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Brazilian cement industry: projects and contracts snapshot

World Cement,


Read part one of this article here: 'Brazilian cement industry – adapting to market demands'.

Projects and contracts highlights

In line with growing construction activity in Rio de Janeiro, Lafarge has increased its production capacity in the region. In February, the cement manufacturer announced the inauguration of its new Cimento Rio unit in Santa Cruz, which represents an investment of around R$70 million. The new facility’s operations will be integrated with Lafarge’s existing cement plant in Cantagalo, with which it will share raw materials. The Cimento Rio unit will produce approximately 500 000 t of cement in its first year of operations, rising to 750 000 t in 2015. The Group has also announced that it will set up a Construction Solutions Laboratory in Brazil this year. This will be the fifth of its kind worldwide and the first to be established in the Americas.

Investment in research centres was also on the agenda for InterCement, part of the Camargo Correa Group, in 2013. InterCement is investing R$2.5 million over a 3-year period into the development of a debris-based cement technology. The Brazilian National Development Bank has matched the company’s investment in the research project, which will be carried out at the Institute for Technological Research of São Paulo. InterCement is also sponsoring a research centre for sustainable construction at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, and has formed partnerships focusing on CO2 emissions reduction with the Federal University of São Carlos and the Federal University of Santa Maria, as well as with the Federal University of Ceará and the Higher Agriculture School of Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, USP.

Last year also saw the 100% operation of Cimpor’s Cubatão mill, which was inaugurated at the end of 2012. Cimpor continued its investment in the Brazilian cement sector, with a new line at its Cezarina plant and a new production unit at its Caxitu site. FLSmidth was awarded contracts on both projects, including two OK 27 cement mills for the 1.45 million tpa greenfield site at Caxitu and a complete pyro line for the Cezarina plant. Aumund Corporation USA supplied equipment to the Caxitu plant, including four deep-drawn pan conveyors, two chain bucket elevators and two belt bucket elevators.

Elsewhere in the country, Cimento Tupi S.A. upped its capacity from 2.4 million t to 3.2 million t with an expansion project at its Pedro do Sino cement plant. A TEC GRECO was awarded the supply of a new FlexiFlame™ kiln burner for the Carandai-based plant, allowing for enhanced flame control and the simultaneous burning of petcoke/coal, fuel oil, liquid and solid alternative fuels.

Votorantim Cimentos continues to strengthen its position in the market, investing more than R$6 billion between 2007 and 2015. The funds are going towards the construction of new facilities, as well as the expansion of existing units. By 2015, Votorantim will operate 35 cement plants across the country. In 2013, the new 1.2 million tpa Cuiabá cement plant opened in the state of Mato Grosso. Along with the cement manufacturer’s 1.3 million tpa facility in Nobres, the new plant will help to meet increasing demand in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. Around R$400 million was invested in the site, which includes a 3000 tpd pyro line from FLSmidth and a new integrated dedusting plant designed and supplied by Redecam. The company’s expansion plans also comprise the establishment of a new plant in Sobral, Ceará. The R$700 million facility is expected to start up in 2015, adding around 2 million tpa to Votorantim’s production capacity. During the construction of new facilities, Votorantim has run vocational training initiatives, such as the ‘Future in Our Hands’ programme for young people entering the construction industry and the ‘Evolve’ project, which provides technical training for plant operation.

A number of European equipment suppliers have recently been awarded contracts in Brazil. Hazemag & EPR GmbH received an order to supply the Brennand Cimentos Group with a limestone crushing plant and a clay crushing plant for its new cement facility in Paraíba. Also in Paraíba, Companhia de Cimento da Paraíba selected FLSmidth to supply a 3300 tpd line for its greenfield Pitimbu plant.

Last year, FLSmidth also won an order for its nineteenth OK mill in the country. The vertical roller mill for cement grinding will be installed at Cia. de Cimento Itambé’s Balsa Nova plant in the state of Paraná. The Balsa Nova plant also operates a 3000 tpd line built by ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (previously ThyssenKrupp Resource Technologies), comprising a second generation QUADROPOL® roller mill dimensioned for 265 tph of raw meal.

The Brazilian cement market, and Latin America in general, has attracted the attention of the major German equipment suppliers. In May 2013, the German association of construction equipment (VDMA) held a Latin America road show, stopping in Brazil, Peru and Chile to showcase German technology to the region’s cement and mining sectors. ‘Cement + Minerals’ events in Belo Horizonte and São Paulo attracted more than 150 participants. The road show included ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions, Haver & Boecker, Loesche, Christian Pfeiffer, Claudius Peters, FLSmidth Pfister, Toni Technik and Professor Dr Holger Lieberwith from the Technical University of Freiburg.

Suppliers’ dedication to the Brazilian market can be seen in both the projects being carried out in the country and their local presence in the region. For example, Haver & Boecker expanded the premises of its Brazilian subsidiary Haver & Boecker Latinoamericana in March 2013, in line with growing demand for engineering services. Furthermore, in an interview marking the 150th anniversary of Gebr. Pfeiffer SE, Executive Board Members Robert Schnatz and Gerold Keune named having the world’s biggest mill at Holcim’s Barroso plant as a key milestone in the company’s recent history. The mill is an MVR 6700 C-6 with a cement production capacity of up to 450 tph. It includes a MultiDrive®, an innovative drive concept that comprises six drive modules with a total power rating of 11 500 kW. Siemens is supplying the six drive modules (1.9 MW each), in addition to all of the drive train components, such as the gear unit, coupling and oil supply system, electric motors and frequency converters. Investment in the Barroso plant in Minas Gerais will increase the site’s capacity by 2.3 million t, raising Holcim Brazil’s total cement capacity to 7.7 million t. The expansion works also involve Cemengal, appointed as main contractor for the construction of the cement grinding station, and Fives FCB, part of the Fives Group, which was awarded a contract in 2011 for the supply, supervision, erection and commissioning of a 4500 tpd clinker production line.

For further information on contracts and projects in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America, keep an eye out for the July 2014 issue of World Cement, which includes our annual World Review, a plant-by-plant, country-by-country list of contracts – awarded, underway and completed – as well as information about new projects and updates on plant expansions and modernisations.

Sources

  • 9th Balanço Completo do PAC.
  • Bloomberg.
  • Business Wire.
  • Company reports and press releases.
  • Inter-American Development Bank.
  • Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE).
  • Instituto Brasileiro de Mineração (IBRAM).
  • Reuters.
  • Sindicato Nacional da Indústria do Cimento (SNIC).
  • World Bank – Global Economic Prospects report 2014.

Written by This is an abridged version of the full article, which appeared in World Cement’s May 2014. Subscribers can view the full article by logging in.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/06052014/brazilian_cement_industry_projects_and_contracts_snapshot_96/

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