- Written by Peter Edwards, Global Cement Magazine
Hope Construction Materials is a new cement and building materials producer in the UK with assets that include the largest cement plant in the UK at Hope. Although the cement plant itself is over 80 years old, the company is looking towards the future. Global Cement recently visited the plant and met key figures at this ambitious new company...
Hope Construction Materials was launched as a new company on 7 January 2013. It is owned by Mittal Investments and holds the majority of the assets sold by Lafarge Tarmac as a condition of the UK joint venture between Tarmac and Lafarge UK.
The company's flagship facility is the Hope cement plant in Hope, Derbyshire, which has been in operation since 1929. Under the stewardship of Blue Circle it saw a major overhaul in the 1970s. After Blue Circle was acquired by Lafarge in 2001 the plant passed over to the French multinational, which invested heavily in the 2000s.
- Written by Edwin Trout, Cement Industry Suppliers’ Forum
2012 and the opening months of 2013 saw the UK celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. However, it also saw the country dealing with a faltering economy, cost reduction and job losses, the failure of some cement companies and the birth of two new ones. New fuels, packing plants, trials of new cements, improved water management, a railway extension, crises in the carbon market and the construction of two Climafuel plants for Cemex have also hit the headlines. Let's have a look in more detail...
- Written by Günther Walenta, Cédric Comparet & Vincent Morin - Lafarge Research Centre
Lafarge recently completed its second successful industrial trial for Aether®, its new-generation clinker for lower carbon cements. These trials have confirmed the feasibility of industrial-scale production of Aether cements, in existing installations and using conventional raw materials, for a lower overall environmental footprint. Aether cements open up a new avenue for CO2 mitigation in the cement sector.
For many years Lafarge has been working to reduce its carbon footprint. In 2001, as part of its partnership with environmental NGO WWF International, the group made a voluntary public commitment to reduce CO2 emissions per tonne of cement.
- Written by Peter Edwards, Global Cement Magazine
The 55th annual IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Technical Conference was held at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA on 14 - 18 April 2013. The event attracted a total of 916 delegates from across the US and further afield who heard a total of 45 high-quality presentations and were able to visit 165 different exhibitors.
The 2013 IEEE-IAS/PCA conference opened on Sunday 14 April 2013 with closed meetings of the IEEE-IAS CIC Committee and commenced for other participants with an evening reception in the exhibition hall and events in the many exhibitor hospitality suites. On the following day delegates were able to take part in tutorials on drives, environment, energy, sustainability, automation, power generation and health and safety, many of which were over-subscribed. In the afternoon the exhibition area opened with exhibitors and delegates taking the opportunity to catch up with current suppliers and to make new contacts. In the evening further events were held in hospitality suites within the hotel well into the early hours.
- Written by Donaldson
Donaldson, a leader in filtration technology, has released a new dust collector range with innovative PowerCore® technology. The PowerCore VH series for abrasive dust applications complements the existing PowerCore CP series, which is especially well suited to fluffy and fibrous dust applications. The PowerCore dust collectors handle high airflow, heavy dust loading and challenging particulates and can be fitted into the smallest places. The filter changeout is easy, quick and astonishingly clean compared to traditional filter bags and cartridges. This enables easy and safe maintenance.
