Displaying items by tag: Venezuela

Venezuela: The Corporacion Socialista del Cemento expects to produce 6Mt of cement in 2017 to meet national demand. Marco Tulio Diaz, president of the construction federation Federación Bolivariana de la Construcción, said that distribution channels are to be reinforced, according to the El Universal newspaper. He added the country expects to export 0.3Mt of cement in 2017. In 2016 about 55% of cement production despatched to the popular housing program Gran Misión Vivienda Venezuela and 45% was reserved for the private sector.

Venezuela: The Venezolana de Cementos (Vencemos) Guayana grinding plant in Bolivar state needs US$47m to repair its transport fleet. Union head Johnny Linares said that only four vehicles out of 65 are working correctly in comments made to the Ultimas Noticias newspaper. The fleet is used to move clinker from the cement producer’s Pertigalete cement plant to the grinding plant. Production capacity at the plant fell to 28% at 97,000t in 2016 from 346,000t in 2012. Linares added that the national cement industry only received an investment of US$7m in 2016 but that he believes it requires US$25m/yr.

Venezuela: The filter system at the Venezolana de Cementos (Vencemos) plant in Pertigalete is to be upgraded. The plant has reportedly had a capacity utilisation rate of 20% due to its filters, according to the Nueva Prensa newspaper. The state-owned company lacks the funding to import new equipment so the work will be conducted locally with a budget of US$25m. The upgrade is expected to be completed by the end of February 2017.

Following inspections at the plant, managers denied that the plant was operating at 20% of its capacity, despite the comments of workers at the plant. However, they did agree that its was operating below full capacity due to faulty equipment at the Planta I unit. Workers protested in mid-January 2017 over high levels of emissions at the plant

The Pertigalete plant reportedly produced 45% of all cement in the country in 2016 and it has a target of 66% in 2017.

Venezuela: Union representatives from the Corporacion Socialista de Cemento have met with their counterparts from the aluminium industry to discuss how to obtain a collective contract for workers in the cement industry. The Cement Union Coalition (Coalicion de los Sindicatos Cementeros), comprising unions such as Sintracemex, Sintraboica, Sutracompeblo, Invecem and Sintracea, is seeking to sign a national unified agreement for cement workers to unify worker benefits, according to the Nueva Prensa newspaper. At present there are over 20 collective contracts in the cement sector with variations in wages and working conditions. The union has compiled a draft collective contract that will be revised before being passed to the government for negotiation.

Venezuela: Cemento Andino has reported that work on its second production line at its cement plant in Candelaria, Trujillo is 70% complete. The new line will be completed in 2017. The US$103m line has a 1.12Mt/yr clinker production capacity and a 1.36Mt/yr cement production capacity. At present the cement plant has a clinker production capacity of 0.75Mt/yr. The plant was nationalised by the Venezuelan government in late 2006.

Venezuela: Representatives from the Sintuecav union have urged the government to invest in the cement industry. The union said that if no money is provided then Venezolana de Cementos might not be able to continue operations past June 2016, according to El Informador. Sintuecav added that cement production has more than halved since the country nationalised its cement industry in 2008. Before nationalisation Venezolana de Cementos exported clinker from its Pertigalete cement plant. From January to September 2014 it imported 120,000t of clinker from Peru and Spain.

Venezuela: Production has been disrupted at the Industria Venezolana del Cemento (Invecem) cement plant due to a lack of raw materials. Despite this, a new 1Mt/yr production line at the plant was inaugurated on 3 March 2016. The upgrade cost US$168m according to the El Carabobeno newspaper. Other problems reported at the site include machine failures.

Venezuela: President Nicolas Maduro has dedicated a new cement production line at the Invecem cement plant in San Sebastian de los Reyes, Aragua. The project has cost US$168m and is part of an agreement between China and Venezuela to build 2.1Mt/yr in production capacity.

Venezuela: AVIC International Beijing Co Ltd and its customer Industria Venezolana del Cemento (INVECEM) have ordered two vertical roller mills for INVECEM's new cement plant in Monay, Trujillo, Venezuela. The order comprises a LM 53.3+3C for grinding clinker and an LM 48.4 raw meal mill.

The new cement plant is a joint venture project of the governments of Venezuela and China, which have agreed to build three new cement plants in Venezuela, each with 2500t/day of cement production capacity.

The LM 48.4 LOESCHE vertical roller mill will grind cement raw material with a capacity of 280t/hr at 12% R0.09mm. The LM 53.3+3C cement mill will produce 200t/hr of Ordinary Portland cement with a fineness of 3200 Blaine. LDC classifiers are also included. Delivery of the key parts is planned for November 2015.

Venezuela: Cemex has reached an agreement with the trade union representing its workers, Sintracea, regarding a new collective agreement. It is understood that discussions over a new agreement had been stalled for several years. As part of the new agreement, workers will receive a pay rise of Euro426, effective from 1 April 2015. This will benefit 1043 workers employed by Cemex at its plant in Pertigalete, Guanta, Anzoategui.