Displaying items by tag: Shutdown

US: Dragon Products reportedly plans to lay off six employees at its Thomaston, Maine, cement plant later in 2024, in the plant’s on-going transition from cement production to distribution only. This will reduce the plant’s total employees to 20, down by 76% from 85 at the start of the year. Local press has reported that rising operating costs, including for energy and transport, led to the move.

The Thomaston plant continues to process ‘residual’ raw materials and has begun implementation of its new distribution strategy, taking delivery of 30,000t of bagged cement via the port of Searsport. A second delivery is scheduled for October 2024.

China: The National Development and Reform Commission, along with other government departments, has launched the Special Action Plan for Energy Conservation and CO₂ Reduction in the Cement Industry. The plan aims to cap clinker capacity at 1.8Bnt/yr by 2026, with 30% of it above the national energy efficiency benchmark level. This will reduce energy consumption per tonne by 3.7% from 2020 levels. The plan will eliminate 13Mt of CO₂ emissions and 5Mt of coal consumption in 2024 – 2025.

US: Cemex has contested Boulder County's decision to terminate its right to operate the Lyons cement plant and is calling for the decision to be reversed, citing ‘significant’ implications for the state and local employment. The dispute follows a notice from the Boulder Country Community Planning office in April 2024, attributing increased traffic as the primary reason for the termination. The county and the Colorado Department of Transportation began investigating the plant in 2022, after residents of the area complained.

Cemex stated in its response to Boulder County "The Department's conclusion did not take into account the historical trucking of material to and from the Lyons cement plant, relying instead on a study Cemex voluntarily undertook for the Colorado Department of Transportation for a different purpose, and that considered only three days of traffic data in each of two consecutive years. The determination also failed to apply applicable precedent that a nonconforming use does not terminate when traffic occurring off-site changes."

The Community Planning and Permitting Director will now review the additional evidence brought forth by Cemex and issue an additional determination. Depending on the outcome, Cemex will have the option to appeal the decision to the Boulder County Board of Commissioners. The closing of the Lyons plant would lead to the loss of 100 jobs and only two cement plants remaining in Colorado.

US: Boulder County has initiated action to terminate the operating licence of the Cemex cement plant near Lyons, Colorado, citing improper expansion of use. Dale Case, director of Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting, sent a notice to the company, motivated by a ‘significant’ rise in traffic. The letter said that the increased traffic created a need for new traffic construction and infrastructure, and requires a new access permit from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

The plant has been operational since 1965, but faced changes in 1994 when Boulder County amended its land use code, necessitating special use approval for open mining at the Dowe Flats Quarry. The special use approval for the quarry expired on 30 September 2022, leading to termination of all mining operations and multiple complaints alleging the cement plant's non-compliance with county code and traffic congestion. A CDOT study revealed an increase in truck traffic since the quarry's closure, with daily trips increasing by 50% year-on-year.

Cemex now has a 30-day window to contest the director's determination, reduce plant use, or appeal to the Boulder County Board of Commissioners. The plant will continue operating under existing conditions until a final decision is reached.

Kenya: East African Portland Cement (EAPCC) has closed its Athi River plant for a US$3m upgrade to boost production capacity.

Oliver Kirubai, EAPCC's managing director, said "We are doing the second phase of our machines upgrade, which is basically targeting to increase our output. Our target is that by June 2026 we should be able to produce 1Mt/yr of cement." He added "Seven local contractors are spearheading the upgrade of this plant. They will work with us during the 25-day closure of this facility." The current production capacity of the plant is 310,000t/yr.

EAPCC recorded a loss of US$9.8m for the financial year ending June 2023, despite making a profit of US$4m in the previous year. This shift was due to increased costs elevating the firm's cost of sales to US$29.4m from US$29.9m, despite a 37% increase in revenues to US$21.9m from US$15.9 in the previous year.

Nepal: Hetauda Cement Industry (HCI) will resume cement production at its Hetauda cement plant in early February 2024, following a suspension due to coal shortages. HCI uses 36,000t/yr of coal, and currently has 600t in stockpiles. The República newspaper has reported that on-going issues with equipment have reduced the Hetauda cement plant’s effective capacity to 10,000 bags per day. Additionally, HCI has failed to find a buyer for a shipment of 225,000 bags of cement. The Nepali government is reportedly considering paying new subsidies to the company.

General manager Basanta Raj Pandey said "The management of the factory has requested the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies to provide subsidies to help resume its production."

Nepal’s Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramesh Prasad Rijal said "The Prime Minister and his government are discussing arranging all possible subsidies to bring the industry back into operation as soon as possible."

Tajikistan: Cementi Tojik announced the closure of the 1.1Mt/yr Dushanbe cement plant and its disbandment as a company on 26 December 2023. Asia-PLUS News has reported the reason for the company’s departure from the industry as a government regulation issued in mid-2023, which ordered the closure of the plant due to ‘serious’ emissions violations.

US: Heidelberg Materials North America has reached an agreement with the administration of Santa Clara County to decommission its quarry in the county, near Cupertino. Silicon Valley News has reported that the quarry historically supplied limestone for cement production at Permanente cement plant, which came offline in April 2020. The county administration says that the deal signals that it has achieved its aim to ensure final closure of the Permanente plant.

Heidelberg Materials North America spokesperson Jeff Sieg said that the company is ‘pleased to formalise our agreement not to restart the kiln at our Permanente cement plant.’ He continued "We remain focused on working collaboratively with the community and other stakeholders on the development of a long-term strategy for the property, so that it can continue to provide value in the future.”

South Africa: PPC has published its Integrated Report for its 2023 financial year, which ended on 31 March 2023. The producer recorded revenues of US$559m, up by 0.2% year-on-year from US$557m in the 2022 financial year. Its cost of sales declined by 0.1% to US$471m from US$472m. As a result, PPC's loss widened by a factor of more than seven, to US$32.5m from US$4.36m.

PPC's cement volumes fell by 5.8% in South Africa and Botswana, where its cement prices rose by 8%. The company noted sustained 'good demand' for cement in coastal South Africa. It said that demand was 'robust' in Zimbabwe, however its local sales volumes fell by 16% on account of an extended kiln shutdown at one of its cement plants during the half. In Rwanda, PPC's subsidiary CIMERWA increased its cement volumes by 1%.

India: Sanghi Cement has resumed cement production at Sanghipuram cement plant in Gujarat. The producer had suspended operations at the plant since 13 June 2023 amid the deadly landfall of Cyclone Biparjoy. The producer noted that there has been 'some damage' to the plant, and that repairs are on-going.