Displaying items by tag: Closure
US: Lehigh Hanson plans to stop cement production at its integrated Permanente plant near Cupertino in California. The subsidiary of Germany-based Heidelberg Materials plans to use the site as a distribution centre and to continue some quarry work, according to the Mercury News newspaper. The cement plant was originally opened in 1939 but it stopped clinker production in 2020.
Cahya Mata Sarawak reassures customers amid cement shortage
31 October 2022Malaysia: Cahya Mata Sarawak has informed its customers that its cement despatches will be 'back to normal' by 6 November 2022. The producer's closure of its 1Mt/yr Kuching cement plant for maintenance, followed by unexpected raw materials supply issues, has caused a shortage of cement in western Sarawak State. Bernama Daily Malaysian News has reported that a 14-day delay to raw materials deliveries to the Kuching plant ensued due to heavy rains.
The producer said “We would like to apologise for the shortage of cement, and will strive to ensure a steady supply of cement to all of our customers.”
Cahya Mata Sarawak has successfully maintained regular supply of cement to other areas of Sarawak, including Bintulu, Miri and Sibu, through despatches of cement from its Bintulu grinding plant.
Dalian Onoda Cement to suspend operations at Dalian cement plant
25 October 2022China: Dalian Onoda Cement, a subsidiary of Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement, says that it plans to suspend cement production at its Dalian cement plant in Liaoning. The producer said that it will shut the plant when its land lease expires in December 2022.
Nigeria: The government of Kogi State ordered Dangote Cement to shut down its Obajana cement plant within 48 hours on 13 October 2022. Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello also ordered the release of impounded Dangote Cement trucks across the state.
Bello thanked Kogi residents for their “resoluteness in the ownership impasse between Dangote Group and the state government.” He added, "While the state government recognises the right of the citizens to peaceful protest, as we witnessed across the state yesterday, we urge people to remain civil and law abiding and to give room for constitutionalism. Breakdown of law and order will not be in the interest of anyone."
Lorry drivers blocked the Abuja - Lokoja road in protest against the closure on 14 October 2022, according to the Advocate newspaper. Meanwhile, a gang has raided the plant, destroying property and shot firearms at the 27 employees who remained on site.
Heidelberg Materials considering shutting plants in Germany based on future energy prices
28 September 2022Germany: Heidelberg Materials says it is considering shutting down plants in Germany due to the high cost of gas and electricity. In comments reported by Reuters chief executive officer Dominik von Achten said, "If power prices won't come down sustainably, we would have to take individual plants in Germany completely off the grid. That's what we have prepared for." He added that the company is shifting production to times and days when power prices are lower including at the weekend. However, changing staff shift patterns has required ongoing discussions with labour unions.
The building materials company expects its energy bill to rise by around half year-on-year to over Euro3bn in 2022. It has called on the German government to place a cap on energy prices despite measures the company has already taken to protect itself from soaring costs, such as using alternative fuels.
Gujarat Sidhee Cement suspends production at Sidheegram cement plant
13 September 2022India: Gujarat Sidhee Cement again closed its Sidheegram cement plant on 11 September 2022. The producer says that the temporary suspension of production will last until 1 October 2022.
Belgium: Cembureau, the European Cement Association, has called for urgent action to be taken to support cement production due to large increases in the cost of electricity. It said that, if no measures were taken at both the European and national level, the current energy prices would lead to widespread plant closures across the European Union (EU). This in turn could create a crisis in the construction supply chain. It explained that one tonne of cement normally takes around 110kWh of electricity to produce. Therefore, with electricity prices now between Euro700 - 1000mWh, as observed in several EU member states, electricity costs amount to Euro70 – 110/t of cement, tripling the total cost of production.
The association has called for: all available sources of electricity generation to be used to boost power supplies; the immediate introduction of emergency measures, such as price caps; that the EU temporary state aid framework adopted in late March 2022 should allow all energy-intensive industries to have access to state aid covering 70 - 80% of eligible costs; and that co-processing in cement kilns should be actively encouraged and promoted at EU, state and local levels.
It added that further measures should also be considered, including: the electricity market design rules, including the marginal price setting mechanism, should be changed to prevent further electricity price hikes in the future; the cement sector should be made eligible for financial compensation under the EU emission trading scheme indirect state aid guidelines and that indirect emissions should be included in the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM); the large-scale deployment of renewable energy should be supported across the EU; and that the pace of the EU climate agenda ('Fit for 55') should be maintained, and the CBAM should be implemented in a timely manner.
Boulder County Planning Commission recommends rejection of Cemex USA’s Dowe Flats mine licence extension application
02 September 2022US: The Boulder County Planning Commission has recommended that county commissioners should reject Cemex USA’s application to extend its licence to mine limestone at its Dowe Flats quarry until 2037. Local press has reported that Cemex USA previously agreed to shut down its Lyons cement plant at the expiry of its extended licence in 2037. The company says that it will be able to continue operating the plant without use of the mine.
Cemex USA executive vice president Trpimir Renic said "We do always try and consume the raw materials that are available to us at the existing site where we are currently operating. We think that operating that quarry for the next 15 years - supplying Lyons cement plant - is the most responsible resource management operation that we can undertake."
Cement Corporation of India begins equipment tendering process for Adilabad cement plant shutdown
18 May 2022India: Cement Corporation of India has called for e-tenders for its mothballed Adilabad cement plant's equipment for a sale of the plant's assets prior to its permanent closure and decommissioning. The state-owned company will receive offers until 23 May 2022 and will open bids after 120 days. The New Indian Express newspaper has reported that a planned airport will take up some of the land currently occupied by the plant in Telangana.
The US$7.73m Adilabad cement plant was operational between 1982 and 1998. It reportedly has sufficient limestone reserves to continue cement production until 2122.
US: The supervisor of Santa Clara County in California has ordered a report by the county council setting out a plan for the acquisition of Lehigh Hanson’s Santa Clara cement plant and its associated quarry. If successful in acquiring the property, the administration would close down all operations there. The Mercury News has reported that the council will have until mid-May 2022 to produce its report. The supervisor called the facilities a ‘historical anachronism’ and said that the land, situated in the county’s Silicon Valley light industry region, might be used for housing.