Displaying items by tag: Colombia

Colombia: Cemex has condemned a recent attack that resulted in the death of Clavijo Rojas, head of Cemex security, near to a cement plant that it is building in Maceo, Magdalena Medio. Cemex executives want local authorities to investigate the incident so that the criminals can be apprehended. Clavijo Rojas, a 50 year old German citizen, was travelling in a car with another person when they were fired upon, possibly by a guerrilla group or by those linked to organised crime. Cemex said that it had not received any threats or demands in this area.

Colombia: Cementos Argos innovation vice-president Camilo Restrepo has persisted with a project to use waste tyres as an alternative fuel in Colombia. Some 120,000 - 130,000/yr tyres are wasted in Colombia.

Cementos Argos is already using waste tyres as fuel in the US and Honduras and says that the same will be done in Colombia. It put forward its plans to local associations and has been discussing these for five years. Cementos Argos could use 60,000 - 70,000t/yr. Its kilns will have to be adapted at cost of US$5 – 20m each. It will start with its unit in Rioclaro, where tests are underway already. The plant can use 15,000 - 20,000t/yr of waste tyres.

Colombia: Demonstrations have been held in Boyaca, Colombia by residents from Firavitoba and Tibasosa in order to protest against the operations of cement manufacturers Cementos del Oriente, Cementos Tequendama, Holcim and Cementos Argos. The communities claim that the cement operations are having a harmful effect on their health and are affecting the state of the local roads. Local authorities have agreed to meet with representatives from the communities on 19 January 2015 to discuss the matter.

Colombia: FLSmidth, a provider of equipment and services to the cement and minerals industries, has received a contract from Cemex for the supply of a 2800t/day cement production line to be installed at its new Cementera del Magdalena Medio S.A.S. cement plant. The order will be booked by the Cement Division and contribute beneficially to FLSmidth's earnings until late 2017.

The plant is located in the department of Antioquia, approximately 135km from the capital of Antioquia, Medellin. The company noted that the line would use the latest production technologies and achieve high environmental and quality standards. The department of Antioquia is a region in Colombia that is expected to see an increase in cement demand resulting from continued economic growth as well as planned investments in infrastructure.

In addition to engineering services, project management and commissioning, all major processing machines are included. The pyro-processing line consists of an FRM mill for raw grinding, an ATOX coal mill, five-stage ILC preheater with a Low-NO_x calciner, an FLSmidth cross-bar cooler and a two-pier kiln. Pfister weighing and dosing systems, MAAG gear reducers, gas analysers and all Airtech process filters are also included.

"Colombia has experienced strong economic growth and is expected to see an increase in cement demand," said president of the Cement Division, Per Mejnert Kristensen. "FLSmidth has a strong local presence in the country, including a regional office and a local service unit, so we are ready to serve the market."

Colombia: Wärtsilä, a supplier of power plant and ship power solutions and services, has renewed its asset management agreement with Cemex Colombia. The agreement was signed during summer 2014 and it is valid for five years. It is a continuation of an earlier asset management agreement that was signed in 1998.

With this new agreement, Wärtsilä continues to operate and maintain the power plant at Cemex Colombia's cement plant. The agreement covers day-to-day operation of the power plant and the natural gas station (city gate), preventive and predictive maintenance services, management of parts logistics and technical support services. This agreement is a long-term operational partnership with a common goal to ensure maximised lifetime, guaranteed performance and predictable life cycle costs for the power plant.

"We have worked with Wärtsilä for 15 years," said Jairo Guerrero, energy director from Cemex Colombia. "During these years, Wärtsilä has showed excellent performance in ensuring the reliability and availability of our cement factory in Ibagué. Wärtsilä has also introduced innovative upgrades that will further improve the performance and reliability of our power plant. We are happy to continue our long-term partnership with them."

Cemex Colombia's cement plant is powered by five Wärtsilä 34SG engines, with a total capacity of 25MW. The plant is located near Ibagué, a municipality in the Department of Tolima.

Colombia: Cementos Argos plans to use more than 26,000t/yr of used tyres generated in the Valle de Aburra region as fuel for its cement plant. Tyres could be incorporated in Cementos Argos processes by the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015. Executives have commented that one of the main obstacles is the collection of used tyres.

Colombia: Directors at Cementos Argos have given the green light for an ordinary bond issuance of up to US$495m to be used as working capital and to swap financial liabilities. The company will have three years to carry out the issuance, although it will most likely do so in the coming months.

Previous issuances by Cementos Argos, such as those carried out in 2012 to raise US$495m, have helped the firm expand in Colombia, Latin America and the United States. Argos revealed in August 2014 that it is considering buying Holcim and Lafarge assets in the region, particularly Mexico and Brazil, and has announced that it will also build a US$450m plant.

Colombia/Brazil: Colombia's Cementos Argos, part of Grupo Argos, is reportedly assessing assets worth US$1bn that Lafarge and Holcim will be forced to sell in Brazil as part of their planned merger.

Argos, which is working closely with Banco Itau BBA in terms of potential Lafarge-Holcim acquisition deals in Brazil, aims to grow organically and via acquisitions across the Americas. The firm wants to have a presence in markets where there is potential for cement consumption per capita to grow. Cementos Argos already operates nine cement plants in Colombia, three in the United States and one in Honduras.

Colombia: Cementos Argos plans to expand its Sogamoso cement plant, located in the Boyacá department of Colombia, with a new 2.3Mt/yr line, involving an investment of US$450m.

The strategic location of the Sogamoso plant will enable Cementos Argos to serve the Bogota market as well as growing demand in the centre of Colombia, where around 70% of cement consumption for the country's infrastructure plant will be concentrated. As well as Bogota, the location of the plant allows for efficient access to the Eastern Plains, Santander and North Santander.

"This investment reflects our confidence and commitment to the development of Colombia," said Jorge Mario Velásquez, Argos' CEO. "Factors such as institutional and regulatory strengthening for infrastructure development; the important 4G projects for more than US$25Bn and greater resources for housing development, will drive the growth in cement consumption in the next few years. As a Colombian company, we are committed to assisting the country in its development."

The new project will boost Argos' installed capacity in Colombia from 9.5Mt/yr to 11.8Mt/yr, an increase of 24%. Completion of the Sogamoso expansion is scheduled for 2018. Argos said that up to 40% of fossil fuels would be replaced with alternative fuels. Water and fuel consumption will be 24% and 18% lower than at standard plants, respectively, while emissions of particulate matter will be 67% below the national limit. Cementos Argos will also invest in developing the local community's educational infrastructure.

"The intensive infrastructure programmes carried out in neighbouring countries such as Panama, Peru and Ecuador, have propelled the simultaneous decrease in unemployment rates and upsurge in home construction, creating a virtuous cycle to improve people's quality of life, which we wish to see in Colombia," added Velásquez.

Colombia: The president of Cemex Colombia, Carlos Jacks, has provided details of the US$340m plant the company plans to build in Maceo, Antioquia Department. The plant will be the first that Cemex constructs entirely from scratch outside of Mexico; in the past it has simply expanded existing plants abroad. The plant will increase Cemex's Colombian production capacity from 4.50Mt/yr to 5.50Mt/yr.

The plant will be able to use 50% of alternative fuels, either biomass or tyre residue, although initially the plant will use coal. Maceo has been chosen due to its central location in reference to the Prosperidad roads, which will connect it well with the rest of the country.

The plant has great potential due to the 4G road projects, which require US$26bn of investments from 2016. As cement makes up 10% of the investment costs, this means US$520m will be spent on 2Mt of cement each year. When combined with Colombia's established cement market, demand in the country will reach around 14Mt/yr.