September 2024
South Africa: Modilati Gustav Mahlare is to retire from Sephaku Holdings at its annual general meeting (AGM) to be held in September 2016. Mahlare has served on the company’s board as chairman of the audit and risk committee for three consecutive terms. He is not eligible for re-election. MJ Janse van Rensburg has been recommended to replace Mahlare. Her appointment will be subject to shareholder approval at the AGM.
Janse van Rensburg has served as the Chief Financial Officer and, later, Chief Executive Officer at the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority between 1994 and 2008. Prior to this she worked as a non-executive director for the Bond Exchange of South Africa, the Airports Company of South Africa, the Johannesburg Water Department and Denel, during which time she also fulfilled the role of a member or chairman of the respective audit committees. She is currently a non-executive director of the Development Bank of South Africa and a non-executive member of the Credit Committee overseeing Africa and India at First National Bank.
Sephaku Holdings holds a 36% stake in Sephaku Cement. The remainder is held by Nigeria’s Dangote Cement.
Bolivia: Menzel Elektromotoren has delivered two motors for a cement mill and a classifier to a cement plant in Bolivia. The mill, which manufactures high-strength cement with 5000 Blaine is the country’s first vertical roller mill for cement grinding. It is also the highest installed elevation, at 4000m above sea level, of an OK mill in North and South America.
Particular technical attention had to be paid to the motors' durability and ruggedness to withstand the special operating conditions. During the planning phase, the drive engineers and the customer decided on a change of voltage levels, construction of a foundation plate and the installation of a vibration monitoring system for integration into the control as requested by the customer.
After commissioning in September 2016, more than 10 motors from Menzel will be powering machines in the Bolivian cement plant.
Shree Cement orders 10 mills from Gebr. Pfeiffer 22 August 2016
India: Shree Cement has ordered 10 mills from Gebr. Pfeiffer. This deal continues the cement producer’s expansion strategy across India through integrated cement and grinding plants.
Gebr. Pfeiffer will supply MVR 6000 R-6 raw mills with capacities of about 550t/hr and an installed drive power of 6700kW each for the cement plants. These installations will come equipped with MPS 2800 BK type coal mills, each featuring a 720kW drive and an integrated SLS BK classifier. MVR 6000 C-6 cement mills are planned to grind clinker and extenders in at these cement plants or at grinding plants. These types of mill are already in successful operation at various sites belonging to Shree Cement. The cement producer currently runs 24 Pfeiffer mills.
Planned grinding plants will use the MVR 6000 C-6 mill to alternatively produce 300t/hr of Ordinary Portland Cement at a product fineness of 3100cm²/g acc. to Blaine or 300t/hr of Portland Pozzolana Cement containing as much as 35% of fly ash at a product fineness of 3500cm²/g acc. to Blaine or 180t/hr of ground granulated blast-furnace slag at a product fineness of 4500cm²/g acc. to Blaine. Each of the mills will come equipped with a 6700kW drive.
Gebr. Pfeiffer SE will supply the core components of the mill and the gear units from Europe. Its Indian subsidiary, headquartered in Noida, Gebr. Pfeiffer (India), will provide the components such as the housings of the mills and classifiers, the steel foundation parts as well as the internal parts of the classifiers. In addition, the Indian subsidiary will design the plant layout and advise the customer on the equipment it will procure on its own.
Cement producers asked to reduce prices in Assam 22 August 2016
India: Cement producers have been asked to reduce their prices in Assam following an intervention by the state’s chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The official held meetings with 25 companies following reports of 10% local price rises in the last three months. Sonowal asked the producers why their prices had risen so fast and affirmed his administration’s commitment to stabilising the prices of commodities, according to the Times of India.
Cement Association of Canada supports province climate plan 22 August 2016
Canada: The Cement Association of Canada has congratulated the province of British Columbia on the release of its Climate Leadership Plan. The plan describes how industry can assist the government in meeting its 2050 targets. The association welcomes the commitment of the provincial government to mandate the use of Portland-limestone cement (PLC) in concrete used in the construction of public infrastructure projects. Using PLC is expected to deliver a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the use of ordinary Portland cement.
“With today's release of the Climate Leadership Plan, the province of British Columbia has laid out a framework to work collaboratively with individuals, local governments, business and industry in finding ways to address climate change,” said Michael McSweeney, President and CEO of the Cement Association of Canada.
China: Huaxin Cement’s has made a net loss of US$20.5m in the first half of 2016 compared to a net profit of US$4.29m in the same period of 2015. Its sales revenue fell by 14% to US$361m from US$420m. The cement producer attributed its decline in net profit and operating costs to a fall in cement prices.
Burkina Faso: Intercem has released details of a cement grinding plant that it is building with Kanis International Group for Cimasso in Bobo Dioulasso. The order is the third contract between Kanis International and Intercem and it is the largest such order in Intercem’s history. The contract was agreed in March 2016 and groundbreaking of the 6500t/day plant took place in late May 2016. No value for the order has been disclosed.
Intercem’s scope of supply for Cimasso comprises the engineering, the supply of mechanical and electrical equipment of exclusively European origin, the project management and the supervision of erection as well as the commissioning. The order includes: train unloading station for clinker; truck unloading for lime and additives; storage of 100,000t of clinker and raw materials; raw material shed and dosing station; 6500t/day cement grinding plant with vertical roller mill; four 4000t cement silos; and, 8000t/day loading of cement bags, including a truck loading station.
Tanzanian cement producers asked to complain to government 19 August 2016
Tanzania: Charles Mwijage, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, has advised local cement producers to complain to the government regarding imports of cement and a ban on imported coal. Mwijage made the comments at the inauguration of Tanga Cement’s second clinker production line, according to the Tanzania Daily News newspaper.
"We ask the government to either stop the imports or at least impose higher tariffs on imported clinkers. We are also pleading with the government to ensure clinkers on transit reach their destinations. This will remove unfair competition in the market," said Reinhardt Swart, the managing director of Tanga Cement.
The cement producer has complained to the government previously about the same issues. He added that the some of the cheap products were clinker on transit that are diverted to the local market and then sold cheaply because they are not taxed. In addition the government ban on coal imports has raised the company’s energy costs. Swart said that the company is also appealing to the government to secure more reliable electricity supplies.
US: The Essroc cement plant in Speed, Indiana has lots its appeal to burn alternative fuels. Local government officials have decided that the plant will have to apply for rezoning to order to burn hazardous waste, comprising solvents, paints and other chemicals along with coal, according to the Washington Times newspaper.
“I’m disappointed in the decision, but I’m confident that we’ve got other means to obtain the required authorisation to continue with the project,” said Jeremy Black, the plant manager.
Local residents who are suing the plant have accused Essroc of misleading them regarding which fuels the company intends to burn. Essroc have denied the claim.
Siemens to launch Sicement Electrification system in Egypt 18 August 2016
Egypt: Siemens will launch its Sicement Electrification system at the Bringing Power to Cement Industry forum in Cairo. The product line is designed to provide electrical distribution and optimisation systems for cement plants including high-voltage electrical substations required for the interconnection with the national grid. All components are coordinated with each other to reduce costs and CO2 emissions.