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Germany: Currax has added Siemens Simatic S7 controller systems to its drive portfolio under the IDS Digital brand. A variety of CPU models are available in several classes of performance in its product groups. Currax also intends to offer Simatic Human Interface (HMI) systems for compatible controller systems in the future.
Hope Cement to rebrand as Breedon Cement 20 July 2017
UK: Breedon Group will rename Hope Cement as Breedon Cement in August 2017. It said in its half-year report for 2017 that the acquisition of Sherburn’s import terminals had broadened its cement business and that it wanted to bring it all under one group brand.
“I am pleased to report that in the first half of 2017 the former Breedon Aggregates business posted a strong profit improvement and the former Hope Construction Materials business made a robust contribution, even after taking into account the shutdowns of both our cement kilns for planned annual maintenance and upgrade during the first half, which were completed on time and to budget,” said executive chairman Peter Tom. The construction materials group doubled its revenue in the first half of 2017 to Euro368m.
The company also said that it had completed the integration of the former Hope operations and all three divisions now use a common IT platform. It expects to deliver synergies of Euro11m in 2018, ahead of its original schedule.
Ethiopia: Requests from 20 cement producers have led the Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise (EPSE) to start a tendering process to procure coal. Four international firms have reached the preliminary technical evaluation stage of the tender to procure 0.7Mt of coal, according to the Addis Fortune newspaper. The majority of the coal, around 0.6Mt, will be imported for the cement producers with the remainder going to steel and ceramics producers. The process excludes Derba Cement, which has its own arrangements to import coal in place. EPSE is expected to award the bid by the end of July 2017.
Ethiopia imports over 0.75Mt/yr of coal, of which more than 75% is for cement production. More than half of the energy consumption of the country’s cement plants is derived from coal.
LafargeHolcim Spain obtains ISO 9001 certification 20 July 2017
Spain: LafargeHolcim Spain has obtained the International Standards organisation (ISO) UNE-EN ISO 9001:2015 certification for its cement plants. It says it is the first cement company to do so in the country one year ahead of an adaption period granted by the ISO. The standard provides a quality management system for companies and organisations to ensure that their products and services comply with external standards.
The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim’s Central Quality Laboratory has also revalidated its ISO 17025 status with the Entidad Nacional de Acreditación (ENAC), the national body that applies European accrediation standards.
KHD signs contracts in western Sub-Saharan Africa 20 July 2017
Africa: Humboldt Wedag, a subsidiary of KHD Humboldt Wedag International (KHD), has signed contracts worth over Euro80mfor the supply of equipment and execution of civil and erection works as well as supervision services for a cement plant in the western Sub-Sahara region of Africa. The contracts will be booked as order intake as soon as the pre-conditions for commencing project execution are fulfilled. No further information regarding the client or the country has been disclosed.