Displaying items by tag: Upgrade

Turkey: Bolu Cimento Sanayii AS has completed the conversion of its Ankara grinding facility to a fully-integrated cement plant, according to Reuters. The plant will start operations in July 2015.

Dominican Republic: According to Esmerk Latin American News, Cemex Dominicana plans to invest US$5.96m to expand the packaging and palletising capacity at its plant in San Pedro de Macoris. The investment includes a new cement packaging line that will increase its capacity by an additional 1.5m bags per month, reaching a capacity of 2.4Mt/yr. Cemex also intends to expand its cement milling capacity over the next few months and build a new facility for cement loading.

Angola: According to Macau Hub, the Kwanza Sul Cement Factory (FCKS) plans to increase its production to 4500t/day from the current 4200t/day.

The director of the plant's accounting department, Alberto Kiala, said that the increased production would result from increased financial resources to buy raw materials and fuel. FCKS, which produces the Yetu brand of cement, started operating in Angola in February 2014. The plant has units for clinker production, a 41MW power plant and a factory to produce paper bags for packing cement.

Nigeria: According to Business Day, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCCN), plans to inject US$241m into the ongoing modernisation of its facilities to double its production capacity.

Managing director Alf Karlsen said that the project would raise the company's cement production capacity by 200% to 1.5Mt/yr. "The expansion is part of the ongoing modernisation and cost optimisation programme. It aims to reduce costs and enhance production capacity with a view to ensuring that CCNN remains competitive in the cement industry. The increase in installed capacity would enable the company to maintain its current market share and expand into new markets," said Karlsen. Karlsen also disclosed that CCCN has completed the acquisition of new mining areas to expand its quarry activities.

CCCN's expansion project has led to the relocation of the Sabon-Gida, Danatu and Gidan Mubaga villages, 'to a fully developed new settlement provided by the firm.' "CNN provided the land for resettlement, constructed access roads, provided electricity, mechanised borehole with reticulation, as well as a community mosque, clinic, primary and Islamiyya schools, among others. All this was done to ensure that there is an improved life for the communities as part of our corporate social responsibilities," said Karlsen.

US: CTP Sinto America, the North American business unit of Chemisch Thermische Prozesstechnik GmbH (CTP), has entered into a contract with Holcim (US) to supply emissions reductions equipment for one of the cement kilns at Holcim's Midlothian plant in Texas. In the project, exhaust gases from the main baghouse and coal mill baghouse are combined and sent to the new system and then directed to the existing wet scrubber.

The project scope includes supply and installation of a CTP Model AutoTherm6-4200 designed to handle 420,000 Nm3/hr of gas and duct modifications required to route the gas to the regenerative thermal oxidiser (RTO) and return it to the exhaust. CTP Sinto America will provide engineering, manufacturing, project management, field operations, installation and commissioning. Controls will be integrated into Holcim's existing plant-wide DCS. The system will be ready for operation in 2016. The RTO will be manufactured at subsidiary SandMold Systems in Newaygo, Michigan with some specialty parts manufactured at CTP facilities in Austria.

Spain: Lafarge has invested a total of Euro20m in its Spanish plant of Montcada i Reixac, Catalonia in the last 10 years. Lafarge has most recently invested Euro200,000 to upgrade two of its crusher filters, which capture the dust produced during the processing of raw materials.

Russia: Russia's cement consumption may fall by 5 - 10% in 2015, according to Eurocement Group forecasts. The cement market contracted by 9% in January - April 2015. The decline slowed to 4 - 5% in May 2015, according to preliminary data.

The situation on the construction market is currently unfavourable for cement production as borrowing is too expensive, which slows new construction and gives developers an incentive to monetise projects at the implementation stage. "Developers are currently trying to complete projects that are already underway, so consumption of finished products has increased and companies are reluctant to begin new construction projects, which takes a toll on cement consumption," said Eurocement president Mikhail Skorokhod.

Eurocement has continued to upgrade its cement plants and all of its plants will switch to the dry-process for cement production by 2020. The programme will boost Eurocement's production capacity to 60Mt/yr from 50Mt/yr. Capital investment in the upgrades will total an estimated Euro1.62bn.

At the start of July 2015, a 1.3Mt/yr capacity plant will be commissioned in Ulyanovsk region's Sengileevsky district, according to Skorokhod. The plant will have the option of shipping product on the Volga river, reducing some of Eurocement's logistical costs.

Philippines: Eagle Cement plans to build its production capacity with an investment of US$1.2bn. Owner Ramon S Ang revealed to local media that he intends to build two new 2Mt/yr cement plants at Cebu and Davao in 2015. In addition the company is also adding one more line with a 2Mt/yr production capacity to its existing cement facility in San Ildefonso, Bulacan.

"We are now finishing the second line and preparing to put up a third line. With the third Eagle line, it will be even bigger than the asset being sold by Lafarge," said Ang. Upon completion of the third line, the Bulacan plant will have a production capacity of 6Mt/yr. According to Ang, each cement line with a 2Mt/yr capacity costs US$400m.

Eagle Cement produces and distributes cement under the brands Eagle Cement Advance and Eagle Cement Strongcem.

San Miguel Corp, the Manilla based multinational for which Ang serves as president, formally entered the cement business in 2013 when it paid US$78.6m for a 35% stake in Northern Cement. The cement company with a production facility in Pangasinan has a capacity of 2Mt/yr.

Brazil: CSN Cimentos plans to invest US$608m towards building two new cement plants in Arcos and Romaria in Minas Gerais. The next step is for a letter of intention to be signed by state and municipal authorities, according to local media. Additionally, CSN's existing cement plant in Volta Redonda will be upgraded with a new clinker kiln and three mills. The plants cement production capacity will be increased by 2.4Mt/yr to 5.4Mt/yr.

Zimbabwe: Sino Zimbabwe Cement Company is now operating at 60% capacity utilisation following a US$4m investment in a three-phase plant upgrade.

Phase one upgrades were undertaken on the cement mill and rotary kiln in order to boost cement output. The completion of the kiln upgrade has seen Sino Zimbabwe Cement improve its energy consumption and reduce its carbon footprint, while the new high-temperature bag filter system will significantly reduce dust emissions. The second phase of upgrades will target the warehousing and storage facilities and are expected to be completed in 2015. The third phase will be completed in 2016.

"The completion of the first phase boosted clinker production at the Gweru plant. Now we can produce 700,000t/yr," said Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ) public relations advisor Dereck Sibanda. "The amount invested went towards refurbishments of the cement mill, the rotary kiln as well as renewing and automating ancillary equipment."

Sibanda said that cement demand is at its peak and that Sino Zimbabwe Cement will continue its upgrades to improve viability. "The second phase is expected to be complete sometime this year and we are quite confident of our prospects considering the richness of our limestone deposits," said Sibanda.

Sino-Zim is a joint venture company between IDCZ and China Buildings Materials Corporation, which started operating in 2001. The US$4m investment by the Chinese shareholder was to boost output and reduce pollution. Sibanda said that the new technology would help Sino Zimbabwe Cement to reduce its emissions. In 2013, it was fined by the Environmental Management Agency for air pollution.