September 2024
Flying Cement to double production capacity 13 March 2017
Pakistan: Flying Cement plans to double the production capacity of its Lilla cement plant in Mangowal, Punjab. It has struck an agreement with an undisclosed Chinese contractor to upgrade the plant’s clinker capacity to 4000t/day from 2000t/day. No value for the deal has been released. The plant has a cement production capacity of 0.63Mt/yr. It was originally supplied by Japan’s IHI.
Shiva Cement buys ACC’s stake in JSW Cement 13 March 2017
India: ACC has sold its 12.1% in Shiva Cement to JSW Cement for US$5.8m. Following the sale JSW Cement now holds the entire promoter holding in Shiva Cement, according to the Mint newspaper. In January 2017 JSW Cement announced that it was making an open offer to buy out Shiva Cement. Shiva Cement operates a 0.2Mt/yr cement plant in Rourkela, Odisha.
Germany: BHS-Sonthofen and MSW Mineralstoffwerke Südwest have been awarded the German Resources Efficiency Award 2016 for their Combimix process. The German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy awarded the prize to the two companies in mid-February 2017. The process uses lime to improve raw materials yields in quarries contaminated with clay.
BHS developed the Combimix process based on their twin-shaft batch mixers and implemented it together with MSW. It uses lime to mix with clay that then undergoes a chemical reaction and this allows it to be separated from the rock in a subsequent processing step. The process allows more materials, such as limestone, to be extracted from quarries and extends the usable lifespans of such sites. In addition, previously dumped materials considered unprofitable can now be reassessed.
MSW introduced the process at its Mönsheim quarry in the summer of 2016. It allowed the company to increase its repository’s yield by 25%. To produce the same volume of the final product, it was previously necessary to extract about 620,000t/yr of limestone. At present the total is around 188,000t less, which corresponds to a relative reduction of around 30%. It helped to increase raw material efficiency from the previous level of 65 – 70% to around 93%.
“Our Combimix process holds a vast potential as it enables companies across the globe and throughout various industries to utilise resources more efficiently. In the context of rehabilitating contaminated soil, Combimix can be used to remove oil and other harmful substances. As a result, only a small fraction of the feed material needs to be dumped in hazardous waste landfills. The process is also viable for the cement industry. Here, it can be applied to processing limestone, a key ingredient that improves the burning process in rotary kilns and thus contributes to reducing fuel consumption,” said Dennis Kemmann, the managing director of BHS-Sonthofen.
Hanson’s Padeswood Cement plant mulls building new mill 10 March 2017
UK: Hanson is considering spending around Euro23m on building a new clinker mill and other improvements at its Padeswood Cement plant. At present the site use four mills that are only able to grind about 40% of the kiln’s output, according to the Daily Post. A second phase of the upgrade project, dependent on production levels being increased, is planned to rebuild a railway link to the plant.
Bamburi Cement builds profit in 2016 despite competition 10 March 2017
Kenya: Bamburi Cement’s profit rose slightly to US$57.4m in 2016 from US$57.2m in 2015. Its operating profit rose by 8% to US$76.7m from US$70.9m. However, its turnover fell by 3% to US$371m from US$382m. It blamed the fall in turnover on high competition, particularly in the individual homebuilding market. It also reported a fall in sales volumes of cement although this was offset by infrastructure and contractor markets in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. The cement producer added that the cement grinding plants it is building in Kenya and with its subsidiary Hima Cement in Uganda are on schedule to be completed in mid-2018.
Germany: Schwenk Zement has been confirmed as the buyer of Opterra Zement’s Karsdorf cement plant. The transaction remains subject to the Germany competition body and this is expected to take up to six months, according to the Naumburger Tageblatt newspaper. Employees are reportedly ‘concerned’ about the acquisition because Schwenk Zement operates its Bernburg plant in the same state, Saxony-Anhalt. The deal also includes a cement grinding plant.
Chinese planners consider 10% cut in cement production 09 March 2017
China: The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is considering aiming for a 10% cut in cement production. The Chinese state planning body announced on 6 March 2017 that it is pushing to cut production capacity in a number of industries including coal, steel and cement, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. Some sources place Chinese cement production capacity at up to 3.5Bnt/yr and 30% of this is believed to be surplus. The commission intends to cut production capacity through market control and legislation. The change in policy from the NDRC coincides with the third consecutive year that China’s annual target for real economic growth has been lowered.
Mexico: Fives has supplied a Fives FCB Horomill for the new production line at Cementos Moctezuma’s Apazapan plant in Veracruz. The cement producer signed the acceptance certificate in mid-February 2017. The FCB Horomill 3800, supplied to fit the raw meal-grinding workshop, is part of the new plant that was inaugurated by Cementos Moctezuma in January 2017.
Cement Manufacturers Association of Philippines seeks ‘fair’ treatment in competition investigation 09 March 2017
Philippines: The Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP) has asked that the local industry be treated fairly in an investigation by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC). In a press statement, Ernesto M Ordoñez, President of CEMAP said that his association had not been notified or given a copy of a compliant filed by a legal firm, according to the Manila Bulletin. He added that the association’s lawyers had previously tried to find out more about the complaint in late January 2017 but had not had a reply.
"Fairness requires that both sides are heard. Not only were we not given a chance to be heard. More than a month after our letter to PCC asking for what the complaint is about so we could give our side, we still have no reply from PCC. We just found out about the nature of the complaint through the newspapers. This is one-sided and unfair, specially considering the track records of the subjects of the complaint," said Ordoñez.
The PCC announced in early March 2017 that was preparing to investigate the cement industry for alleged violations of competitive practice following a legal statement by Victorio Dimagiba, a former trade undersecretary, in August 2016 accusing CEMAP, LafargeHolcim Philippines and Republic Cement and Building Materials of engaging in anti-competitive agreements.
Saudi Arabia: Najran Cement has temporarily shut down its second production line due to poor market conditions and high inventory. The line has a clinker production capacity of 3000t/day. The cement producer intends to announce any financial impact arising from the shutdown in its financial report for the first quarter of 2017.