Displaying items by tag: Supplier

Denmark: FLSmidth has announced the reinstatement of its 2020 guidance. The guidance predicts full-year sales of Euro2.28bn, down by 18% year-on-year from Euro2.77bn. Earnings before taxation, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin is expected to decline to 6.0% from 8.1%. The company said that the guidance is “subject to higher uncertainty than usual” and conditional upon “no further escalation of Covid-19, no further extensive lockdowns or travel restrictions occurring before year-end, a gradual improvement in business sentiment for the remainder of 2020, and business improvement implementation of around Euro28.2m, of which Euro18.8m relate to the previously communicated improvement activities and around Euro9.40m relate to further improvement activities in cement.” It added, “The cement industry has been severely impacted, and the timing and extent of a rebound remain uncertain. Our goal for the cement business is to generate more stable, higher-margin earnings.”

Turkey: Germany-based Körfez Engineering’s Körfez foundry in Dilovasi, Kocaeli Province, has announced that it is now exporting its cast steel products, including cement kilns, preheaters, clinker coolers and mills, to 70 countries spanning five continents. Exports account for 85% of sales. Foundry general manager Çağdaş Alan said, “We are proud to export to different geographies and to increase the number of countries we export to during this difficult period the world is going through. We hope to overcome this difficult period with the least loss for our business and the country.” He added, “We continue to invest in information technologies, develop our facilities in line with industry 4.0, and create a dynamic business environment with innovative trainings for continuous development of our expert staff.”

Germany: Vecoplan has said that it will host 360-Degree Days, an exclusive live presentation from its technology centre, from 27 - 29 May 2020. It says that the event is aimed at filling the void left by the cancellation of IFAT 2020, which would have covered waste and raw materials management, due to the coronavirus outbreak. Vecoplan said, “Participants will learn all about recycling and processing technology, subdivided into several topic areas. Details on the content will be announced closer to the time.”

Argentina: South Africa-based Pro-Op Industries has announced the shipment of a set of ceramic rotary valves produced by Germany-based Kreisel to Argentina. The product is to be installed at Loma Negra’s 1.5Mt/yr integrated Catamarca plant in Catamarca province. The rotary valves will replace two screw pumps with the aim of ‘substantially reducing energy consumption and maintenance costs’ at the plant. Pro-Op Industries said, ‘We are excited and honoured to be working with the Loma Negra team and to be introducing Kreisel technology to the South American region.’

Australia: Mideco’s Bat Booth 2.0 personnel de-dusting booth has given producers an edge in tackling the spread of coronavirus amongst employees by detecting a sign of infection, namely a raised temperature (over 37.8°C). A medically-calibrated infra-red sensor in the Bat Booth 2.0 takes the user’s temperature in under half a second, informing them of the need to isolate. Mideco says that the booth’s low-pressure compressed air dust removal feature further reduces the contamination risk from an infected person’s clothing. Mideco said, “At a higher level, senior management can track trends and monitor the wellbeing of their staff remotely.”

Germany: Lubricants specialist Fuchs has announced its collaboration with chemicals company BASF in performing a cradle-to-grave analysis of different mineral oil hydraulic fluids that takes into account all environmental and economic aspects of their lifecycle. The study concluded that high performance multigrade hydraulic oil (HVLP) has a lower environmental impact and lower overall cost than monograde hydraulic oil (HLP). Fuchs said, “This advantage is mainly based on an improved diesel fuel economy throughout the use phase - primarily due to improved volumetric fluid efficiency, lower friction and lower fluid mass circulation ratio.”

Fuchs and BASF both supply lubricants and chemical products to the cement industry.

Denmark: FLSmidth’s revenue in the first three months of 2020 was Euro607m, up by 2.5% year-on-year from Euro592m in the corresponding period of 2019. FLSmidth’s cement division’s sales were Euro240m (40% of total revenue), down by 2.6% from Euro246m. The company said that the coronavirus outbreak impacted results, especially in March 2020, when ‘customer hesitation on large investments intensified, particularly in cement,’ and customers increasingly deferred large investments. It added, “Demand for spare and wear parts is relatively stable, whereas technical services are challenged by restricted access to sites.”

FLSmidth says that it aims to ‘carry out business as usual’ throughout the coronavirus outbreak, with an increased reliance on ‘remote monitoring, maintenance and support.’

FLSmidth’s 2020 financial guidance remains suspended.

Russia: TimluyCement has received a Hyundai Robex 210W-9S excavator at its 0.8Mt/yr Timluisky plant. The vehicle replaces the plant’s Twex EK-14. The new excavator is equipped with a bulldozer blade, outriggers and a hydraulic line for attachments and has a bucket capacity of 1.1m3. A Webasto pre-heater will warm up the engine before starting it in the cold season, increasing service life. TimluyCement managing director Vladimir Klichko said, “The modernization of the fleet of special equipment is an integral part of our production process. By acquiring high-performance, reliable vehicles, we increase work efficiency, minimise operating costs and also improve the working conditions of our employees.”

Hyundai previously provided the Timluisky plant with front-end loaders.

Sweden: Refractories specialist Höganäs Borgestad opened its new headquarters at Gävle, Gävleborg county on 27 April 2020. The facility will house the Energy and Kiln Engineering, Installation and Management departments.

During the coronavirus lockdown one project of note for Höganäs Borgestad has been refractory maintenance at Germany-based HeidelbergCement subsidiary Norcem’s 1.2Mt/yr Brevik cement plant in Telemark, Norway, for which it supplied 600t of refractories and 45 workers over a three week period.

Vietnam: US-based FCT Combustion has published details of a new contract with Vietnam National Coal and Minerals Industry Holding Group (Vinacomin) for the supply of an FCT Turbo-Jet burner to Vinacomin’s 0.6Mt/yr La Hiên plant in Thái Nguyên province. The upgrade aims to enable the use of lower calorific coal while maintaining clinker strength and specific fuel consumption, in order to reduce fuel costs.

FCT Combustion previously provided burners at Vinacomin’s 0.8Mt/yr Quan Trieu cement plant in 2019 and 1.5Mt/yr Quang Son cement plant in 2020, both in Thái Nguyên province.