Displaying items by tag: FLSmidth

There have been a few burner and related stories to note in the cement industry news this week. Firstly, Canada-based PyroGenesis announced that it had signed a deal with an unnamed-European cement company to supply a plasma torch system for a ‘calcination furnace.’ Around the same time UBE Mitsubishi Cement (MUCC) revealed that it had successfully tested natural gas co-firing at MUCC’s Kyushu Plant using a newly developed burner.

The PyroGenesis project is a potential game-changer for the sector because it alters the way cement production lines are heated. Roughly one third of CO₂ emissions associated with cement manufacture arise from the fossil fuels used to heat the kiln and the pre-calcination system. Cut out some of that and the specific CO₂ emissions of cement production drop. PyroGenesis’ approach uses electricity to generate high-temperature plasma. This then gives the cement plant the option of obtaining its electricity from renewable sources. PyroGenesis signed a memorandum of understanding with the power conversion division of GE Vernova in March 2025. This had the aim of targeting high temperature processes, such as cement production, with electric plasma torches. The current deal with a cement producer has been valued at US$871,000 with delivery to the client scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.

We don’t know who the mystery client might be. However, Heidelberg Materials reportedly operated a 300kW plasma-heated cement kiln at its Slite cement plant in February 2025 as part of the ELECTRA project. The producer said it had achieved 54 hours of continuous operation, with 60% CO₂ concentration in the flue gas. The aim was to reach 99%. It then said that it was planning to build a larger 1MWel furnace at its Skövde cement plant in 2026 with tests to continue in 2027. In an interview with Global Cement Magazine in May 2025, Heidelberg Materials said that it was using commercially supplied CO₂ as the ionising gas in the plasma generator but that it was considering using captured CO₂ from the production process in the future. It also mentioned issues from its trials such as the effective ‘flame’ being hotter than the conventional process but not as long. This increased the reactivity of the resulting clinker. Finally, Heidelberg Materials noted from a feasibility study that a 1Mt/yr cement plant would need around 170MW of plasma generation, but that typical plasma generators topped out at around 8MW. Hence, any full set-up would likely require multiple plasma generators. For more on non-combustion style kilns see GCW561.

UBE Mitsubishi Cement’s burner installation is more conventional but again it is concerned about sustainability. In this case the line has tested burning natural gas. The cement producer says it is the first such installation at a cement plant in Japan to do so commercially. The burner was jointly developed by UBE Mitsubishi Cement, Osaka Gas and Daigas Energy. Firstly, the plant will consider switching to natural gas. This will reduce the unit’s CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion. However, a later step being considered is to move on to e-methane. This is a synthetic methane made from CO₂ and hydrogen using renewable energy.

Finally, another recent story on this theme is the installation of a new satellite burner by Northern Ireland-based Mannok at its Derrylin cement plant in August 2025. This is Phase One of a two-part project to upgrade the pyro kiln system at the site. The cement company worked with FLSmidth on the €2.5m upgrade. The new burner has now allowed the plant to burn solid recovered fuel (SRF) by up to a 30% substitution rate in the kiln. This followed a project, also with FLSmidth, to install a FuelFlex Pyrolyzer in 2022. This is used to replace coal with SRF in the pre-calcination stage of cement production. Phase two will be an upgrade of the main burner to a new Jetflex burner. Once this part is completed, Mannok is aiming for an overall substitution rate of 65 - 70% on the whole pyro-processing system.

Burners at cement plants are replaced fairly commonly. However, the supplier companies don’t advertise every installation due to the commercial relationships with their clients and other factors. Hence the more interesting upgrades tend to get the publicity. Typically this means if a burner uses new technology, meets sustainability goals and so on, we find out about it. It’s a similar situation when a new heating technology such as plasma is trialled. Changing trends in fuel types for cement plants suggest different types of conventional burners. Some of this can be seen in the burner stories above with the trend moving towards ever higher rates of alternative fuels usage. Combustion in cement kilns is here to stay for the time being but plasma trials will be watched carefully.

The 18th Global CemFuels Conference & Exhibition on alternative fuels for cement and lime 2025 will take place in Milan on 17 - 18 September 2025

Ireland/UK: Mannok has completed Phase 1 of a two-phase upgrade to its pyroprocessing system with the installation of a new satellite burner in collaboration with FLSmidth. The €2.5m project enables the use of solid recovered fuel (SRF) as a replacement for coal, achieving up to 30% substitution and reducing CO₂ emissions by 23,000t/yr.

Phase 2 will involve upgrading the main burner to a Jetflex system, targeting 65–70% coal substitution across the kiln. Mannok produces about 1.4Mt/yr of cement for customers across the UK and Ireland.

Denmark: Christopher Ashworth has resigned as the president of FLSmidth Cement. A new president will be announced for the company after it has completed its divestment to Pacific Avenue from FLSmith. In the interim period Cori Petersen, the Executive Vice President of FLSmidth, will work as the acting president of FLSmidth Cement. Ashworth joined FLSmith Cement as its president in 2023. Previously he worked as the vice president and managing director of Eurotherm, a subsidiary of Schneider-Electric.

It’s been a busy period at FLSmidth in Denmark with the announced sale of its Air Pollution Control business this week. This has followed the divestment of its cement business and its headquarters in Valby in late June 2025.

The Denmark-based company has moved towards mining over the last decade. In the mid-2010s, revenue from its cement business was higher than its mining division. This started to change in 2017 when it acquired part of Sandvik Mining Systems. The purchase of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions’ mining business followed in 2021. The focus on mining then became more overt with the announcement of so-called “pure play strategies” for its mining and cement divisions in 2023. The public decision to sell the cement business came in early 2024. That year the cement division contributed about one fifth of group order intake, revenue and earnings. For more on the background to the decision to divest read Global Cement Weekly’s commentary in January 2024.

US-based private equity company Pacific Avenue Capital Partners was revealed as the buyer for the cement division on 20 June 2025. The value of the deal was presented as a total initial consideration of €75m and a further conditional deferred cash consideration of up to €75m. This latter payment appears to be based on undisclosed criteria. The cement division reported revenue of €596m and adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €54m in 2024. The divestment is expected to close in the second half of 2025 subject to the regulatory approval and so on.

However, other sales connected to FLSmidth’s cement business have also been occurring. A deal to sell its Non-Core Activities segment to KOCH Solutions was announced in June 2023. This includes a mixture of intellectual property for port and terminal equipment, stockyard systems and pipe conveyors. It also covers order backlog, employees and facilities. No purchase price has been revealed. Completion was originally planned for the end of 2024 but it has been put back to the end of 2025. In July 2023 the sale of its Advanced Filtration Technologies (AFT) filter media business to Micronics was declared. No price for the divestment was disclosed but a net gain of around €13m was reported in the company’s annual report.

Jump forward to 2024 and the divestment of MAAG gears and drives was swiftly announced and then completed in the first quarter to Sweden-based investment company Solix Group. As before no price was publicised but a net gain of around €3.75m was reported. Now, in 2025, the group signed a deal to sell its headquarters at Valby in Denmark for around €98m. The company has been based in the town since 1899 and the building in question at Vigerslev Allé was inaugurated in 1956. The company is planning to move to a new headquarters in Copenhagen later in 2025. This week the sale of its Air Pollution Control business to UK-based investors Rubicon Partners has been announced. It said that since 2020 the company has gradually been divesting businesses related to air pollution control. This latest sale is the last part of that process.

So that appears to be it for FLSmidth’s involvement in the cement sector beyond the quarry gates. The divestments have occurred in a piecemeal fashion rather than one single outright transaction. The Non-Core Activities and Advanced Filtration Technologies (AFT) segments are being sold to manufacturers. By contrast MAAG gears and drives, the Air Pollution Control business and the remainder of the cement business are being sold to investment companies. We’ll have to wait a few years to work out the implications of all of this.

Denmark: FLSmidth has agreed to sell its cement equipment manufacturing division FLSmidth Cement to Pacific Avenue Capital Partners (‘Pacific Avenue’). No value for the sale has been disclosed. FLSmidth says that Pacific Avenue has ‘deep experience executing industrial carve-outs and shepherding them to the next stages of their growth journeys.’ It added that it was confident that the partnership would usher in a strong future for FLSmidth Cement, its customers, employees, and other stakeholders. This is Pacific Avenue’s initial foray into the cement industry.

FLSmidth’s Cement and Mining businesses have been together for many years. The company says that, for much of that time, there were distinct advantages to having one company serving both industries. However, in recent years, the two industries have diverged. The sale includes all related employees, assets, intellectual property and technology. Certain legacy contracts and the Air Pollution Control (APC) asset will be retained by FLSmidth.

The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval from the relevant authorities. The business will continue to execute its current strategy with the same services and support offered to its customers. The company says that FLSmidth Cement will become a stand-alone entity with more resources and capital available.

Jason Leach, Partner at Pacific Avenue Capital Partners, said “We are excited to acquire FLSmidth Cement, a global leader providing mission critical equipment and aftermarket solutions in the cement sector. The business has a rich history and strong brands, including Fuller, Pfister and Ventomatic. We believe that cement will continue to play a crucial role in global economic development, and that FLSmidth Cement’s product innovation will play an important role in the decarbonisation of the industry.”

Sweden: Alcemy has appointed Alejandro Espejel Garcia as its Head of Sales - Cement Business Line. He previously worked as a Business Development Manager for the Germany-based artificial intelligence software company.

Espejel Garcia worked for Denmark-based FLSmidth from 2012 to 2024. He started as a Senior Reliability Specialist for the equipment supplier notably becoming Country Manager and Head of Mining Sales - Mexico in 2018 and Managing Director for FLSmidth Panama at around the same time. He subsequently was appointed as Vice President - Head of Group Digital’s Smart Service in 2021 and Vice President - Head of ERP Transformation in 2023. Before working for FLSmidth he held various roles with Cemex from 2004 to 2011 ending his tenure as a Regional Technical Manager in Mexico. He holds an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and a master’s of business administration qualification from the Copenhagen Business School .

Denmark: FLSmidth has entered into a share purchase agreement with Nrep and AG Gruppen to sell its subsidiary Matr. No 2055 A/S, which owns the land and buildings at Vigerslev Allé 77 in Valby, Copenhagen. The company has been based at the Valby site since 1899, with the current buildings built in 1956. In 2022, FLSmidth announced plans to relocate its headquarters to a news site in Havneholmen, Copenhagen in late 2025.

FLSmidth expects net cash proceeds of approximately US$112m upon the closing of the transaction, scheduled for the end of the first quarter of 2026, subject to approval by the Danish Consumer and Competition Authority.

Chile: FLSmidth has inaugurated a new manufacturing plant for mill liners and related products in Casablanca. The Denmark-based company has invested €21m in the 11,250m² unit. It has a capacity of 6500t/yr of coatings. FLSmidth said that LEED-certified mill liner manufacturing facility reduces carbon emissions by up to 56% in the manufacturing process and recycles and reuses all water used during the manufacturing process as well. The site will also create up to 250 new jobs in the Valparaìso region

Mikko Keto, CEO of FLSmidth commented, “Our new Casablanca mill liner manufacturing facility, which joins FLSmidth’s extensive service network in Chile, is much more than manufacturing infrastructure - it is a statement of our commitment to responsible mining, our mill lining portfolio and the communities of South America."

FLSmidth said in early 2024 that it was planning to sell its cement equipment division, FLSmidth Cement. This decision was made so the company could focus on its mining business.

US: FLSmidth has held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new 11,000m² manufacturing and distribution facility near its main office in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company is consolidating its US operations following the full separation of its mining and cement businesses. The facility will primarily serve as a distribution warehouse for replacement parts and a production site for pneumatic transfer lines, according to local media.

Head of manufacturing Leyla Mohamed-Folk said “We are bringing our cement products that started in the Lehigh Valley back here.”

UK: Breedon has replaced the Traylor primary gyratory crusher at its Hope Cement Works after 72 years of operation. According to a post on Facebook by Breedon, the original crusher had been in service since 1952, crushing over 110Mt of minerals during its 72-year lifespan. FLSmidth supplied the new 1250t/hr primary gyratory crusher, which was successfully commissioned in October 2024.