Displaying items by tag: ThyssenKrupp

US: CalPortland has commissioned a new cement grinding mill and distribution system at its Oro Grande cement plant in California. The US$58.5m project includes the construction of the finish ball mill and two new cement shipping lanes with two new distribution silos. It completes a partial plant modernisation program that was originally completed in 2008, prior to the acquisition of the facility by CalPortland. The Oro Grande cement plant was purchased from Martin Marietta Materials in mid-2015.

“The addition of this modern finish mill and efficient distribution system allows the plant to operate to the best in class standards as originally designed. It will help provide the industry with the additional supply required for necessary rehabilitation and rapidly developing infrastructure in California and Nevada,” said Steve Regis, Senior Vice President Corporate Services, CalPortland.

The project began in January 2018 and was constructed by general contractor ThyssenKrupp and sub-contractor TIC (The Industrial Company), in collaboration with CalPortland’s Engineering Services team.

The mill is a Polysius two compartment mill with production capability of around 180t/hr. It is equipped with motor, mill and separator technology as well as cement cooler design technology. The system also employs mechanical conveyance (bucket elevator) to convey finished product to the new silos, reducing its energy requirements. These additional systems are being added to the Oro Grande plant.

Germany: ThyssenKrupp has announced the leadership structure of its two future companies: ThyssenKrupp Industrials and ThyssenKrupp Materials. At each company the number of board directorates will be reduced to three and central functions will be combined.

From 17 corporate and service functions at present, there will be 14 at ThyssenKrupp Industrials and 10 at ThyssenKrupp Materials. The current matrix structure will be dissolved. In the future there will be no regional structure besides the business areas at headquarters level. The tasks in the regions will be performed by the operating units or central functions. The shared service units will also be allocated according to business requirements and focused more closely.

“With the separation we will create strategic clarity and enable the businesses to develop more dynamically. The new leadership structures are key to this. The new set-up is tailored to business requirements and reflects the different market requirements. Both ThyssenKrupps will become leaner, faster and better,” said Guido Kerkhoff, chief executive officer (CEO) of ThyssenKrupp.

ThyssenKrupp Industrials will comprise the elevator, automotive, and plant engineering businesses, including manufacturing equipment for the cement sector. ThyssenKrupp Materials will operate in the materials sector.

ThyssenKrupp will take a final vote on the separation plans in January 2020. The composition of the two management teams will be decided in spring 2019. Details of the financial structure, brand identity and strategy of the two new companies will be announced in May 2019. Both companies are to commence operations at the start of the company’s next financial year on 1 October 2019.

Tunisia: United Cement Investor will start building a new 1.5Mt/yr cement plant at Bir Thlathin in southern Tataouine in March 2019. The project has a cost of around US$320m, according to the Agency Tunis Afrique Press. Local investment will total around US$95m. The project is expected to create 419 direct jobs and 600 indirect jobs.

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (France) has been involved with the project. Investment is coming from local, UAE-based and German financiers.

Canada: Production has stopped at the McInnis Cement plant at Port-Daniel–Gascons in Quebec due to an unspecific mechanical issue. Maintenance is expected to take place until the end of January 2019, according to the Le Soleil newspaper. The cement producer refused to confirm whether that problem had been caused by the drive shaft overheating and damaging its metal shell. However, the company said that the repairs would only extend a planned maintenance period by a few weeks. No cost for the repairs have been disclosed.

Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (USA) was originally awarded the contract to build the plant in 2014. After a protracted building phase the plant produced its first cement in mid-2017 and was then inaugurated a few months later.

Germany: Klaus Keysberg has been appointed as the chief executive officer of ThyssenKrupp Materials Services, with effect from 1 January 2019. He was previously working as the division’s chief financial officer (CFO). In addition, Ilse Henne will join the board of the business area as chief operating officer (COO).

Keysberg has been a member of the board of the business area since 2011 and CFO since 2014. He is to retain this post until further notice. As CEO, Keysberg will succeed Joachim Limberg, who will retire. Before his appointment as CFO of Materials Services, Keysberg was COO of the business area from 2011 to 2014 and also held various management roles at operating units.

Henne has worked as the CEO of ThyssenKrupp Schulte and the Western Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. She will continue to hold this post until a successor is found.

Germany: ThyssenKrupp’s overall performance has suffered from the poor results of its Industrial Solutions division. In the first nine months of its financial year, which ended on 30 June 2018, the order intake of its Industrial Solutions division, which includes building cement plants, fell by 32% year-on-year to Euro2.82bn from Euro4.15bn. Its net sales decreased by 10% to Euro3.59bn from Euro4bn. Overall, the group’s order intake and net sales also fell slightly. However, most divisions and overall performance improved in the third quarter.

“We see a mixed picture. The bottom line is, that we are not satisfied with the current results”, said Guido Kerkhoff, chairman of the executive board of ThyssenKrupp. “There’s no point in sugar-coating it. Notably the cash flow is unsatisfactory, and that is not a situation which can be sustained long term. We have to improve significantly across all our businesses. That is what we are now working hard to deliver.”

With respect to the cement sector the group said that had received small and medium-size orders for plants and machines in Mexico, West Africa and India. Despite this it described the current market as beset by production overcapacity.

Germany: ThyssenKrupp has decreased its earnings forecast for its 2017 – 2018 financial year due to the poor performance of its Industrial Solutions division. The division is expected to report a negative adjusted earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) of Euro200m in the third quarter of the year due to higher expected total costs, particularly for a cement plant in Saudi Arabia and two other industrial projects. The group said that the number of major projects in the cement and fertiliser sector had decreased ‘considerably,’ partly due to the production overcapacity in the cement market.

"It is important to me to call it what it is. The results of our analysis at Industrial Solutions are anything but satisfying. The structure of plant construction must be adjusted to the changed market conditions in order to achieve a turnaround and finally become competitive again. We must act swiftly here," said Guido Kerkhoff, chairman of the executive board of ThyssenKupp. The group has proposed focusing its Industrial Solutions division on small and medium-sized projects and targeting plant construction on the higher-margin service business.

In mid-2017 the group announced plans to reorganised its Industrial Solutions division, including the decision to cut 1500 jobs in operational areas.

Philippines: Germany’s ThyssenKrupp hopes to secure orders of around US$50 – 100m in 2017 due to the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure development programme. It raised US$30m in the country in 2017, according to the BusinessWorld newspaper. The equipment manufacturer wants to benefit from the construction of new cement and power plants. Typically, it provides the engineering and material handling aspect of a project, while a local partner handles the construction.

Morocco: Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (TKIS) has won a contract from LafargeHolcim, to supply a new 3500t/day cement plant in Morocco. The project will cover the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the new plant. The line will be built in the Souss Massa region near Tidsi. Start-up of the plant is scheduled for the first half of 2020.

TKIS will provide engineering, procurement and construction for the entire clinker production line, ranging from raw material preparation to clinker storage, and a grinding facility for solid fuels. The main components include a 1000t/hr primary crusher, a longitudinal additives storage facility, a circular stockpile with a storage capacity of 12,000t, a Quadropol QMR² roller mill with an output of 290t/hr and a blending silo of 4600t. The kiln system consists of a five-stage, single-string polysius preheating tower, a two-pier rotary kiln and a
Polytrack clinker cooler. The line is completed by a ball mill for solid combustibles and a clinker stock with a total storage capacity of up to 65000t.

Germany: ThyssenKrupp’s Industrial Solutions division plans to cut 1500 jobs in operational areas as part of its on-going reorganisation process. Around two-thirds of these positions will be based in Germany. The reduction in jobs follows a previous announcement in July 2017 to cut 500 roles in administration, also mostly in Germany. The job losses are part of the division’s ‘planets’ transformation programme, launched in 2016, which is intended to increase the business area’s competitiveness.

“To ensure Industrial Solutions can compete in the market over the long term, we need a more efficient and effective set-up that goes for our cost structure as for our global presence. Although new orders have recovered from their trough, our structures are still oversized measured against orders in hand and our medium-term requirements. We must be able to respond more flexibly to fluctuations in order intake,” said Peter Feldhaus, chief executive officer (CEO) of Industrial Solutions.