Displaying items by tag: Grinding

India: Jindal Panther Cement (JPC), part of the Jindal Group, has commissioned its first cement grinding unit with a capacity of 1.5Mt/yr at Angul, Odisha. The unit will use about 1Mt/yr of blast furnace slag from Jindal subsidiary Jindal Steel & Power’s (JSPL) nearby integrated steel plant, operating with the industry's lowest clinker factor as part of its decarbonisation strategy. The Angul grinding unit will produce low-carbon Portland slag and composite cement for central and eastern India, repurposing waste from JSPL's operations and aligning with the group's decarbonisation goals. In the future, JPC plans to increase production capacity at both of its facilities, Angul and Raigarh, to 7Mt/yr, with an investment of US$257m.

CEO of JPC, Rohit Vohra, said "The commissioning of our Angul grinding unit marks a significant step in our journey towards a sustainable future. Our low-carbon cement and innovative distribution model position us uniquely to support eastern India's infrastructure growth while contributing to a greener planet."

India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned an additional 1.2Mt/yr of grinding capacity at its Arakkonam unit in Tamil Nadu. This expansion is part of a broader 22.6Mt/yr capacity increase announced back in June 2022. With this latest addition, UltraTech Cement's total cement capacity now stands at 156Mt/yr.

India: JSW Cement has commissioned another 2Mt/yr of grinding capacity at its Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka, increasing the plant's total capacity to 6Mt/yr. The expansion, which cost US$55m, increases the company's overall capacity to over 20Mt/yr.  JSW Cement was set to raise US$476m through an initial public offering (IPO), but the Securities and Exchange Board of India has placed the IPO plans ‘in abeyance’ as of September 2024, according to the Economic Times. Funds from the IPO were earmarked for debt repayment and financing a new unit in Nagaur, Rajasthan.

Chief executive officer Nilesh Narwekar said "This new capacity at Vijayanagar is a significant step towards increasing our overall capacity to 40.8Mt/yr while maintaining our commitment to sustainability."

India: Ramco Cements has increased its cement grinding capacity by nearly 1Mt/yr. The company carried out debottlenecking at its Kalavatala plant in Andhra Pradesh, enhancing capacity from 1.5Mt/yr to 2Mt/yr. Similarly, at the Valapady grinding unit in Salem District, Tamil Nadu, capacity has been increased from 1.6Mt.yr to 2Mt/yr.

Brazil: China-based Sinoma Overseas has signed an engineering and supply contract for the Z02 cement grinding plant and a technical cooperation framework agreement with Votorantim Cimentos. The agreements were signed by Sinoma chair Zhu Linhe and Votorantim’s global projects director Alvaro Lorenz. This collaboration marks the third cement grinding plant project between the two companies and is part of Votorantim's ‘2028 Development Strategy.’ The contract encompasses the design, equipment supply, and technical services for a 150t/hr cement grinding plant.

Zhu Linhe said "Votorantim is the most valuable client for Sinoma Overseas, this contract and agreement strengthens the strategic partnership between the two companies. It is the strong commitment of Sinoma Overseas to support Votorantim in achieving its '2028 Development Strategy' with Sinoma’s extensive industry expertise, advanced technology and mature localised operations.”

India: India’s top cement producers are planning to invest approximately US$15bn from 2025 - 2027 in capital expenditure, according to a report by ratings agency CRISIL. During this period, the industry is expected to expand cement grinding capacity by 130Mt/yr, which represents a fifth of the current capacity. This move is prompted by robust demand and competitive market share goals, reports the Economic Times.

Senior director and deputy chief ratings officer at CRISIL Ratings, Manish Gupta, said "Cement demand outlook remains healthy with a compound annual growth rate of 7% over the financial years 2025-2029. The surge in capital expenditure over the next three financial years will primarily cater to this growing demand as well as to the aspirations of the cement makers to improve their national presence."

India: JSW Cement plans to more than double its cement grinding capacity from 20.6Mt/yr to nearly 41Mt/yr. The expansion involves six new greenfield units in Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra, and a brownfield unit in Vijayanagar; Karnataka, adding 20.25Mt/yr. The company also aims to increase its clinker production capacity from 6.44Mt/yr to 13.04Mt/yr. The new facilities in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh will each contribute 3.3Mt/yr to this expansion. In its offer document, JSW Cement stated that it sees potential in ‘green’ cement products like ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and plans to expand its presence in northern and central India.

Tunisia: Les Ciments de Bizerte continues to face disruptions due to a financial crisis, limiting its operations to grinding imported clinker and managing petcoke shipments for third parties, African Manager News reports. Clinker production has been suspended throughout the second quarter of 2024, due to a lack of petcoke.

Cement production plummeted by 70% to 33,282t in the second quarter of 2024 from 109,855t during the same period in 2023. Lime production also declined by 37% due to reduced national demand. Local sales in the first half of 2024 decreased by 60% from US$16.3m in 2023 to US$6.6m in 2024, with exports completely halted during the first half of 2024. The company is in the process of paying off its debts.

India: Ultratech Cement has commissioned an additional 3.35Mt/yr of clinker and 1.8Mt/yr of grinding capacity at a unit in Tadipatri, according to Reuters. This expansion is part of a broader 22.6Mt/yr capacity expansion announced in June 2022, which will bring the company's total cement capacity to 154.86Mt/yr.

Saudi Arabia: Sinoma Overseas Development completed start-up testing and hand-over of new grinding mills at Arabian Cement Company’s Rabigh cement on 21 February 2024. The supplier said that the delivery was in accordance with the terms of the original contract between its parent company, China National Building Material (CNBM), and the producer.

Sinoma Overseas Development attributed deviations from the project’s previously announced schedule to the need for discussions with CNBM about remaining project works, equipment operation plans, procurement schedules and acceptance tests. As provided for in the contract, the work will be subject to a 5% delay penalty.