September 2024
Cargotec to supply cement-handling equipment for Raysut Cement 22 January 2014
Oman: Finnish handling system provider Cargotec Oyj has won a contract to deliver a Siwertell unloading and conveying system for Raysut Cement at Duqm and Sohar ports.
The order includes a road-mobile Siwertell 10 000 S unloader unit and a road-mobile Siwertell PumpMaster blow pump conveying unit and it also covers commissioning, supervision and spare parts. The combination of screw type unloader and blow pump conveyor provides low energy consumption of mechanical unloading due to pneumatic conveying.
The system has a conveying capacity of 300t/hr. "This is a particularly high value, considering that the distance from the unloader and blow pump unit to the silo top is 270m with an elevation of 40m," commented Peter Göransson, Siwertell Sales Manager.
In June 2013, Raysut Cement approved four expansion projects worth a total US$24m. One of these entails the construction of a cement terminal at Duqm Port, including two silos with a capacity of 4000t. The terminal is set to become operational in the second half of 2014. Another project envisages the establishment of a cement terminal at Somalia's Berbera Port, as a joint venture with an unnamed local partner. The facility will have three silos, each with a capacity of 4000t.
Haver & Boecker opens subsidiary in Nigeria 22 January 2014
Nigeria: Haver & Boecker has opened a subsidiary company in Lagos, Nigeria. The new company intends to better fulfil the needs of Haver & Boecker's key client in the region, Dangote Group. A managing director is currently being sought for the new company.
Egyptian court accepts appeal by Assiut Cement 22 January 2014
Egypt: An Egyptian court has accepted an appeal by Assiut Cement to prevent the overrule of its privatisation in 1999. The case regarding the Cemex subsidiary has now been referred to an administrative court.
Two former Assiut employees, who were among workers to take an early-retirement package following the privatisation, brought a lawsuit against Assiut and certain Egyptian government representatives in 2011, seeking to annul the privatisation. The civil court ruled to annul the sale in 2012, but Assiut appealed. The civil appeals court accepted the appeal, overruled the first instance court and has referred the case to an administrative court, said Maher Al-Haffar, Cemex's vice president of corporate communications and investor relations.
"The process will start from the beginning, and the new court will have to hear the merits of the case," Al-Haffar said. Meanwhile, Egyptian cement operations are continuing and will continue normally, he added.
Mexico-based Cemex purchased a controlling stake in Assiut Cement in 1999 from Egypt's state-owned Metallurgical Industries Holding. It has since increased its cement production capacity to 5.4Mt/yr from 3.7Mt/yr and added ready-mix concrete, aggregates and housing developments to its cement operations. Assiut had sales of US$471m in 2012, equivalent to about 3.1% of Cemex's US$15bn in global sales.
Holcim Indonesia sales down by 2% to 8.43Mt in 2013 22 January 2014
Indonesia: Holcim Indonesia has reported that its sales volumes fell by 2% year-on-year to 8.43Mt in 2013 from 8.58Mt in 2012, according to the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI). Its sales accounted for 14.5% of the domestic market share.
Nepal cement sales rise by 10% in 2013 22 January 2014
Nepal: Cement producers have reported that sales have risen by 10% year-on-year in 2013, according to the Nepal Cement Manufacturers' Association (NCMA). The country's cement demand has soared with the increasing construction of dams, bridges and housing projects.
"If you look at the overall capacity of the cement industry, demand can be fulfilled by domestic production. But some big projects have been importing cement and domestic products account for 85% of the total consumption in the country," said Tara Pokharel, general secretary of NCMA.
EPA and industry fail to settle waste unit risk policy fight 22 January 2014
US: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry groups including cement producers have failed to settle a permit dispute that is testing whether the agency has the authority to require operators of hazardous waste combustion units to conduct risk assessments that can be used to strengthen emissions limits for mercury and other pollutants when renewing the facilities' existing waste and air permits. Negotiations stalled during a meeting in November 2013 between EPA lawyers and cement kiln operators at EPA's Region V offices, according to an 8 January 2014 status report the parties filed with the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Litigation will continue on 20 February 2014.
The case began on 8 July 2013 when ESSROC Cement petitioned the EAB to review Region V's decision requiring a site-specific risk assessments (SSRA) at ESSROC's hazardous waste combustor facility in Logansport, Indiana, during the 2012 renewal of the facility's RCRA permit. After the facility conducted the SSRA, Region V imposed a restrictive annual mercury feed rate limit, which ESSROC said, "goes far beyond what is necessary to protect human health and the environment."
The case marks a new test for the risk assessment requirements EPA attached to its 2005 regulations governing hazardous waste combustion facilities that emit air pollutants, including cement kilns. The 2005 regulations set strict new maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards under the Clean Air Act (CAA) for the combustion facilities that burn the hazardous waste. The rule also integrated the MACT standards with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requirements so that facilities must comply with the MACT standards to be eligible for RCRA permits.
New cement plant to be built in Kajiado 21 January 2014
Kenya: East Africa Portland Cement Co (EAPCC) boss Kephar Tande has said that the government is set to build a second cement factory in Kajiado, Athi River State.
Tande said that plans are underway for the construction of a fully-fledged cement factory in the Nooleleshuani area of Kajiado and is expected to be in operation in 2016. He said that the site is next to the limestone-rich Maasai plains, which are the major source of cement raw materials in Kajiado county that are supplied to all of the five companies based in Athi River.
"This will ensure its position in the Kenyan market remains strong and help it to eventually acquire leadership. We are currently carrying out feasibility studies for a clinker plant in Nooleleshuani near Bisil and will install a new cement mill by 2016 to increase our cement production capacity to 2Mt/yr," said Tande.
The EAPCC announcement to build a new cement plant comes a few days after cement makers increased cement prices in the wake of a new mining levy imposed by the Ministry of Mining.
Quintiq to optimise Lafarge’s world-wide operations 21 January 2014
World: Quintiq, global provider of supply chain planning and optimisation, has announced that Lafarge has chosen Quintiq software to optimise sales and operations planning and transport management.
The company will benefit from the Quintiq software platform across the entire organisation for demand planning, supply chain planning and transport optimisation. All cement, aggregates and concrete business lines in all countries in which Lafarge operates will be able to implement this system. The solution will reduce production and transport costs while increasing customer satisfaction.
Real-time collaboration between Lafarge planners will also improve the quality and transparency of the planning process. The use of a single platform for all planning applications will simplify Lafarge's IT landscape. The flexibility of Quintiq's optimisation technology enables the solution to be used to cover all country-specific business requirements.
5000 bags of cement sold in name of leading companies seized 20 January 2014
India: Acting on a tip-off that was received by the senior superintendent of police, Manu Maharaj, local police raided a store house in Chamanchak state and seized 5000 sacks of cement that had been packed in the name of leading names like Lafarge and Birla. The raid took place on 19 January 2014.
Four persons involved in the trade managed to flee. A case has been registered with the local police station. Police are currently looking for the absconders and gathering information regarding similar cement store houses.
British watchdog to force HeidelbergCement to sell slag plant 20 January 2014
UK: Britain's competition watchdog has asked HeidelbergCement to sell one of its three plants that produces ground granulated blast furnace slag in the UK. The Competition Commission said the move is intended to increase competition.