Displaying items by tag: KHD

Germany: Johan Cnossen has resigned as the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Management Board of KHD with immediate effect from 11 March 2016. He cited personal reasons. Other Management Board members will take over his responsibilities for an interim period.

Germany: KHD International and its US-based subsidiary Humboldt Wedag (HW Inc) have been ordered to pay damages by a Portuguese arbitration court to a customer in South America. HW Inc’s arbitration claim for disbursement of outstanding payments, reimbursement for a called bank guarantee, as well as additional compensation (for damages) was denied. KHD expects the damages to lead to expenses of Euro15m in its 2015 financial results. The customer has not been named.

“This ruling does not reflect our own or our legal counsel’s expectations in any way. We believe that it is grossly incorrect and will exhaust all promising possibilities for success in proceeding against this judgement,” said KHD International CEO Johan Cnossen. KHD said in a statement that the arbitration award would not have an impact on its forecast results for 2015 as ‘adequate’ provisions had already been set up.

Turkey: Aşkale Çimento has placed orders with KHD for new cement grinding systems at cement plants in Akoluk and Bilecik. Commissioning of both COMFLEX® systems is planned for the first part of 2017.

At Akoluk the new COMFLEX system will be installed in front of a new 100t/hour ball mill. At Bilecik the COMFLEX unit will allow Aşkale Çimento to increase the existing capacity from 100t/hour to 210t/hour at 3800 blaine. Between 2006 and 2011 KHD supplied three kiln lines to Aşkale plants in Askale, Van and Gümüshane.

KHD's scope includes engineering as well as the supply of mechanical and electrical equipment. KHD will also supervise erection and commissioning of the new systems.

The core equipment of the COMFLEX SC16-3500 clinker grinding system includes: Roller Press RPS 16-170/180 with ROLCOX® system for control and monitoring; Cascade separator, type VS 618 as static classifier; High efficiency separator SEPMASTER, type SKS-VC 3500 as dynamic classifier; System fan HKSK 212/275.

With this new order KHD has now sold six COMFLEX plants in Turkey. Other COMFLEX systems are in operation in Denizli, KCS, Aslan and Batisöke.

Turkey: Oyak Aslan Çimento has awarded KHD Humboldt Wedag a contract for engineering and delivery of equipment to upgrade its cement grinding line at its plant in Darica-Kocaeli. The installation will be Oyak's seventh KHD roller press at the facility.

The contract to install a new Comflex grinding system will increase the capacity of cement grinding unit no. 1, by more than 100% and save approximately 20% energy. KHD's scope includes the engineering and delivery of mechanical and electrical equipment, as well as advisory supervision of erection and commissioning for the new Comflex SC20-3250. This will be KHD's fourth Comflex grinding unit and 15th roller press system with a V-Separator in Turkey.

The core equipment to be designed and delivered by KHD, as specified in this contract, includes a Comflex SC20-3250 clinker grinding system with:

• Roller Press RPZ 20-170/180 with Rolcox system for control and monitoring
• Cascade separator, type VS 620 as static classifier
• High efficiency separator Sepmaster, type SKS-VC 3250 as dynamic classifier
• System fan HKF 190/280

The new Comflex system will be integrated with the existing ball mill system. However, according to KHD, a primary reason Aslan Çimento chose KHD's Comflex for this project is it's ability to produce finished product without a ball mill unit. The commissioning of the new Comflex system is planned for 2016.

India: JSW Cement has ordered eight 90t/hr roller press slag grinding units from KHD Humboldt Wedag India Private Ltd (India) and KHD Humboldt Wedag GmbH (Germany) for its plants in India.

Startling news from Hebei, China this week. The northerly province intends to move out its excess capacity in heavy industries, including cement, to other countries by 2023. 5Mt of cement production capacity is planned for transfer by 2017 and 30Mt is planned for transfer by 2023. The larger figure is about the same as the cement production capacity of France or Germany!

Hebei isn't the biggest cement-producing province in China but it has received attention as the authorities have cut down on 'out-dated' production capacity. The region was targeted in a programme to cut emissions from heavy industry due to its proximity to Beijing and that city's smog issues.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) set a target of 60Mt/yr in cement production capacity to be cut by 2017. The region was also the site of massive cement plant demolitions in late 2013 and early 2014. 18 cement plants were demolished in December 2013 followed by 17 cement plants in February 2014 alongside the destruction of connected grinding and storage capacity. Overall an incredible 74 cement plants in the area surrounding Shijiazhuang alone were targeted for demolition by March 2014.

Following this massive spate of capacity elimination, the public announcement to actively move abroad marks a stark change to China's general cement industry strategy so far. The country's equipment suppliers like Sinoma have been taking business from European rivals like FLSmidth or KHD for some time now especially in developing markets.

In 2013, FLSmidth reported a cement market order intake of US$575m and KHD reported an order intake of US$216m. In comparison Sinoma's cement equipment and engineering services reported order intake of US$5.59bn. In its annual report for 2013 FLSmidth estimated that the global market for new kiln capacity was 50Mt. At a capacity construction price of US$150/t this suggests that Sinoma took orders for nearly three quarters of the world's required capacity for new cement kilns in 2013. Order intake covers more than just building cement plants, so this quick calculation presents only a rough impression of what's going on.

More recently Chinese cement producers have started building their own cement plants or funding them outside of China. In October 2014 State Development and Investment Corp and Anhui Conch Cement Company announced plans to fund a plant in Indonesia. In September 2014 ground breaking was held for a Chinese-funded plant in Kyrgyzstan. In June 2014, Huaxin Cement invested in Cambodia Cement. This was its second overseas investment following a project in Tajikistan in 2011.

With China's government still attempting to avoid a hard economic landing as its growth slows, moving industrial overcapacity overseas makes sense. International and national players must be worried about the potential scale of this transition. On the plus side, however, those notorious inscrutable Chinese production figures in the cement industry will be far easier to analyse in plants outside of China facing international competition. Today Hebei, tomorrow the world!

Germany: KHD has reported that it has started two modernisation projects for HeidelbergCement's cement plant in Lengfurt, Germany. These projects include the modernisation of the raw meal grinding unit with KHD SKS VC 3000 dynamic separator and the modernisation of an existing preheater with KHD's new PH5835 cyclones.

KHD's responsibility includes manufacturing, erection and commissioning for both projects. The raw meal grinding unit has been in operation since its successful installation in April 2014 and the installation of the new preheater cyclones is scheduled to begin in the winter of 2015.

US: Gebr. Pfeiffer Inc., the US subsidiary of Germany's Gebr. Pfeiffer SE, has been contracted to supply a new raw material vertical roller mill for the Holcim (US) Hagerstown plant as part of a wider renovation project. The order was placed through KHD Humboldt Wedag, which is the engineering and equipment supplier for the Hagerstown plant modernisation. KHD has been contracted to modify the existing production line to increase the plant's potential production rate to approximately 2400t/day and to comply with the new NESHAP environmental regulations.

KHD's scope of supply begins with modifying the raw material feed system and continues through to the clinker handling system and storage hall. As part of the solution, a new raw material grinding mill, the MPS 3750 B, along with all related engineering services will be supplied by Gebr. Pfeiffer, Inc. The raw material grinding mill includes a rotary air lock with drive, MPS 3750 B mill, an SLS 3150 B high efficiency classifier and includes Gebr. Pfeiffer's patented 'Lift and Swing' technology.

Commissioning for this project is planned for mid-2016.

Turkey: German cement plant equipment provider KHD said it has received an order to supply a clinker production line to Turkish cement producer Bolu Çimento.

The order, placed by Bolu Çimento's parent company Oyak Group, envisages engineering, equipment supply as well as advisory services for the installation and commissioning of the clinker line at Bolu Çimento's Kazan plant near Ankara, according to a KHD statement.

The new line will have the capacity to produce 3500t/day of cement. It will be placed next to the existing cement grinding unit at the plant and is planned to be commissioned in the spring of 2015.

US: KHD Humboldt Wedag International AG's Americas Customer Service Centre has signed a contract with Holcim (US) for engineering, delivery of equipment, and site services to modify the existing production line at its Hagerstown, Maryland cement plant. The contract, which includes a KHD designed PyroProcessing System, will increase the line's production rate to 2400t/day and be compliant with the new NESHAP environmental regulations.

The project incorporates constructing a five-stage single-string KHD LowNO_x Preheater over the existing kiln, while the kiln is in operation. Additionally, KHD will modify the existing six-pier rotary kiln to a two-pier kiln and add a new KHD PYROFLOOR clinker cooler. The existing kiln will be cut to achieve a final length of 51m, transforming the existing long dry kiln system into a new, modern, energy efficient, fuel efficient, and environmentally friendly PyroProcessing system. The new system will be supplied with a new whole tire handling system and will be capable of co-processing up to approximately 7% of whole tires as an alternative fuel.

To reduce SO_x emissions KHD will supply a dry lime injection system. To reduce NO_x emissions KHD will supply PYROJET LowNO_x burners, a PYROCLON® Low NOX calciner with PYROLOOP® and a modification of the existing SNCR system. New dust collectors will be supplied to meet stringent particulate emissions requirements.

KHD's scope of supply for the project starts with a modification to the raw material feed system and ends with the clinker handling system into the existing clinker storage hall. The scope consists of all electrical and auxiliary equipment, a new raw material grinding VRM system, coal dosing systems, as well as civil and structural engineering and the supply of structural steel.

Commissioning of this new system is planned for mid-2016.