Global Cement News

Saudi Arabia/Yemen: Southern Province Cement has signed a deal to sell 20,000t of cement to Yemen. The deal will last for three months. It started in early December 2018 with the export of a 7000t consignment. It follows a similar agreement that Tabuk Cement agreed in late November 2018 to export products to Yemen.

Spain: Jesús Ortiz, the president of Oficemen the Spanish cement association, forecasts that exports of cement will drop by 20% year-on-year in 2019. He has blamed the situation on high electricity prices, according to the El Economista newspaper. He predicts that the local industry will have a capacity utilisation rate of 53% in 2019. He added that residential house construction was growing, but that the share of non-residential building had fallen.

Paraguay: A fault in a storage silo has spilled around 250t of cement at Industria Nacional del Cemento’s (INC) plant. The silo was reportedly closed for maintenance at the time, according to the ABC – Paraguay newspaper. The material is unrecoverable and its value was around US$0.1m. The mistake follows similar spills at other silos at the state-owned plant. Other maintenance issues have also been reported at the site.

UK: Finland’s Metso has acquired Kiln Flame Systems (KFS), a UK-based combustion solutions and technology provide, to extend its pyro-processing portfolio and capabilities. KFS specialises in rotary kiln and calcining processes, combustion optimisation and burner technologies with patented designs. It provides solutions to a wide range of industries including minerals processing. KFS has 14 employees based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. KFS will become part of Metso's Minerals Services business area, which offers a comprehensive line of pyro processing equipment.

"Joining forces with Metso gives us the opportunity to offer our technology to a wider customer base. KFS has worked hard to establish our position and reputation as a market leader in custom-designed combustion solutions, and we are delighted to build our future and continue serving existing and new customers with Metso," said Cliff Rennie, director and chief executive officer (CEO) of KFS.

KFS was founded in 1999. It uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for burner design and system analysis supported by physical modelling.

Oman: Raysut Cement Company has ordered a waste heat recovery unit from China’s Sinoma. No cost for the deal or an expected timescale has been disclosed. The company says it is the first of its kind in the country. Once completed it is expected to reduce the company’s power costs at its plant by up to 30%.