Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) is planning to upgrade the ventilation system for the kiln at its Vallemí cement plant. The state-owned cement producer has money left over from bonds it issued in 2018, according to the La Nacion newspaper. The work is expected to increase the productivity of the kiln.

Nigeria/Senegal: Aumund Group will supply equipment for projects managed by China’s Sinoma for Dangote Cement projects in Nigeria and Senegal.

For Dangote’s Obajana Line 5 and Okpella 6000t/day plants, Aumund will supply three belt bucket elevators with a capacity of 660t/hr to convey raw meal and to feed raw meal to the preheater towers at 520t/hr. Three further Aumund belt bucket elevators with a capacity of 480t/hr will convey cement to the silos. An Aumund pan conveyor with a weighing scale mechanism and a capacity of 500t/hr, running from the coolers to the clinker silos, and three further Aumund pan conveyors under the clinker silo, round off this machinery package.

Schade Lagertechnik, a subsidiary of Aumund, will also supply equipment for these plants. This includes a stacker with a capacity of 3500t/hr for Obajana and another at 2160t/hr for Okpella, as well as a portal reclaimer to operate at 800t/hr in the limestone storage of each plant. Additional stockyard equipment completes the supply package.

For Dangote’s Apapa and Onne terminal projects, Aumund Beijing will supply a double bucket elevator to convey clinker to the silos at a capacity of 1200t/hr, and several other chain bucket elevators. Elevators to convey gypsum to the bunkers will have a capacity of 720t/hr at Apapa and 480t/hr at Onne. Two 1600 Series Samson material feeders with a handling capacity of 400t/hr of clinker, two Aumund telescopic chutes and two truck loaders for clinker will also be supplied to each terminal.

Aumund has also received an order to supply a belt bucket elevator with a capacity of 300t/hr to convey cement to the new silo at the Dangote Cement Senegal Expansion Project.

China: China National Building Material (CNBM) says that its profit will rise ‘substantially’ in 2018. It has attributed this to rising cement prices.

Greece: Titan Cement says that its turnover, earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and net profit after taxes all grew year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2018. Overall, its second half results were better than in 2017. The growth mostly came from the US and South East Europe, but the company said that the situation in other regions has not shown any significant change. The cement producer made the announcement as it is undergoing a voluntary tender offer process.