Displaying items by tag: Supply
China: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has reported net profit growth for the entire domestic cement sector of 20% year-on-year to US$26.6bn in 2019 from US$22.3bn in 2018. Total revenues reached US$144bn, representing an increase of 13% from US$128bn. Xinhua China Economic Information Service has reported that the MIIT attributed the profit growth to a reduction in overcapacity throughout the year due to supply-side structural reform.
Dangote Cement plans 1.1Mt/yr grinding plant in Gabon
02 March 2020Gabon: Dangote Cement has shared plans for the construction of a 1.1Mt/yr grinding plant on a greenfield site near the New Owendo Internation Port in Owendo, Komo-Mondah department. Dangote Cement has stated that the US$75m facility, scheduled for completion in early-2021, will ‘close the cement production gap in this emerging country.’ It will supply cement to Gabon and the central African region.
Vicem and FLSmidth target sustainable cement production
10 February 2020Vietnam: The Vietnam National Cement Corporation (Vicem) and Denmark-based supplier FLSmidth have announced a cooperation agreement with the aim of radically reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from cement production and improving air quality. The cooperation will consist of Vicem implementing solutions pioneered by FLSmidth. FLSmidth said that a key focus of the cooperation will be Vicat’s use of ‘municipal and other waste streams as alternative fuel sources,’ with the aim of achieving 100% substitution using FLSmidth solutions, in accordance with FLSmidth’s ambition ‘to enable cement companies to operate with zero emissions by 2030.’
Schmersal opens Turkey branch
24 January 2020Turkey: Germany-based safety specialist Schmersal announced its entry into business at a new branch in Istanbul, Turkey on 21 January 2020. In partnership with Satech Safety Technology, it will supply its full range of products and comprehensive services to the Turkish and Azerbaijani cement sectors. Bariş Yücel, managing director of Schmersal Turkey, said, "Schmersal is already a well-known manufacturer on the Turkish market. Our goal is to become customers’ first choice supplier.”
Austria: w&p Zement has announced that it has donated an ABB robotic arm from a laboratory at its 0.8Mt/yr Weitersdorf plant to the mechatronics department of Klagenfurt Higher Technical College (HTL). The company replaced the 10kg-capacity, 1.55m armature with a fully automated POLAB cement laboratory as part of an upgrade for Industry 4.0. w&p Zement Weitersdorf operations manager Florian Salzer said, “We are pleased that the robot will continue to be of use, increasing the quality of technical training and thus laying the foundation for training tomorrow's top specialists.” He said that the equipment is in perfect condition because of the low weight of samples for which it was used.
Oruro cement plant reopens
06 January 2020Bolivia: Empresa Minera Industrial’s 0.1Mt/yr integrated cement plant has resumed operations across both dry lines following a fuel shortage. Tinformas has reported that a natural gas shortage caused the suspension of operations in November 2019 following an attack on a pipeline.
Australian court rules Adelaide Brighton due US$8.65m
26 December 2019Australia: Adelaide Brighton’s court dispute with Concrete Supply has ended in a ruling in favour of the former. The Advertiser newspaper has reported that between August 2009 and November 2017 Adelaide Brighton supplied US$22.6 to Concrete Supply, for which Concrete Supply paid US$14.5 before entering administration in November 2017. Federal Court judge Anthony Besanko ruled that Concrete Supply ‘could not reasonably have held a genuine belief that it was entitled to the alleged discount or rebate.’
UltraTech orders Gebr. Pfeiffer mill
20 December 2019India: Germany’s Gebr. Pfeiffer has won a supply contract with UltraTech for one MVR 6000 C-6. The mill can grind up to 370t/hr of mixed cements or 225t/hr of granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS). Gebr. Pfeiffer has stated that it is the 17th mill of its type in India. The company will assist its subsidiary Gebr. Pfeiffer (India) Pvt. Ltd. in commissioning the mill in early 2021.
Quinn’s discreet quarry purchases force Quinn Industrial Holdings to seek raw materials further afield
16 December 2019UK/Ireland: Sean Quinn has bought ‘substantial’ tracts of limestone-rich land in Cavan and Fermanagh on 99-year leases, giving him sole extraction rights, over the past three and half years since his final severance with Quinn Industrial Holdings in mid-2016, according to the Sunday Times. The purchases may have been aimed at strengthening his position in his campaign to re-attain control over the company. It has stated that it has succeeded in supplementing its on-site limestone supply with material from further afield. “These materials are of a higher quality,” said a Quinn Industrial Holding spokesperson.
Paraguay: Paraguay’s main cement producer, state-owned Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC), has ‘significantly’ slowed production at its 1.0Mt/yr integrated Puerto Vallemi plant to a rate of 12,000 bags/day, creating a supply gap that imports and Intercement’s 0.4Mt/yr integrated Asunción plant have been unable to fill. Esmerk Latin American News has reported that the shortage has precipitated a 33% price rise in the cost of a bag of cement in the country to US$10.20 from US$7.00 when the shortage began in October 2019.