Vietnam: Long Son Cement says that it has nearly completed the installation of a new kiln line at its Long Son cement plant. When commissioned in December 2020, the latest expansion will increase the plant’s capacity by 2.5Mt/yr to 7.0Mt/yr. The Việt Nam News newspaper has reported the cost of the upgrade as US$172m.
The new line is Vietnam’s 86th and brings the country’s integrated capacity to 106Mt/yr, against a domestic demand of 70Mt/yr.
Australia: James Hardie’s group sales rose by 4% to US$1.36bn in the first half of its 2021 financial year from US$1.32bn in the first half of its 2020 financial year. Its adjusted earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) were US$288m, up by 11% from US$258m.
Jack Truong said, “Delivering these record results is a confirmation that the global strategy we launched in early 2019 to transform James Hardie into a high-performing, world-class organisation is on track and is accelerating. This is now the sixth consecutive quarter that our team has delivered growth above market with strong returns.”
South Korea: SungShin Cement has placed an order with Denmark-based FLSmidth for the supply of two HotPlate combustion devices for installation in lines three and six of its SungShin cement plant. The plant is in the transition from coal fuel to the possibility of 100% alternative fuel (AF) use in the two lines, which it plans to commission in mid and late 2021 respectively.
Team manager of production technology Cho K-R said, “With its degree of flexibility, the HotDisc allows us to substitute coal with a wide range of AFs – refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in our case. As we turn waste into energy, the HotDisc lowers our operating costs without compromising energy efficiency.”
FLSmidth previously delivered two HotDiscs to South Korea, to SsangYong’s Donghae and Yeongwool cement plants.
India: JK Cement recorded sales of US$339m in the first half of the 2021 financial year, down by 3% from US$348m in the first half of the 2020 financial year. Profit after tax for the period rose by 15% to US$40.6m from US$35.4m, partly due to a 5% decrease in total expenses to US$285m from US$301.
In comments about the coronavirus pandemic the group said, “With gradual resumption of overall economic activities, operations have started moving towards normalcy."
