Global Cement News

Azerbaijan: Norm Cement's cement plant in Garadagh, Baku will reach its full production in 2014, General Director Hasan Yalcinkaya has announced. The plant will produce up to 1.6Mt/yr of clinker and 2Mt/yr of cement.

"We are currently importing clinker, and we will start production of clinker in January 2014. We plan to produce 50,000 - 60,000t by the end of 2013. We will begin retail sales of cement in October - November 2013," said Yalcinkaya.

According to Yalcinkaya the cement plant cost US$400m and it is one of the largest projects outside the oil industry in Azerbaijan. It is anticipated that the plant will reduce cement imports and annual outflow of capital from the country by US$150m. Subsequently Norm intends to focus on the local market in Azerbaijan.

India: Ultratech Cement has reported a 52% year-on-year drop in profits to US$43m for the quarter ending on 30 September 2013 from US$89m in the same period in 2012. It attributed the fall to lower prices due to reduced demand.

"The results of the quarter have been impacted mainly on account of lower selling price and subdued demand. Cement demand remained sluggish on account of prolonged monsoon and low offtake from the infrastructure and housing sectors," the Aditya Birla Group subsidiary said in a statement.

Net sales fell to US$731m from US$763m. Ultratech sold 9.1Mt of cement and clinker in the second quarter of 2013. Total expenditure rose to US$666m from US$638m.

Ultratech saw a benefit from a reduction in the price of coal minimised by the devaluation of the rupee. However, optimisation of the fuel mix helped to reduce power and fuel inputs. The Indian cement producer said that demand for cement may grow 5% during the current fiscal year, driven by housing and infrastructure spends.

Thailand: Thai TPI Polene Public Co. Ltd. has placed an order with Germany's Siemens for engineering and supply of the power distribution system and drives for a new clinker production line at its existing plant in Saraburi, Thailand. Siemens will supply the drive solutions as well as the switch-gear for the high, medium and low-voltage distribution systems and is also responsible for project management and engineering.

The deal for the drive systems covers 20 slip-ring rotor motors for the main drives, 12 gear units, 33 variable-speed drives for fans and two multiple drive systems for cooling units. Operation is due to commence in October 2014.

The Thai cement producer had earlier decided to add a fourth production line at the factory to boost production capacity in view of rising demand. The new line will have a capacity of 12,000t/day of clinker. Upon completion, the four cement production lines at TPI Polene in Thailand will have a combined capacity of 12Mt/yr. 

Siemens has already supplied the Thai TPI Polene Public Company Limited with electrical equipment for the three existing clinker production lines as well as for the cement and coal mills.

Spain: The European Commission intends to assess the proposed acquisition of Holcim's cement operations in Spain by Cemex following a request by Spanish authorities. The Commission decided that the transaction threatens to affect competition within Spain and that it is the best placed authority to assess the potential cross-border effects of the transaction. It has left a similar transaction between Cemex and Holcim in the Czech Republic to local regulators to examine.

In August 2013 the Mexican cement producer Cemex and Swiss multinational cement maker Holcim announced plans to swap assets in Europe. In Spain, Holcim and Cemex want to combine all their cement, ready-mix and aggregates operations. In the Czech Republic Cemex intends to acquire all of Holcim's assets. Other transactions are also prosed between the cement producers in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Germany: Dyckerhoff AG's Palatine cement plant in Göllheim, Germany has been operating an MPS 140 K mill for coal since 1983 and an old-style static classifer. As modern coal firing systems require a finer product quality, the customer has decided to purchase a high-efficiency SLS 1120 BK classifier from Gebr. Pfeiffer SE. The classifier is guaranteed to separate the material to a fineness of 3% R 90µm. It will be installed in mid February 2014.

Indonesia: Gebr. Pfeiffer SE, the German vertical roller mill manufacturer, is to supply five vertical roller mills to Indonesia's booming cement market.

China's Sinoma International Engineering Co. Ltd., acting as the general contractor for PT Cemindo Gemilang's new 10,000t/day cement production line in Bayah, Java, has ordered two MPS 5300 B vertical roller mills for raw material grinding, two MPS 5300 BC vertical roller mills for cement grinding and an MPS 4500 BK vertical roller mill for coal grinding.

The MPS raw mills are designed to achieve a capacity of 400t/hr each. The throughput rate of the cement mills will be 220t/hr each and the coal mill yielding 100t/hr will be the world's largest vertical roller mill to date for coal grinding.

The order includes the supply of workshop drawings to enable the local manufacture of the mill components and the supervision of manufacture at Chinese workshops. Erection and commissioning will be supervised by staff from Gebr. Pfeiffer. Delivery is slated for the third quarter of 2014.