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Irish Cement defers plan to burn tyres at Limerick plant 21 March 2016
Ireland: Irish Cement has deferred its plan to co-process tyres at its Limerick cement plant. Planning was lodged in late February 2016, according to the Irish Examiner. However a spokesman for Irish Cement said that the company had noted a few days previously that the planning application had not been made available for public inspection, due to a ‘procedural’ matter. They added that the company was working with the Limerick City and Country Council to resolve the issue.
Local Green Party candidate James Gaffney raised concerns about the plant upgrade in local press in mid-March 2016. He alleged that no public consultation was being carried out on the plant’s plans and that the application was being fast-tracked. Irish Cement denied these claims.
Irish Cement announced its plan to burn alternative fuels at its Limerick plant in December 2015.
Ecocem to open Runcorn terminal for slag cement 21 March 2016
UK/Ireland: Ecocem is to open a new terminal at Runcorn to increase its exports of slag cement to the UK. A second terminal in the south east of the UK will be opened later in 2016, according to the Irish Times. It has invested Euro5m towards building both terminals. The ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS) producer is targeting the UK market due to demand for cement coupled with changes in the coal and steel industries.
The company says it has received orders for 200,000t of slag cement in its first year and that it is not taking any further orders. Opening its second terminal in the UK is anticipated to give it access to 80% of the UK market. Ecocem produces slag cement at three grinding plants in Dublin in Ireland, Moerdijk in the Netherlands and at Fos in France.
Asia Cement revenue falls by 22% to US$986m in 2015 21 March 2016
China: Asia Cement’s revenue has fallen by 22% year-on-year to US$986m in 2015 from US$1.26bn in 2014. Its gross profit fell by 50% to US$148m from US$295m. It blamed the result on falling demand and ‘intense’ market competition leading to a 10-year market low price of cement in August 2015.
The Chinese cement producer reported sales volumes of 28Mt of cement in 2015, a similar figure to 2014. Clinker sales volumes rose slightly to 1.76Mt. By region sale volumes of cement fell in the group’s Southeastern, Central and Eastern regions but rose in the Southwestern region. The biggest fall was noted in the Eastern region, where sales volumes fell by 11% to 2.34Mt.
Measures the cement producer has taken to cope with the market include cutting costs, pushing efficiency drives and focusing on overseas markets. In May 2015, the Group's silo in Taizhou commenced operation and started exporting products. A total of 230,000t of different cement products were exported to Singapore, the US and other overseas markets during 2015.
Asia Cement noted in its outlook that China has entered an ‘adjustment’ phase in 2016 as market demand continues to decline and production capacity continues to rise. It expects the industry to ‘first fall and then rise’ in 2016 with demand picking up on the back of new infrastructure projects including the Yangtze River Economic Belt development strategy. In the medium term the group has pinned its hopes on continued government-implemented structural reform in the cement industry to eliminate overcapacity.
Martin Engineering launches Arcoplate worldwide 18 March 2016
US: Martin Engineering has launched its bimetallic wear plate product Arcoplate around the world. Originally the wear plate was sold only in Brazil by the bulk handling products firm.
Martin Arcoplate uses a chromium carbide-rich metal alloy face plate with a steel back plate to resist gouging, erosion, temperature extremes and material build-up. It is marketed for excessive wear and material accumulation issues with bulk material handling. It is available in three grades. Alloy 1600 is designed for high abrasion and high impact applications. Alloy 1040 is engineered for moderate impact and cyclic temperatures up to 500°C. Alloy 8668 is suitable for extreme temperature applications, with cycles up to 700°C. Each derives its abrasion resistance from the M7C3 carbides (1500 - 1800Hv), with an average of 60% carbide dispersed through a softer, tougher matrix.
Arcoplate is manufactured by Alloy Steel International in Malaga, Australia.
Belgium: Cembureau has taken exception with a report published by Sandbag on the emissions trading scheme and European cement sector entitled ’ Cement - The Final Carbon Fatcat - How Europe’s cement sector benefits and the climate suffers from emissions trading flaws.’ The European Cement Association alleged that the report contains factual and numerical errors. It also criticised the conclusion that the European Union (EU) emissions trading scheme (ETS) has incentivised overproduction.
“The allegations that the ETS has incentivised overproduction are based on thin air and do not acknowledge the strides the cement sector has made through investments in the reduction of its CO2 emissions. The ever-recurring mantra on over-allocation ignores that the cement industry has always called for an allocation closer to production and will continue to do so,” said Cembureau in a statement. It pointed out efforts by the cement industry to reduce the clinker content of cement and the presence of cement at the start of the building supply chain.
Cembureau also disagreed with the concept of a tiered approach as suggested by Sandbag. It has lobbied for a revision of the auctioning/free allowance of shares so as to allow the best performers to receive full free allocation, in line with the European Council Conclusions of 23 October 2014. It pointed out risks of a tiered approach to include unclear and unverifiable criteria to distinguish between sectors that could be discriminatory and open to legal challenge.
Despite its complaints Cemburea did partly agree with Sandbag’s views on the need for innovation funding to stimulate breakthrough technologies, a closer alignment between allocation and production in the form of a dynamic allocation and a stronger recognition of the role of alternative fuel and raw material use in emission reductions, with the inclusion of a landfill ban on recoverable and recyclable raw materials.
In its report Sandbag suggested that the EU ETS may have caused emissions in the cement sector to have risen beyond ‘business as usual.’ It estimated that emissions may have risen by more than 15Mt due to the scheme. It also flagged up five ‘Carbon Fatcat Companies’ from the cement sector who have collectively received nearly Euro1bn worth of spare EU allowances for free between 2008 and 2014. The cement producers cited by Sandbag were LafargeHolcim, HeidelbergCement and Italcementi, CRH, Cemex and Buzzi Unicem.