Global Cement News

India: Emami Group is considering an initial public offering (IPO) for its cement subsidiary, Emami Cement. The IPO is intended to generate funds for expansion, according to sources quoted by the Hindu newspaper. The company has appointed a consultant to explore public issue prospects and preliminary discussions have started with merchant bankers. The cement producer has invested over US$575m to double its production capacity to 8Mt/yr from 4.4Mt/yr in the current financial year with plants in Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.

Mexico: Holcim Mexico is launching two new brands for the local market. Holcim Prefacem is targeted for precast concrete elements and Holcim Supercem, a Composite Class 40 Portland Cement, is aimed at ready-mix concrete plants. Both products were developed by the company’s Centre for Building Technological Innovation (CiTec ) and are being produced at its Ramos Arizpe plant. Holcim Prefacem and Holcim Supercem will be first available near to the Ramos Arizpe plant in the states of Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Durango, Zacatecas, Tamaulipas and Coahuila.

"Innovation makes a difference. With the support of Holcim Mexico and LafargeHolcim worldwide, we aim to cover the needs of specific market segments, with products that enhance our clients’ profitability”, said Marco Maccarelli, Corporate Sales Director Cement and Retail of Holcim Mexico.

Italy: Exergy has signed a contract with Cementi Rossi for a 3.5MW organic rankine cycle (ORC) waste heat recovery (WHR) system to be installed at the Pederobba plant near Treviso. The scope of the contract includes engineering, design, site erection, commissioning and start up of the power plant and a long term after sales service.

Exergy designed a customized and compact ORC solution to convert approximately 16MWt available from exhaust heat in the clinker cooler into 3.5MW of electricity utilising an air cooled condensing system, a radial outflow turbine as expander and choosing a non-flammable fluid to grant maximum safety during plant operation. The electricity produced by the ORC module will feed approximately the 30% of the energy demand of the cement plant.

“Our ORC WHR systems, leveraging on the higher efficiency of the radial outflow turbine, can help to boost at maximum level the performance of cement plants. For Cementi Rossi in particular we worked to supply a tailor made solution, choosing a non-flammable fluid in the cycle and a very compact plant design with a high level of prefabricated components to reduce costs and time for erection,” said Claudio Spadacini, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Exergy.

Zambia: China National Building Material (CNBM) Zambia has commissioned a building materials plant at Chongwe Mapande Industrial Park near Lusaka. The company has invested an estimated US$500m in the project, according to the Lusaka Times. The first phase of the project includes a 1Mt/yr cement plant, a brick plant, a ready-mix concrete plant, an aggregate production line and a sand plant.

China: Anhui Conch says it has resumed production at three production lines at the cement plant run by its Tongling Conch subsidiary at Gusheng in Anhui province. In late July 2018, Tongling Conch received a written notification from the Tongling Environmental Protection Bureau requesting the ‘immediate’ resumption of operation of Tongling Conch’s waste incineration and ancillary systems for treatment of domestic waste of Tongling City. The suspension of production at the cement plant followed the temporary closure of a pier used by the plant in late May 2018 in accordance with new government regulations on drinking water supply and pollution.