Displaying items by tag: Germany
Germany: Currax is promoting its Integrated Drive System for use by conveyor belt systems in the raw material sector. The complete drive train uses components made by Siemens that are then tailored for a conveyor’s particular requirements. Parts of the system include: the Simotics FD Motor, a conveyor belt drive with a power range of 200 – 1800kW; the Flender B3SH Gear units that are avaialble in various sizes; and the Rupex Bolt coupling, an additonal element for conveyor belt drives that are use as elastic compensating couplings and that provides a torque range of 200 – 130,000Nm. Currax is an enginering company based in Hamburg that provides and distributes products for the drive chain.
LafargeHolcim establishes new European Works Council
28 March 2017Switzerland: LafargeHolcim and employee representatives in Europe have established a new European Works Council (EWC). The forum for consultation and dialogue at a transnational level will bring together worker representatives from 19 countries with senior leaders from LafargeHolcim.
“People are essential to the success of LafargeHolcim and our commitment to social dialogue through the new European Works Council is testament to this. During a period of transformation, we recognise that ensuring the full commitment, mobilisation, and engagement of our employees is a key building block for success,” said Eric Olsen, chief executive officer of LafargeHolcim.
The EWC was established based on an agreement signed by Olsen and Executive Committee members Caroline Luscombe, responsible for Organisation and Human Resources and Roland Köhler, responsible for Europe, Australia / New Zealand and Trading as well as Sam Hägglund, General Secretary of the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers EFBWW, among other management and employee representatives. Chaired by Köhler, the EWC replaces the previous European Works Councils. Countries represented in the EWC include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
Haver & Boecker promotes Roto-Packer RVT
20 March 2017Germany: Haver & Boecker is promoting its Roto-Packer RVT, a new model in its Roto-Packer series that was launched in mid-2016. The machine is designed for packing fine and ultra-fine cement at up to 6000 bags/hr. Key features and options include a Roto-Lock dosing unit, a MEC weighing system, Seal technology, LED lighting for a simplified user experience and Haver Quattro technology.
“Our team spent lots of time analysing the customer needs, brainstorming ideas and finding best solutions, which led us, beside other issues, to redesign the dosing system and inventing the Roto-Lock,” said Wolfgang Bednarz, manager of the Cement Business Unit at Haver & Boecker.
Following customer feedback the dosing system was redesigned in the series and the Roto-Lock replaced the slide gate dosing and shut-off valves (slide plates) to allow clean filling without spillage. Many older models can also be refurbished with the new system. The MEC weighing system serves as a scale and a configurable control system for the entire packing system providing ideal bag weight and helping to eliminate product waste.
Intercem replaces transformer at Cimfaso Cement
17 March 2017Burkina Faso: Intercem has reported that it replaced the main transformer at the Cimfaso Cement plant in 10 days in February 2017 from the initial order to the resumption of production at the unit. Following a problem with the local power grid the transformer was damaged and production stopped. Intercem dismantled and flew the transformer from Germany to Burkina Faso and then supervised its reassembly, connection and commissioning including customs and visa clearance.
Germany: BHS-Sonthofen and MSW Mineralstoffwerke Südwest have been awarded the German Resources Efficiency Award 2016 for their Combimix process. The German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy awarded the prize to the two companies in mid-February 2017. The process uses lime to improve raw materials yields in quarries contaminated with clay.
BHS developed the Combimix process based on their twin-shaft batch mixers and implemented it together with MSW. It uses lime to mix with clay that then undergoes a chemical reaction and this allows it to be separated from the rock in a subsequent processing step. The process allows more materials, such as limestone, to be extracted from quarries and extends the usable lifespans of such sites. In addition, previously dumped materials considered unprofitable can now be reassessed.
MSW introduced the process at its Mönsheim quarry in the summer of 2016. It allowed the company to increase its repository’s yield by 25%. To produce the same volume of the final product, it was previously necessary to extract about 620,000t/yr of limestone. At present the total is around 188,000t less, which corresponds to a relative reduction of around 30%. It helped to increase raw material efficiency from the previous level of 65 – 70% to around 93%.
“Our Combimix process holds a vast potential as it enables companies across the globe and throughout various industries to utilise resources more efficiently. In the context of rehabilitating contaminated soil, Combimix can be used to remove oil and other harmful substances. As a result, only a small fraction of the feed material needs to be dumped in hazardous waste landfills. The process is also viable for the cement industry. Here, it can be applied to processing limestone, a key ingredient that improves the burning process in rotary kilns and thus contributes to reducing fuel consumption,” said Dennis Kemmann, the managing director of BHS-Sonthofen.
Germany: Schwenk Zement has been confirmed as the buyer of Opterra Zement’s Karsdorf cement plant. The transaction remains subject to the Germany competition body and this is expected to take up to six months, according to the Naumburger Tageblatt newspaper. Employees are reportedly ‘concerned’ about the acquisition because Schwenk Zement operates its Bernburg plant in the same state, Saxony-Anhalt. The deal also includes a cement grinding plant.
Germany: The Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) says that turnover of German manufacturers of construction equipment rose by 3% year-on-year to Euro9.3bn in 2016. This compares to a fall of world sales of construction equipment by 1%. The German domestic market grew by 20% to nearly Euro3bn in 2016, following a recovery in 2015, nearly matching the record year of 2007.
Growth was reported in most European markets, with the exception of the UK and in Central Eastern Europe. However, the industry saw sales decline by over 9% in North America. Infrastructure spending in the US is expected to stabilise this situation. Latin America suffered from the weakness of the Brazilian construction industry and general economy. Sales in Asia benefited from a recovery in China following four years of decline and an increase of 30% in India, boosted by road construction.
“We will only keep growing in the future if we further strive for international solutions and co-operations. In a highly specialised sector like ours, where special machines are not available in every region of the world, open markets are highly essential. We all depend on free trade and good economic sense. This applies for Europe and the United States alike,” said Johann Sailer, chairman of the VDMA.
CRH to sell cement plants in Germany
01 March 2017Germany: CRH has agreed to sell one integrated cement plant and one grinding plant in Germany to an unnamed party. These assets were purchased as part of a group of sites acquitted by CRH from LafargeHolcim in 2015. The transaction is subject to approval by the German Competition Authority (Bundeskartellamt). No exact value for the transaction has been released but the Irish building materials company has placed a sale including these assets and others including a clay business in Northern Europe and a concrete business in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg for Euro400m. CRH currently operates two integrated cement plants in Germany at Wössingen and Karsdorf.
Haver & Boecker to launch Quattro System Monitoring
28 February 2017Germany: Haver & Boecker plans to launch its Quattro System Monitoring product at the Interpack 2017 exhibition, taking place at Düsseldorf in May 2017. The mineral processing and packaging technology company will also feature its newly developed Roto-Packer RVT packing system and Elementra inline packer. Its subsidiary Newtech Bag Palletizing will also be present at the event with its Terram 1000 palletizer.
The Quattro System Monitoring is a ‘smart system’ that allows real-time production and maintenance information on packing machines can be viewed on a variety of devices either locally or remotely via a secure connection. The company says that the system, ‘allows machines to be operated more profitably and processes to be laid out and planned more intelligently.’ The product can also be retrofitted to existing machines.
Haver & Boecker will also be running a parallel event at its headquarters in Oelde in May 2017 to invite customers to live machine demonstrations.
Hoffmeier delivers ball mill to Misr Beni Suef Cement
21 February 2017Egypt: Hoffmeier Industrieanlagen has delivered a ball mill to Misr Beni Suef Cement. The mill has a diameter of 6m, a length of 17.3m and its weighs 190t. The installation of the mill will start in April 2017 and is to be commissioned by the end of the year. Hoffmeier will also support the customer with its installation knowledge during the assembly phase. The German engineering company produces industrial heavy machinery including tube mills and rotary kilns.