Displaying items by tag: Mortar plant

UK: Cemex has announced the construction of a mortar plant in Swindon, Wiltshire as part of its strategy to supply more alternative and sustainable materials to growing urban centres. The Mexico-based group said the plant will begin operations in the second half of 2025.

The new plant will produce Cemex's Vertua low-carbon mortars, with a CO2 footprint at least 30% lower than that of standard mortars. It will also feature a drying system designed to minimise heat consumption and significantly reduce fossil fuel consumption throughout the production process.

"As part of our growth strategy, we make strategic acquisitions and build new plants in advanced markets," said Fernando A Gonzalez, Cemex's CEO. "This strategically-located plant will enhance our production capacity in the country, advance our decarbonisation goals and allow us to offer a better experience to our customers in the region."

Argentina: Holcim Argentina has commissioned its new 120,000t/yr mortar plant at its Malagueño cement plant in Córdoba. The plant cost US$5m to build. It is equipped with six 100t raw material silos and eight 1t additive silos. It also has a 2000l mixer, three packing machines and an automated palletiser. Holcim Argentina says that the plant will produce its Tector Adhesive and Tector Revoques ranges of mortar.

Holcim Argentina chief executive officer Christian Dedeu said “This new plant is aligned with our purpose of generating progress for people and the planet, accompanied by a diversification of our product portfolio. It consolidates us as the leading company in innovative solutions for construction.”

Spain: Votorantim Cimentos Spain has completed its acquisition of Heidelberg Materials' businesses in the south of Spain. Under the deal, Votorantim Cimentos Spain gains control of FYM's 1.6Mt/yr Málaga cement plant, as well as three aggregates quarries and 11 ready-mix concrete plants in Andalusia.

Brazil-based Votorantim Cimentos' Europe, Asia and Africa CEO Jorge Wagner said “This acquisition is fully aligned with our strategy, reinforces our presence in the Iberian Peninsula to better serve our customers and creates significant synergies with our existing assets. Besides this, it will be key to accelerating our decarbonisation journey to achieve our 2030 Sustainability Commitments."

Votorantim Cimentos Spain operates six Spanish cement plants with 6Mt/yr in integrated capacity across Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Castile and León, Extremadura and Galicia.

Zimbabwe: Part of Lafarge Zimbabwe’s approved US$25m capital expenditure investments will go towards further expanding the company’s cement capacity in order to meet local demand. The company also plans to establish a new dry mortars plant. Lafarge Zimbabwe is on track to commission a new vertical roller mill at its Manresa grinding plant in early 2023. Lafarge Zimbabwe’s chief executive officer Geoffrey Ndugwa said, “The overall market demand continues to grow, driven by the segment of individual home builders as well as the ongoing major government infrastructure development projects. The company is confident that volumes will recover and grow as the availability of cement stabilises.”

Spain: Cemex España has announced plans to invest Euro4m in upgrades to its Buñol, Valencia, Muel, Zaragoza, Raspeig, Alicante and Rubí, Barcelona mortar plants. The upgrades will increase production capacity, safety and efficiency and improve product quality. The company said that the promotion of its range of over 160 special mortars is a main focus of the investment.

Cemex Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia regional president Sergio Menéndez said “We recognise the growing demand for innovative mortar solutions for new and existing buildings to reduce carbon emissions in our cities and support the EU Renewal Wave. Our wide range of mortars for dry silos, in bags and ready to use, is reinforced by expert solutions for paving streets, plastered walls, tunnel solutions, plasters and special sands.”

The group is also investing in upgrades to production and packaging systems in its mortar segment in Poland and the UK.

Zimbabwe: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe has reported a profit of US$178m in 2019, up by 4.8% year-on-year from US$170m in 2018. Inflation-adjusted sales rose doubled to US$919m from US$449m. Cement volumes remained level at 323,000t. The company said that it, “recorded its best financial performance in over five years. The construction of a US$2m dry mortar mixing plant was completed and installation of the equipment on site is set to be completed in the second half of 2020.”

Colombia: Switzerland-based construction materials producer Sika has invested an undisclosed sum in relocating production from a concrete admixture and mortar plant in Colombia to a larger facility in Barranquilla. Sika Americas regional manager Christopher Ganz said, “Our latest investment in Barranquilla will help us capture the potential of the dynamic construction market in the Caribbean region. Our aim is to grow more quickly than the construction market in this region.” The market grew by 15% in 2019.

Sika also manufactures building products for the Colombian market at facilities in Bogotá, Medellín and Duitama.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has announced the conclusion of its acquisition of a mortar production unit from Supermassa. The plant, located in Ananindeua, Belem, in the state of Para, has capacity of 0.15Mt/yr. Votorantim Cimentos notes that the total investment, including the acquisition, modernisation of technology, installation of automation and other improvements, will total US$4.3m.

The acquisition is part of the company's growth and geographical diversification strategy. The purchase is the company's 11th mortar production unit, and brings its mortar production capacity up to 2.5Mt/yr.

Brazil: Walter Dissinger, the chief executive officer of Votorantim Cimentos, says that company’s diverse geographical spread and its products protected it from turbulent markets, especially at home in Brazil since 2015. Dissinger made the comments in an interview to the Valor Econômico newspaper ahead of a company meeting to plan its strategy for the next five years. He forecast that the local cement market is likely to decline for the fourth consecutive year in 2018, with a drop in consumption of 2%.

He mentioned expansion plans in the US and upgrade projects in Argentina. Six new mortar plants are also planned over the next four years with an investment of US$30m. These units will generally be built next to existing integrated cement plants. The company is expanding its limestone business with an investment of US$54m. Dissinger added that the company’s Nobres plant in Mato Grosso is making more revenue from limestone products than from cement. The company is also cutting fuel costs by replacing petcoke imports from the US with co-processing refuse derived fuels and exploring biofuel options.