.

"This investment will allow us to each apply our experience and knowledge in the pneumatic cement carrier market to create additional shipping solutions to meet the needs of customers," said Ken Bloch Soerensen, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Algoma Central Corporation. NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers is a 50/50 joint venture company between Algoma Central Corporation and Luxembourg’s Nova Marine Holding.

In January 2016 Nova Marine Carriers and Algoma Central Corporation created NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers. The fleet comprises pneumatic cement carriers that utilise a compressor and pump system to load and unload cement powder.

Algoma Central Corporation operates a fleet of dry and liquid bulk carriers on the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Waterway, including self-unloading dry-bulk carriers, gearless dry-bulk carriers and product tankers. Algoma also owns ocean self-unloading dry-bulk vessels operating in international markets.

US: CalPortland has appointed Kerri L Leininger as vice president of government relations. She will be located in Washington, DC and will monitor and lobby advocacy issues at the state and federal level.

Leininger joins CalPortland after almost 14 years of working for the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) where she served as the executive vice president of government and political affairs. In her former position, she focused on industry issues that included building codes, resiliency, transportation, labour and small business.

Prior to NRMCA, Leininger worked for Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, a law firm specialising in healthcare and transportation public policy in Washington, DC. Leininger has also worked for the offices of former Senator Mike DeWine, Senator Jim Bunning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and US Representative Ed Whitfield.

Leininger is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and applied technology.