Displaying items by tag: digitisation

UK: Cemcor has migrated its existing SAP asset management system over to IBM Maximo Application Suite (MAS). Cemcor says that IBM MAS offers a 360°, real-time view of its operations across multiple sites, enabling the company to resolve maintenance challenges, optimise its assets, increase the lifespan of essential equipment and remove inefficiencies. Peacock Engineering delivered the new system and will continue to provide support services with the platform.

Peacock Engineering’s chief operating officer Matt Deadman said “We’re thrilled to be working with Cemcor over the course of the next three years. We have already completed the first stage of our change programme with the successful delivery of its new enterprise asset management system. MAS is one of IBM’s sustainability software solutions. It will provide Cemcor with a clearer view of its assets, which include heavy plant and processing equipment, and help in mitigating the current challenges found in its maintenance programme.”

Japan: Tokuyama Corporation has installed ABB’s Expert Optimizer automated optimisation system in the kiln line of its Nanyo cement plant. The system controls the line’s calciner, kiln and cooler processes. The supplier says that the technology will reduce the Nanyo cement plant’s thermal energy consumption by 3%.

Tokuyama Corporation "We selected ABB's Expert Optimizer to equalise operations and improve operational efficiency. As expected, we have significantly reduced the number of the operator manual operations normally spent on manual tasks.” It added “We believe that this solution will also support our young operators in learning the know-how of our operations efficiently."

Greece: Titan Cement Group published its 2022 Integrated Report on 6 April 2023. The report outlines the cement producer’s financial and environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. For the full year, the group recorded a net profit of Euro110m, up by 19.3% year-on-year. It made ‘record’ capital expenditure investments of Euro242m, and increased its net debt by 12% to Euro797m.

The group says that it is ‘on track’ to meet its ESG targets for 2025 and beyond. It reduced its specific CO₂ emissions by 5% decade-on-decade in 2022. Throughout the year, Titan Cement Group continued its investments in research, development and innovation activities across all markets, with an increased focus on carbon capture, storage and utilisation. It also rolled out its digital transformation to further plants around the globe.

Switzerland: Holcim has commissioned the world's first cement plant digital twin at one of its cement plants in Switzerland. The software models the plant and is integrated with sensors, analytics and machine learning technology. UK-based HyBird also participated in the development of the technology. Holcim expects it to help to optimise its operations. Under its Plants of Tomorrow automation strategy, it will now aim to roll out the system across all of its cement plants, beginning with those in Europe.

Holcim's global head of Plants of Tomorrow, Rozemarijn Wesby, said "Our digital twin in Switzerland is a breakthrough for the entire industry. By leveraging digital technologies like this, we are generating massive amounts of data, allowing smarter decision-making to take our operational efficiency to the next level."

Philippines: Holcim Philippines carried out 70 upgrades aimed at increasing automation in its operations during 2022. The projects aim to optimise cement production, generate cost savings and ensure best safety practices. The Manila Times has reported that new Industry 4.0 initiatives include equipment monitoring systems offering 90-day performance projections, software capable of predicting cement's strength development and drones to replace visual inspections in remote spaces.

Holcim Philippines said that it is currently exploring the use of new predictive technologies in its operations.

Israel: Cemex subsidiary ReadyMix Industries has placed a new order with transport safety technology supplier SaverOne 2014. The ready-mix concrete producer ordered a further 25 mobile phone control units for its truck fleet. The units are cloud-enabled and run off a mobile app which blocks drivers from using phones when their vehicle is in motion. The smart system can detect when a truck is stopped and differentiate between driver and passenger, enabling access when needed. Users can integrate their fleet's units with existing logistics management systems.

ReadyMix Industries completed a successful trial of SaverOne 2014's system earlier in 2022.

China: Gansu Shangfeng Cement has announced plans for the establishment of a new building materials digital intelligence research company. Local press has reported that the company will function as a joint venture of a Gansu Shangfeng Cement subsidiary and another company. Gansu Shangfeng Cement says that the new venture will have registered capital of US$70.3m.

Brazil: Germany-based INFORM has established a joint venture with its partner Portia LAC in São Paulo. The new company called INFORM PORTIA will take over sales, consulting and support for INFORM software products in Brazil.

Andreas Meyer, the chief executive officer of INFORM, said “With this joint venture, we are expanding our presence in South America to meet the growing demand for software solutions to optimise business processes.” He added, “This joint venture is an important building block in our global network. We strive to maintain a relationship with our customers based on partnership and trust. However, this is much more successful if you also have a local presence.” In addition to its headquarters in Aachen in Germany and new joint venture in Brazil, INFORM is represented by five other INFORM related companies in the US, Chile, Australia, Singapore, and Portugal respectively.

US: Titan America has successfully implemented machine learning monitoring and adjustment software systems at its cement plants at Pennsuco in Florida and Roanoke in Virginia. The producer says that the increased automation will enhance the plants' efficiency, reliability and product quality.

President and chief executive officer Bill Zarkalis said "I'm incredibly proud to mark the end-to-end digital transformation of our cement plants. A systematic process of test and learn that started several years ago has reached an important milestone.”

HeidelbergCement’s latest sustainability target has been to reduce the ‘cement’ footprint from its own name. From this week it has become Heildelberg Materials. Of the top ten global cement producers in Global Cement Magazine’s roundup in the December 2021 issue only three now have the word ‘cement’ in their names.

In Heildelberg Materials’ own words, the “new brand identity underlines the company's pioneering role on the path to carbon neutrality and digitalisation in the building materials industry.” Chair Dominik von Achten then goes on to explain that the company is proud of its cement business but its range of services goes far beyond cement. This is certainly true but in 2021 the cement business generated 44% of the group’s revenue. 19% came from aggregates, 25% from ready-mixed concrete plus asphalt and the remaining 12% from services and other lines.

Yet, Heidelberg Materials is also a leader in driving innovation in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) for the cement sector with a full production line capture unit planned for commissioning in 2024 at the Brevik plant in Norway. When it opens it will be the only full scale CCUS unit at a cement plant anywhere in the world. The group further plans to reduce the CO₂ footprint of its cementitious products to below 500kg/t CO₂ by 2030 and aims to generate half of its revenue from low-carbon products. These are not small achievements or ambitions.

Meanwhile, Holcim completed the divestment of its Indian business to Adani Group this week for US$6.4bn. For Holcim the move marks a milestone in the reshaping of its business away from developing markets and the diversification on its product lines into light (and more sustainable) building materials. So why would a company like Adani Group move into the cement sector when multinationals are getting out?

Money is the obvious answer and the one group owner Gautam Adani raised at a speech marking his latest mega-acquisition. He said, “Our entry into this business is happening at a time when India is on the cusp of one of the greatest economic surges seen in the modern world.” He expects his new cement arm to become the most profitable cement producer in the country although his competitors may have other ideas. As well as operational efficiency, Adani also plans to inject US$2.5bn into the business as part of plans to increase its production capacity to 140Mt/yr in the next five years, from around 70Mt/yr at present. However, the financial press in India and elsewhere has wondered how much debt Adani Group can cope with and whether it will consolidate its latest acquisitions or simply use them to buy into even more sectors. Time will tell.

Lastly, it should be noted that Adani Group’s new rival UltraTech Cement has targeted a production capacity of 154Mt/yr by 2025. Any growth in the Indian market will clearly be contested. It is also worth noting that the latter company has retained ‘cement’ in its name. For now at least.