Displaying items by tag: Upgrade
Arabian Cement to spend US$7m on upgrades
08 May 2017Egypt: Arabian Cement has announced three upgrade projects with a budget of US$7m. The projects include the construction of a mechanical crane to feed the kiln of the first production line, a new system to feed the cement mills and a new coal mill, according to the Daily Egypt newspaper. The coal mill project was announced previously in mid-2016.
India: The State High Level Clearance Committee of Karnataka has approved an expansion project at Birla Shakti Cement’s plant in Vasavadatta and a new plant at Gulbarga that will be built by India Cements. Birla Shakti Cement, a subsidiary of Kesoram Industries, is planning a US$97m upgrade to increase the plant’s production capacity to 9Mt/yr from 4.1Mt/yr. India Cements is planning to build a 2Mt/yr plant at Gulbarga.
LafargeHolcim to double production in Ivory Coast
21 April 2017Ivory Coast: LafargeHolcim intends to double its cement production capacity to 2Mt/yr from May 2017. The increase in production will follow the commissioning of a new 1Mt/yr mill, according to the Fraternité Matin newspaper. The mill has cost US$24.5m to install. LafargeHolcim operates a 1Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Abidjan. The upgrade is expected to raise local production to 5.1Mt/yr.
Caribbean Cement granted permission to import cement
12 April 2017Jamaica: The government has granted Caribbean Cement permission to import cement from Trinidad & Tobago in order to resolve local supply issues. The cement producer will procure cement from its subsidiary Trinidad Cement, according to the Jamaica Observer newspaper. Caribbean Cement has reported technical issues with its packing plant which have led to it being unable to support the local retail market. It has also suspended all exports.
US: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded CalPortland with a 2017 Energy Star Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for energy efficiency achievements. CalPortland’s accomplishments will be recognized by the EPA and the Department of Energy in Washington, DC on 26 April 2017.
Its key 2016 accomplishments include a reduction of its energy intensity by 1.1% in 2016 compared to business as usual in 2015 which resulted in over US$682,000 in savings and a reduction of 14,234Mt of CO2. The company initiated a new ‘CalPortland Energy Cup’ competition that compares and quantifies energy practices and performance of its three cement plants. All three CalPortland cement plants scored in the top quartile of the Energy Performance Indicators (EPI) benchmarking tool. The Rillito plant has been certified for the past five years in a row.
CalPortland has also completed several large energy saving projects including the installation of a new US$9m clinker cooler at the Rillito cement plant, a US$14m Anchorage terminal storage dome and a US$2m preheater duct replacement at the Mojave cement plant.
Meghna Cement Mills to install new mill
12 April 2017Bangladesh: Meghna Cement Mills has signed a contract with Denmark’s FLSmidth to install a vertical roller mill with a production capacity of 2Mt/yr. The contract has been valued at US$15.7m and it will be installed by mid-2019, according to the Daily Star newspaper. The cement producer is taking loans from the Infrastructure Development Company to pay for the upgrade. Meghna Cement Mills operates a 1.2Mt/yr plant at the Port of Mongla. It markets its cement under the King Brand Cement line.
Cemex Dominicana inaugurates packing plant
07 April 2017Dominican Republic: Cemex Dominicana, the local subsidiary of Mexico’s Cemex, has inaugurated a packing plant at its cement plant in San Pedro de Macorís. Danilo Medina Sánchez , the president of the country, attended the event. The US$8.5m unit will allow the plant to increases its cement packing capacity by 1.5m bags/yr or 0.8Mt/yr. Other improvements include a new building to house the packing line, a 1275m2 warehouse for palletised cement and a new weighting system to speed up despatch. Carlos Emilio González, the president of Cemex Dominicana, also announced an investment of US$40m over the next two years in power generation, changes to the mill and other upgrades at the plant.
Votorantim to build lime units at cement plants
06 April 2017Brazil: Votorantim plans to spend US$50m towards building new plants and adapting its existing cement plants to produce agricultural lime in addition to cement. The cement producer intends to double its market share to 16% by 2021, according to the Valor Econômico newspaper. The focus on the lime business follows a contraction in the construction industry and the growth of agribusiness.
"With the expansion of the agricultural frontier, demand will grow, especially in the Cerrado savannah, where soil need more correction. Experience shows that agricultural lime also helps in the crop productivity," said Laercio Solla, general manager for agriculture at Votorantim.
The company plans to open new quarries and build additional lime units at its existing cement plants. The focus at first will be on the region of Matopiba, which includes Tocantins and parts of Maranhão, Piauí and Bahia. Votorantim will build lime units attached to the cement plants at Nobres in Mato Grosso, Xambioa in Tocantins, Primavera in Pará and Idealiza in Goiás. The lime part of Votorantim’s business will receive most of its minerals from the cement division but also some from Votorantim Metals, the group’s mining division. It will also build two new 0.5Mt/yr lime quarries in Pará and in the Matopiba region.
Lime represents a small part of the company’s business. In 2015 it produced less than 2Mt of agricultural lime compared to 65.8Mt of cement, mortar and aggregates. Agricultural lime production is also expected to be less susceptible to foreign currency exchange rates as its market its mostly domestic.
Eagle Cement to opens third line at Bulacan by 2018
06 April 2017Philippines: Eagle Cement hopes to open the third production line at its Bulacan cement plant by 2018. The new line will keep the cement producer on track to lead locally in terms of cement production capacity by 2020, according to the BusinessWorld newspaper. The new line will add 2Mt/yr to the plant’s capacity, increasing it to 7.1Mt/yr. Funding for the new line has been completed. Eagle Cement is also planning to start building a new plant at Cebu by the end of 2017. This plant is scheduled to start production in 2020.
Nepal: Arghakhanchi Cement has launched Arghakhanchi MP OPC Cement in new waterproof packaging. The cement producer says that the new packaging will protect the cement from moisture and prevent leakage of cement, according the Kathmandu Post. The new bags are also intended to ensure a standard weight for the product. The company plans to increase its production capacity from its plant at Mainahiya, Rupandehi to 60,000 bags/day from the end of 2017.