Displaying items by tag: Plant

Brazil: Companhia Nacional de Cimento (CNC), part of Italy-based Buzzi Unicem’s 50% subsidiary BCPAR, has acquired CRH Brasil following approval by the Brazilian antitrust authority (CADE). The deal was originally agreed for US$218m although changes in the financial positions of the acquired companies changed this. Buzzi Unicem supplied CNC with US$242m to support the deal.

CRH Brasil’s assets included three integrated cement plants and two grinding plants in the south-east of the country. The company sold approximately 2.8Mt of cement in 2020.

Tanzania: Tanzania Portland Cement has announced plans to invest a total of US$15.0m in modernising its 2.0Mt/yr-capacity Tanzania Portland Cement plant in 2021. The Tanzania Daily News newspaper has reported that the producer says its main challenge is cargo delays at the port of Dar es Salaam. This has caused concern for potential investors, according to the company. Senior commercial manager Danford Semwenda lobbied the government to help solve the problem.

Qatar: Switzerland-based Sika has expanded concrete admixture production capacity at it Doha admixture plant. The company has also announced the start of epoxy resin production in the country. It says that its present investments target growth to serve the expanding regional construction market. Numerous major projects and the expansion of energy and utilities infrastructure have driven a growing demand. Qatar’s state sourcing policy further increases consumption of building materials produced in the country.

Europe, Middle East and Africa regional manager Ivo Schädler said "Our latest investment in Qatar positions us for continued growth and strengthens our competitiveness in the country. In expanding our production, we are anticipating a substantial increase in demand and volumes for our high-value adhesives and flooring solutions. Our building sector customers will benefit from an expanded and locally produced portfolio of Sika solutions which, in addition, eliminates long-distance transportation."

India: Larsen & Toubro has won a contract for the construction of a 3.5Mt/yr-capacity integrated cement plant at Nimbahera in Rajasthan. The Press Trust of India newspaper has reported that the supplier classed the order’s value as ‘significant,’ meaning between US$134m and US$336m.

Senegal: China-based Sinoma Group subsidiary CBMI Construction has awarded a contract to Denmark-based FLSmidth for the supply of three control systems for one new and two existing lines at the Kirène cement plant in Thiès region. The lines will share a digital infrastructure built on the FLSmidth ECS/ControlCenter platform with ECS/PlantDataManagement software. Additionally, the supplier will equip the new Line 3 with its ECS/CemScanner and QCX/BlendExpert. It said that the setup will use 12,000 data points on Line 3 alone.

Group digital general manager Jens Adler said, “With more than 1500 active product and process control installations in the cement industry, this order reaffirms our strong digital expertise.” He added “Digitalisation is transforming how many in the cement industry respond to increasing demands for emission reductions and efficiency. This is reflected in the emphasis on digital solutions as part of our MissionZero ambition to offer cement producers zero emission cement production by 2030.”

Cuba: Corporacion Cementos Cubanos’ integrated Siguaney plant has resumed production of grey cement after stopping in late 2020 due to technical problems. The plant is targeting grey cement production of 65,000t in 2021, according to the Escambray newspaper. In 2020 local media reported that the plant produced 87,000t of grey cement and 3000t of white cement. At present the plant has 4000t of white cement in inventory and its annual production target for 2021 is 8000t.

Oman: Raysut Cement has been granted the CE and NF markings by France-based AFNOR Certification for some of the cement products manufactured at its Salalah plant. The cement producer has been advised that it is now able to export its CEM I 42.5R CE PM CP2 NF and CEM II/B-LL 32.5N CE products to the European Union. It follows the plant upgrading its quality management to meet the CE and NF requirements. The producer has also passed certifications for CE002:2020 or NF002:2019, NFP 15-317:2006 and NFP 15-318:2006, allowing it to export cement to islands in the Indian Ocean. Raysut Cement was advised by Switzerland-based Quadra Trading on how to comply with the quality requirements of the international standards.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement says that the price of cement from its plants in Nigeria is the same as from plants in other countries in Africa or cheaper. The cement producer made the announcement in response to local media reports that its prices were allegedly lower in Ghana or Zambia, according to the Vanguard newspaper. It added that it had control over its ex-factory prices but that it could not set the end market price.

Dangote Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development and Capital Projects Devakumar Edwin explained that Dangote Cement has a 60% share of the local cement market at present. Demand for cement has risen following the coronavirus pandemic and the company has had to suspend exports from its recently commissioned export terminals in order to meet local demand. He added that it has also reactivated its 4.5Mt/yr Gboko plant in Benue State, which was closed in 2018, to cope with the situation.

Canada: St Marys Cement, part of Brazil-based Votoronatim Cimentos, has installed a US$19.9m wet scrubber at its Bowmanville cement plant in Ontario. The installation will reduce the plant’s sulphur dioxide (SO₂) emissions by 90%. The producer says it is the first wet scrubber installed at a cement plant in Canada.

Operations Manager Jim Storey said “This investment in technology to improve the plant’s environmental performance has proven to be effective in removing SO₂ produced in the cement manufacturing process. We are also pleased that the scrubber was assembled on-site and installed by local Ontario contractors and crews during our annual scheduled plant shutdown.”

Kazakhstan: Sharcem, part of Singapore-based International Cement Group (ICG), plans to acquire US$16.3m-worth of cement assets in Kazakhstan. The Business Times newspaper has reported that the sellers are Kazakhcement and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan. Kazakhcement currently operates the 1.0Mt/yr Shar plant in Charsk, East Kazakhstan. ICG said that the opportunity presented an ‘attractive’ foothold in the growing Central Asian market. The acquisition is scheduled for completion by 31 May 2021 once the conditions of the sales and purchase agreement are finalised.