Displaying items by tag: Upgrade

Saudi Arabia: Qassim Cement plans to build a new 10,000t/day production line at its Buraydah cement plant to replace some of the site’s existing lines. Construction will begin in the first half of 2022. The company will announce the cost of the project after completing preliminary studies.

India: Orient Cement plans to invest US$215m to increase the production capacity of its 7.5Mt/yr Devapur, Telangana, cement plant to 11.5Mt/yr, according to the Hindustan Times newspaper. The company previously expanded the plant’s capacity from 3.0Mt/yr at a cost of US$290m in 2019.

India: Ramco Cements plans to invest US$80.8m in future upgrades to its cement plants before 30 March 2022. In the first quarter of the 2022 financial year, which begun on 1 April 2021, the company invested US$53.9m in upgrades. The Hindustan Times newspaper has reported that realisation of its spending plan would bring the producer’s total upgrade investments for the 2022 financial year to US$135m.

Jamaica: Cemex plans to upgrade its integrated Rockfort plant. The project will increase the unit’s production capacity by around 0.3Mt/yr. At present it has a capacity of 2Mt/yr. The expansion will introduce new grinding additives to the manufacturing process and further enhance the production of low clinker products in the region. The upgrade is planned for the second half of 2022. Cemex operates locally through its subsidiary, Caribbean Cement.

"At Caribbean Cement Company, we reiterate our commitment to the sustainable development of Jamaica's economy. With this investment, we will create jobs and promote the local industry in the country while minimising our carbon footprint," said Jesus Gonzalez, president of Cemex South, Central America and the Caribbean.

US: Flexicon has expanded the production facilities at its headquarters at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The increased 4645m² space at the site will be used to store sub-assemblies, crating and the staging of assembled equipment. This will allow the main plant to increase its production capacity for fabrication and assembly.

Flexicon specialises in bulk handling equipment. It owns and operates manufacturing facilities in Brisbane, Australia and Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and maintains factory-direct sales offices in Barcelona in Spain, Santiago in Chile and Singapore.

India: Ambuja Cement plans to spend around US$42m on upgrading its Ropar grinding plant in Punjab. The unit will have its capacity increased by 1.5Mt to 4.5Mt/yr by June 2023. It will install a new vertical roller mill and will produce cement using fly ash. The expansion is part of the company’s aim to reach a cement production capacity of 50Mt/yr.

Mexico/US: GCC plans to spend US$450 - 500m on upgrade projects to its cement business over the next three years to 2024. It is considering building a new 1.1Mt/yr clinker production line at an unnamed existing plant but the board of directors has yet to make a final decision. Other projects include strengthening the group’s cement distribution network in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Utah in the US. This would also include building two new cement terminals. A debottlenecking project is being planned at the Samalayuca plant in Chihuahua state. This would increase the plant’s production capacity by 0.2Mt/yr and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022. A final project is also scheduled for the Chihuahua plant to improve operational efficiency, and enhance social and environmental responsibility.

In earnings conference call notes for the second quarter of 2021 the cement producer reported for the US: “Every kiln at GCC is up and running; for practical purposes, our system is sold out.” It also noted bottlenecks in its grinding, storage and shipping installed capacity.

Ghana: Ghacem plans to spend US$100m on building a new cement plant at Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. The new 1.5Mt/yr unit at Kumasi is intended to serve central and northern regions of the country, according to the Daily Graphic newspaper. The plant will use calcined clay as an additive. Construction is expected to take 18 months with commissioning planned for the first quarter of 2023.

The subsidiary of Germany-based HeidelbergCement is also planning upgrades to its grinding plants at Tema and Takoradi. The work at the Tema will include the addition of a new grinding and packing plant and an upgrade of existing equipment. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. Work at Takoradi will then follow afterwards.

France: Vicat’s consolidated sales rose by 19.6% year-on-year to Euro1.56bn in the first half of 2021 from US$1.30bn in the same period in 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 41% to Euro300m from Euro213m. Sales and earnings rose in all territories on an adjusted basis as markets recovered from a poor second quarter in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, particularly in India and France.

“Focused on its carbon footprint reduction targets, the group has accelerated the commercialisation of its low-carbon product lines, adapted to the global climate challenge,” said Guy Sidos, the group’s chairman and chief executive officer. The company added that the upgrade of its Ragland cement plant in the US is on track for expected commissioning in the first half of 2022 and that it is ramping up a new mill in Mali.

India: Ramco Cements plans to invest US$64m in a modernisation and capacity expansion of its Ramasay Raja Nagar cement plant in Tamil Nadu. The Hindu newspaper has reported that the project involves building a new 3000t/day clinker line to replace a 1450t/day line. This will increase the plant’s overall capacity by 32% to 1.44Mt/yr from 1.09Mt/yr. The company has placed equipment orders for the project and plans to commissions the upgrade in December 2022. It expects to receive environmental clearance for the work in September 2021.