Global Cement News

Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has commissioned Loesche to deliver an LM 56.3+3 C vertical roller mill for the grinding of clinker for its existing cement plant in Ta Luang, Thailand.

The new mill will be designed for the production of 200t/hr of Portland cement type I at 3600 Blaine as well as 150t/hr Portland cement type III at 4500 Blaine. The scope of the delivery also includes premium parts such as the mill motor, the mill fan and an LSVS-classifier.

Commissioning of the LM 56.3+3 at SCG's Ta Luang cement plant is expected to take place in December 2015.

UK: Environment minister Mark H Durkan and Devendra Mody, industrial director at Lafarge Tarmac, have signed an agreement allowing the use of waste-derived fuels (WDF) at Lafarge Tarmac's cement plant in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. The plant, which employs 86 people, currently uses coal for approximately 95% of its fuel. The agreement will see Lafarge Tarmac substitute up to 35% of its coal with WDF.

"The agreement will turn environment issues from barriers to business into economic growth opportunities. The deal is that the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) firmly regulates and reduces red tape. In turn, partner companies invest heavily in the environment," said Durkan. "Lafarge Tarmac is committing significant investment in the environment. In addition to many environmental benefits, it will reduce its carbon emissions from production by a minimum of 10%, equivalent to taking 6500 cars off the road. It will look at ways to reduce emissions from its transportation chain and has also committed to improving public access to rare geological features found in the Ballysudden Area of Sepcial Scientific Interest (ASSI), located in its Cookstown quarry and to work with key stakeholders to develop a renewable energy strategy and examine options for reducing packaging."

US: St. Marys Cement plans to reopen its Dixon, Illinois plant in the spring of 2015. Citing a downturn in the economy, the St Marys Cement closed the plant in December 2008. About 90 jobs were lost.

At the time, the US Enviornmental Protection Agency (EPA) had fined St Marys and co-owner St Barbara Cement US$800,000 for violations of the federal Clean Air Act. In addition, the settlement with the government called for the companies to spend nearly US$2m to upgrade pollution control on three of its four kilns. The fourth kiln had to be replaced or shut down.

The settlement was the first completed as a result of an EPA crackdown on cement plants. The EPA said that the companies had illegally modified the kilns at the Dixon plant in a manner that increased SO2 and NOx emissions. In addition to failing to install the proper pollution-control equipment, the companies were cited for failing to get the proper permit before making modifications.

Mayor Jim Burke said that representatives from St Marys approached him nearly a year ago about the possibility of restarting operations. A small maintenance crew has been working at the plant for a while to prepare for a reopening. St Marys said that the decision was based on increased demand due to the improving economy. St Marys also plans to invest US$130m in its Charlevoix, Michigan, plant to increase capacity there.

"St Marys Cement is pleased to announce that after a seven-year downturn in the economy, we will be reopening our cement plant in Dixon, Illinois," said spokesman Steve Gallagher. Gallagher provided a spring timeline for the reopening process. He also said that all regulatory issues with the EPA had been addressed. "We've been working since January 2015 with a small crew performing the necessary routine maintenance," said Gallagher. "By the end of March 2015, we will be completely staffed, bringing around 60 jobs back to Dixon. The plant will resume operation shortly thereafter with all required environmental permits in place."

US: Ash Grove Cement Company has helped Meals-on-Wheels celebrate March for Meals, a national campaign to end hunger in the elderly population, by sponsoring all breakfasts and lunches delivered to clients in Midlothian on 9 March 2015. During the month-long campaign, meal programmes throughout the nation will work within their communities to raise much-needed funds and recruit volunteers.

Europe: Holcim and Lafarge are in talks to renegotiate the terms of their Euro41bn merger after a divergence in the value of the two companies over the past year. The two sides are holding discussions that might result in changes to the terms of the one-for-one share deal announced last April 2015, according to The Financial Times.

It in unclear how the renegotiation might affect CRH, which agreed in February 2015 to pay Euro6.5bn for assets being sold by the two companies as they sought to address potential competition concerns over the deal.

In recent weeks Holcim shareholders have raised concerns over the terms of the deal, most vocally a representative for the Schmidheiny family, which is Holcim's largest investor. Thomas Schmidheiny, head of the family and a former Holcim chairman, wanted the terms of the deal renegotiated. Holcim's second largest shareholder, Eurocement, which is owned by Russian Filaret Galchev and holds 10% of the shares, has not publicly supported the deal.