September 2024
Saudi Arabia: Cement producers are planning to cut their production by 5 – 10% in 2017 due to a fall in demand. The decision follows declines in profits of around 17% by local companies in 2016, according to the Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper. The decrease in demand for cement has been blamed on competition, high production costs and high energy costs. Cement sales in the country started to decline in 2015 following the low international price of oil.
UK: Hanson is spending Euro29m on upgrades at its Ribblesdale cement plant in a seven-year project to improve production efficiency and emissions. In the first six months nearly Euro13m will be spent on improvements and maintenance to enable the plant to meet new dust emission regulations. This is the biggest investment programme at the site since the 1990s and includes a Euro2m replacement of the filters on two cement mills.
“The permitted dust level is being reduced by 66% in April 2017, from 30mg/m2 to 10 - the new equipment will perform better than this,” said plant manager Terry Reynolds. He added that the filters will run well below the new maximum dust emission levels after the installation
The plant will spend Euro7.5m, its largest investment, towards replacing its wet gas scrubber in March 2017. In addition, 75m of ducts have been replaced at a cost of Euro440,000 during a shutdown in January 2017 as part of a five-year improvement plan for the site’s exhaust gas handling system.
Ribblesdale employs 116 people and is supplied by two on-site quarries worked by an 11-person team and a team of contractors managing the loading and hauling of quarry materials. The cement plant has produced cement for projects including the Manchester International Airport, Heysham nuclear power station, Manchester United football stadium, Liverpool’s Roman Catholic cathedral and also now for Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.
Belgium: Philippe César has been appointed member of the board of directors of Compagnie des Ciments Belges (CCB), a company acquired and added to the Cementir Group’s consolidation in October 2016. He will also be appointed as the chairman of CCB’s board of directors.
Yamama Cement orders two clinker conveyors from Aumund 17 January 2017
Saudi Arabia: Yamama Saudi Cement has ordered two sets of clinker conveying equipment from Aumund. The Saudi Arabian cement producer plans to start-up two clinker production lines in 2018 at a new site to the southwest of Riyadh. The two lines, with a combined capacity of 20,000t/day, are being built by ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions.
The scope of supply includes 29 chain bucket elevators and 18 belt bucket elevators, in heavy-duty and lighter designs, for these two lines. For raw meal, Aumund belt bucket elevators will be used. Filter dust will be conveyed by Aumund chain bucket elevators optimally designed for low capacity. Two Aumund double chain bucket elevators with a capacity of 2300t/hr have been ordered per line as recirculating bucket elevators in the cement mill. The supply package for the two lines also includes six Aumund pan conveyors as well as various flat gates, silo discharge gates, telescopic chutes and cleaning conveyors.
FLSmidth receives plant order from Maple Leaf Cement 17 January 2017
Pakistan: Maple Leaf Cement has ordered a 7300t/day cement production line from FLSmidth. The plant will be located in Iskanderabad in the Mianwali District. The order has been placed at above Euro75m and it will be completed by the end of 2018.
The order will include an ATOX 52.5 vertical mill for raw grinding, an ATOX 27.5 vertical mill for coal grinding, an EV 200x300 Hammer Impact Crusher, stacker and reclaimer systems for storage, a ROTAX-2 rotary kiln with low NOx ILC calciner, a FLSmidth Cross-Bar cooler, a JETFLEX burner and two OK 39-4 vertical mills for cement grinding.
"This is the latest project to underline FLSmidth's strength as the leading supplier of the most productive and energy-efficient equipment and technology - and our position as the preferred supplier of complete production lines to the Pakistani cement industry," said FLSmidth’s Group Executive Vice President, Cement Division, Per Mejnert Kristensen.
Spain: LafargeHolcim’s Sagunto cement plant in Valencia cut its production by nearly 10% in 2016 due to a fall in exports to Algeria. The plant exports 85% of its production and Algeria cut its imports by half, according to the Expansión newspaper. The plant is considering new export destinations including Colombia. However, its permit to mine aggregates from the Salt de Llop quarry is due to expire in December 2017 and the local government is reportedly not keen to renew it.
Army launches Sena cement brands in Bangladesh 17 January 2017
Bangladesh: The Sena Kalyan Sangstha (SKS), a trust run by the Bangladesh Army, has launched 'Sena Cement and Sena LPG brand of cement at its Mongla Cement plant in Dhaka. Military and government officials also attended the event. The new cement brands are intended to grow the welfare activities of the SKS.
Industria Nacional del Cemento’s production rises in 2016 17 January 2017
Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cemento’s (INC) production rose by 8% year-on-year to 13.2 million bags of cement in 2016 from 12.3 million bags in 2015. It also reported an operating profit of US$1.5m, according to La Nación newspaper. Company president Jorge Mendez said that the state-run cement producer produces 55,000bag/day of cement at its plants at Villeta and Vallemi, holding about 55% of the domestic market.
INC is completing a US$3.9m dryer upgrade at its Villeta plant with local contractor Engineering. Changes to the fuel used at its Vallemi plant are also on-going to cut energy costs.
Buzzi Unicem plants receive Energy Star certification 16 January 2017
US: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded its Energy Star certification to four of Buzzi Unicem’s cement plants. Plants at Chattanooga in Tennessee, Festus in Missouri, Maryneal in Texas and San Antonio in Texas have all received the certification. It is awarded to cement plants that score 75 or above on the Energy Performance Indicator (EPI), used by the EPA to measure energy efficiency. In addition, the plant must have a three-year history of environmental compliance. The Chattanooga, Festus, and Maryneal plants have received the certification eight consecutive years in a row.
Redcliff cement plant to open in February 2017 16 January 2017
Zimbabwe: Production at the Redcliff cement plant is set to start in February 2017. China’s Mortal Investments Manufacturing has built the plant for a cost of US$20m, according to the Zimbabwe Daily. The plant will operate as Livetouch Cement and it will have a production capacity of 0.4Mt/yr. The project is currently waiting for clearance from the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) from Environmental Management Agency. Once operational the plant will produce 22.5 grade cement using locally sourced slag.