Displaying items by tag: Loesche

Bangladesh: Confidence Cement is building a new 1.8Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Narsingdi. The project has an investment of US$68m, according to the Daily Star newspaper. Germany-based Loesche is reportedly supplying equipment for the unit, which is scheduled to start operation in early 2025. Around two-thirds of the project cost is being supplied by loans with the rest coming from company equity.

Confidence Cement currently operates a 1.2Mt/yr grinding plant near Chattogram.

UK: Loesche has won a contract from Aggregate Industries UK, part of the Holcim Group, to design, manufacture and deliver a grinding plant for a new production and distribution facility at the Port of Tilbury, set to open in 2025. The new plant will feature a Loesche vertical roller mill of the LM 30.2 CS type, complete with a dynamic classifier, process and nuisance filters, a hot gas generator and mill fan. This facility will allow Aggregate Industries UK to supply its customers with a range of conventional, low carbon and circular cementitious materials 24 hours a day from five loading heads.

Changes are underway in South Asia’s second largest cement sector, with two legal developments that affect the industry set in motion in the past week. At a national level, the Competition Commission of Pakistan recommended that the government require cement producers to include production and expiry dates on the labels of bagged cement. Meanwhile, in Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, a new law tightened procedures around the establishment and expansion of cement plants. At the same time, the country’s cement producers began to publish their financial results for the first nine months of the 2024 financial year (FY2024).

During the nine-month period up to 31 March 2024, the Pakistani cement industry sold 34.5Mt of cement, up by 3% year-on-year. Producers have responded to the growth with capacity expansions, including the launch of the new 1.3Mt/yr Line 3 of Attock Cement’s Hub cement plant in Balochistan on 17 April 2023. China-based contractor Hefei Cement Research & Design executed the project, including installation of a Loesche LM 56.3+3 CS vertical roller mill, giving the Hub plant a new, expanded capacity of 3Mt/yr.

Pressure has eased on the operating costs of Pakistani cement production, as inflation slowed and the country received a new government in March 2024, following political unrest in 2022 and 2023. Coal prices also settled back to 2019 levels, after prolonged agitation. Pakistan Today News reported the value of future coal supply contracts as US$93/t for June 2024, down by 2% over six months from US$95/t for January 2024.

Nonetheless, cost optimisation remained a ‘strong focus’ in the growth strategy of Fauji Cement, which switched to using local and Afghan coal at its plants during the past nine months. Its reliance on captive power rose to 60% of consumption, thanks to its commissioning of new waste heat recovery and solar power capacity. During the first nine months of FY2024, the company’s year-on-year sales growth of 14% narrowly offset cost growth of 13%, leaving it with net profit growth of 1%.

Looking more closely, the latest sales data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) shows a stark divergence within cement producers’ markets. While exports recorded 68% year-on-year growth to 5.1Mt, domestic sales fell, by 4% to 29.4Mt. The association further breaks down Pakistani cement sales data into South Pakistan (Balochistan and Sindh) and North Pakistan (all other regions). Domestic sales dropped most sharply in South Pakistan, by 6% to 5.16Mt. In the North, they dropped by 3% to 24.2Mt. Part of the reason was a high base of comparison, following flooding-related reconstruction work nationally during the 2023 financial year. Meanwhile, the government finished rolling out track-and-trace on all cement despatches during the opening months of the current financial year, and commenced the implementation of axle load requirements for cement trucks. APCMA flagged both policies as potentially disruptive to its members’ domestic deliveries, amid a strong infrastructure project pipeline.

Pakistani producers suffer from overcapacity, but have established themselves as an important force in the global export market. They continue to locate new markets, including the UK in January 2024. Lucky Cement was among leading exporters overall, with a large share of its orders originating from Africa.

On 17 April 2024, the government of Punjab province set up a committee to assess new proposed cement projects, with the ultimate goal of conserving water. Falling water tables are considered a significant economic threat in agricultural Punjab. Besides completing an inspection by the new committee, proposed projects must also secure clearance from six different provincial government departments and the local government. While acknowledging the necessity of the cement industry, the government insisted that it will take legal action against any cement plant that exceeds water allowances.

Pakistan’s cement plants have grown in anticipation of a local market boom. Without this strong core of sales, underutilisation will remain troublesome, especially in North Pakistan where exposure is highest. At the same time, APCMA has given expression to the perceived lack of support affecting production and distribution. For an industry with expansionist aims, new restrictions on its growth and operations can feel like an existential menace.

Germany: Loesche says it has acquired the technical knowledge of hydraulic systems supplier Ruhfus Systemhydraulik following the latter company’s insolvency. The acquisition of Ruhfus’ expertise will expand Loesche's capabilities in the field of hydraulic technology and enable the company to offer spare parts and services outside of the cement sector. In addition, a collaboration with former employees of Ruhfus Systemhydraulik will help it to develop new hydraulic solutions.

Ruhfus Systemhydraulik was originally founded as Rheinisches Kleineisenwerk August Ruhfus in 1907. It originally supplied metal parts for the railway sector before moving into hydraulics in the late 1950s. The company is based in Neuss and has over 100 employees.

Germany: Loesche has published its Sustainability Report of its performance in 2021. The supplier’s Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions declined by 6.1% year-on-year to 229t from 244t in 2020 and by 19% over the two years from 2019, when they totalled 282t. It reduced the share of Scope 2 emissions in the figure to 40% from 41% in 2020 and 45% in 2019.

Loesche offers emissions-reducing products to the global cement industry under the label Greenkey Solutions. These include its A/Fuel and H/combust ranges for alternative fuels and green hydrogen upgrades, its C/Clay range for clay calcining and grinding, its Digital/Ready 4.0! range for predictive process optimisation and smart asset management, its E/Slag range for ground granulated blast furnace slag upgrades and its S/Crete range for waste concrete recycling, as well as audits for retrofits. Together, Loesche says that its products can reduce the global cement sector’s carbon footprint by 90%. Within this, Loesche believes that calcined clay technology alone can reduce cement’s CO₂ emissions by 40% and its energy demand by 21%.

Loesche said that its launch during the year of its H₂Optimum grinding bed spraying system can reduce grinding mills’ water consumption by 50%.

Brazil: Germany-based Loesche says that it has acquired burner manufacturer Dynamis for an undisclosed amount. The engineering company was founded in 2003 and its products include the D-Gasifier, the D-Flame Burner, the D-Igniter, and the D-HotGas. Dynamis said it was excited by the opportunities that the agreement with Loesche would bring.

Austria: Germany-based Loesche has received an order to supply a new raw materials grinding plant to LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge Zement’s Mannersdorf cement plant. The plant will consist of a type LM 45.4 mill, a LSKS type classifier, a rotary feeder, a magnetic separator, a conveyor, a pair of Hurriclons, a mill fan and the ‘Digital Ready 4.0!’ digital package. Loseche’s subsidiaries Kingsblue and AixProcess are responsible for the digital products and A-Tec for the Hurriclons. Commissioning is scheduled by the end of February 2022.

Cement and ore head of sales Stefan Baaken said, "Many cement plants in Europe are facing similar challenges to our customer in Mannersdorf. For us as an original equipment manufacturer and also for the customer, the new grinding plant is an important signpost towards more energy-efficient and sustainable cement production.”

India: Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha, has attended the inauguration of Ramco Cement’s new cement grinding plant at Haridaspur. The unit had a cost of just under US$100m and has created 105 direct jobs. A LM 46.2+2 CS type vertical roller mill with a capacity of 3750kW has ordered from Germany-based Loesche in 2018 for the project. The cement producer says that the plant is designed to be ‘totally dust free,’ including bag filters designed to ensure emission levels below 30mg/m³.

Rwanda: Prime Cement has inaugurated its new 0.6Mt/yr grinding plant in Rwanda in Musanze, Northern Province. It also announced the start of commercial production at the US$40m unit, according to the Rwanda New Times newspaper. It plans to ramp up production to 1.2Mt/yr by mid-2022. Germany-based Loesche installed a Loesche Jumbo CCG (Compact Cement Grinding plant) with type LM 30.2 mill at the site.

The cement plant is owned by Milbridge Holding, a group of companies involved in manufacturing and distribution of construction materials in Angola, the UAE, Rwanda and South Africa. It employs 110 workers directly.

UK: Germany-based Loesche has joined a network of expert companies that “share relevant information and results regarding the reduction of environmental impact and the use of coal and enhanced energy security globally” in becoming an IEA Clean Coal Centre knowledge partner. The company said, “We are excited to be part of this renowned group of companies that aim to improve the environmental impact by use of green technologies, renewable resources, and alternative use of energy sources for more sustainable engineering projects.”