World`s largest

Transcription

World`s largest

World’s largest
2007
November
Highlights
Highlights
Editor: Anders Klinkby Godiksen
(responsible under Danish law)
Brenda Kaplan
V. Ragini Shah
Henrik Vinther
Charlotte Pinson
Production: Gunnar Andreasen
Translations: Martin Bojesen
Editorial office:
FLSmidth A/S
Vigerslev Allé 77,
DK-2500 Valby, Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel: +45 36 18 10 00
Fax: +45 36 45 44 27
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.flsmidth.com
All rights reserved
Contents
Cementing industry relations
World’s largest ATOX mill on stream
3
12
Alternative fuels – tomorrow’s standard 14
Upgrades for Italian cement industry
16
Growing into the future
18
QCX/Robolab sales still buoyant
21
FLSmidth Institute expands programme 22
… and opens in India
23
Up the Mississippi
24
D.G.Khan inaugurates plant
28
Quality control for Grasim Industries
29
Acquisition fuels Minerals growth
30
And the diploma goes to…
33
FLSmidth adopts new internet media
34
Facilitating FK pump maintenance
35
Support from A-Z
36
The right price
Cementing industry relations
on four continents
“Can I help you?” says the shop assistant. Mr Thomsen is in the local do-ityourself store. He wants a light bulb, and he wants the cheapest they’ve got.
The wise shop assistant immediately offers him a low-energy bulb – it’s seven
times the price of the cheapest bulb, but lasts much longer and uses far less
electricity. “This is the one you need,” he tells Mr Thomsen. “It’s the cheapest,
because with electricity prices as they are, you’ll recover your initial investment
within a year or two.”
In the cement and minerals industries, investors often face a similar
situation. When assessing the viability of a project, it’s essential to compare
the initial cost and operating costs. Today, operating costs and production
availability deserve more attention than ever when selecting equipment.
As we see it at FLSmidth, balancing operating expenses (OPEX) and capital
expenditures (CAPEX) to find the total cost of ownership results in the best
price in the long term. In our industries, it can be costly to economise.
Design, maintain and operate are our keywords in serving the cement
and minerals industries. The market demands these services, and we are well
placed to provide them thanks to our years of expertise in cement combined
with the experience from similar ongoing contracts in minerals. FLSmidth’s
recent acquisition of GL&V (Dorr-Oliver Eimco and Krebs Engineers) is another
historic step forward, resulting in an unparalleled product portfolio for the
minerals processing industries.
Lean process management is now fully implemented in Global Engineering, enabling us to meet the demand for plant projects, which appears to
be reaching an unprecedented level again this year. Our three major project
centres in Denmark, the USA and India are busier than ever, and yet we are
still well prepared to take on more orders. Our 125th anniversary year has so
far proved exceptionally successful, and we are ready, both strategically and
organisationally, to serve our industries for many more years to come.
The spring and summer months
have seen a continuation of the
global investment boom in the
cement industry. FLSmidth continues to play an active role in
providing complete technology
solutions to the world’s emerging
and leading cement producers.
On the following pages we give a summary of the major orders received over
the past six months, from customers
in Russia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria,
Sudan, Colombia, Spain and India
Breakthrough on the Russian
market
Russia’s largest cement producer, Eurocement Group, has awarded FLSmidth a
contract to build a 6,000 tpd line in the
Voronesh district, 600 km southeast of
Moscow.
This is FLSmidth’s first major project
in Russia and for Eurocement Group,
which accounts for one third of the
I wish you pleasant reading of Highlights.
J. Huno Rasmussen
CEO, FLSmidth
MMC solution for existing Volga cooler 37
KilnLoq total passes 100
38
Finnsementti adopts ECS/CEMulator
40
Celebrating 125 years around globe
42
A long history in China
43
On the job
44
Front cover: The world’s largest single production line
(12,000 tpd) is making good progress (see page 24) at
Ste. Genevieve in the USA. In China, the world’s largest
ATOX mill for raw material grinding has successfully
come on stream at Zhonglian Luhong Cement Qingzhou
Co. (see page 11). And the recent acquisition of GL&V’s
Process Division (see page 30) has made FLSmidth the
world’s leading supplier of Minerals technology, as it
already is in Cement.
Celebrating the contract between Eurocement and
FLSmidth for a new 6,000 tpd line. Seated left to
right: Per M. Kristensen, Vice President, FLSmidth
and M.A.Skorohod, President of Eurocement.
Russian cement industry’s total output.
As part of the contract, FLSmidth will
supply:
• A crushing plant
• MVT raw material stores
• Two hammer dryer crushers
• Raw meal silos
•An ILC three-support kiln with
two-string preheater
• An SF Cross-Bar Cooler
• Two UMS cement mills
• A sand mill
• FLSmidth MAAG gears
• Four cement silos
• Pfister dosing equipment
•Ventomatic packing and bulk
loading systems
•FLSmidth Airtech air pollution
control systems
•An FLSmidth Automation quality
process and control system
•A complete electrical equipment
package
•Supervision of erection and
commissioning
• Training of plant personnel
The new FLSmidth line will replace Eurocement’s existing Podgorensky facility.
In addition to expanding capacity, the
line will optimise energy efficiency and
help Eurocement improve its environmental protection practices.
Eurocement Group owns 13 plants
across Russia, two in Ukraine and one
in Uzbekistan. Eurocement is planning
to invest heavily in innovative cement
technologies in the coming years – and
the FLSmidth contract marks a clear step
in that direction.
FLSmidth is looking forward to resuming its close relationship with Russian
cement producers, which began with the
first plant project 100 years ago.
Layout: Blue Business A/S · ISSN 0909-8992
Highlights November 2007
Cementing industry relations on four continents
A first in Qatar
Gulf Cement Company, a relative
newcomer in the industry, is building a
complete 5,000 tpd cement plant west
of Doha, Qatar’s capital. FLSmidth has
signed a comprehensive contract with
Gulf Cement, its first with the company
and its first major project in Qatar.
FLSmidth and its subsidiary companies
will provide all the equipment needed
for the new plant, including:
• A crushing plant
• Raw material stores
• An ATOX raw mill
• A raw meal silo
•A complete ILC three-support kiln
with preheater
• An SF Cross-Bar cooler
• Two OK cement mills
• Cement silos
• Filters
• Dosing equipment
• Packing lines
• A quality and process control system
The equipment supplies are backed by
a complete range of services for the
project:
• Supervision
• Commissioning support
• Training
• Spare parts
The cement plant is scheduled to be
commissioned by mid 2009.
3-D view of Gulf Cement Company’s
coming 5,000 tpd greenfield plant near
Doha, Qatar.
Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province
opts for FLSmidth fabric filters
FLSmidth Airtech has signed a contract
with Eastern Province Cement Company
Ltd. (EPCC) to supply four large fabric
filter installations.
“This major order confirms FLSmidth
Airtech’s leading market position in
fabric filters for cement plants,” says Ole
Boegh, General Manager for Sales,
Operation & Services, FLSmidth.
By installing modern fabric filters to
de-dust the kiln and bypass gases, the
project aims to reduce the dust emission
from the two existing cement lines to
less than 15 mg/Nm3. The filter installations will consist of two FabriClean® and
two RetroClean® filters including ducts,
supports, dust transport systems, fans,
motors, MCC.
EPCC is a Saudi-owned company with
a cement plant in Al Khursaniyah, near
the Khursaniyah oil fields close to the
Dammam-Kuwait and Jubail-Abu Hadriah Highways.
Over the past few years, FLSmidth
Airtech has supplied a large number of
fabric filters to cement plants in Saudi
Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle
East. This recent contract confirms the
company’s ability to meet the demands
of the industry – for both new fabric
filters and upgrades of existing installations.
The Quba Mosque just outside Medina, Saudi
Arabia, is the first Islamic mosque ever built.
FLSmidth Airtech has signed a contract with Eastern Province to
supply four large fabric filters for the Al Khursaniyah cement plant.
Pictured l – r: Mr Ali Al-Qahtani, Deputy General Manager, Eastern
Province Cement Co.; Mr. Syed Basheer Shafee, Plant Manager,
Eastern Province Cement Co.; Mr Ole Bøegh, General Manager,
FLSmidth Airtech; Mr Steffen Houlberg, Project Manager, FLSmidth
Airtech; Mr Ahsen Hussein, Area Sales Manager, FLSmidth Airtech;
and Mr. Kurt Christensen, General Manager, Al-Cem Aps.
The city of Doha, Qatar’s capital.
The Middle East’s No. 1 cement
producer invests in Syria
Egyptian-based Orascom Construction
Industries (OCI) is building a new 7,500
tpd plant through its 75 percent-owned
subsidiary, Syrian Cement Company.
The greenfield plant will be located close
to Syria’s border with Turkey, some 500
kilometres north of Damascus.
The project will be carried out in
cooperation with FLSmidth and OCI.
FLSmidth will supply the machinery and
equipment, and OCI’s construction division will handle the construction work.
FLSmidth’s scope of supplies comprises:
•A crushing plant and stacker/
reclaimer systems
•An ATOX 55 raw mill and a raw
meal silo
•A complete ILC three-support kiln
with a two-string preheater
• An SF Cross-Bar cooler
•Two OK cement mills and cement
silos
•A complete electrical equipment
package
•Electrostatic precipitators and fabric
filters
•A complete quality and process
control system
• A Ventomatic cement packing system
• MAAG gear units
The Syrian plant will comply with stringent NOx, SOx and dust emission standards, and the vertical cement grinding
mill will ensure high energy efficiency.
OCI is a long-standing partner of
FLSmidth, and the companies have
worked together on successful projects
in Algeria, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates,
Pakistan and Libya. OCI’s Cement Group
is the largest producer in the Middle
East with a current capacity of 21 million
tonnes per year (tpy). The new Syrian
plant will be commissioned in mid-2009.
Along with the other OCI projects currently in progress, it will help the OCI
Group reach its total capacity goal of 39
million tonnes within the next couple of
years.
The old citadel in Aleppo, Syria.
Proven partnership behind
new plant in Sudan
FLSmidth is maintaining its strong relationship with the Egyptian-based ASEC
Group. ASEC’s wholly-owned Aresco
company is building a new cement plant
for Al Takamol Cement Company in
Sudan, and the FLSmidth Group of companies is providing a complete package
of engineering and machinery supplies.
The 4,500 tpd cement production
line will be built at Atbara in northern
Sudan, some 200 kilometres north of
the capital, Khartoum. Commissioning
is scheduled for 2009 and FLSmidth‘s
comprehensive range of equipment for
the new project includes:
•An EV 200 x 200 limestone/clay
crusher, 1060 tonnes per hour (tph)
• Raw material stores
•An ATOX 40 raw mill, 355 tph,
including a MAAG gear unit
•A CF silo, 18 m in diameter x 49 m
tall
• A five-stage ILC preheater/calciner
•A rotary kiln, 4.75 in diameter
x 49 m long
•A 4 x 5 SF Cross-Bar clinker cooler
•Two 46 x 15.5 UMS cement mills,
120 tph, including MAAG gear units
• Three Ventomatic packing lines
Over the past decade, FLSmidth has successfully worked with Aresco on other
projects in the region, notably one white
and two grey production lines on the
Sinai Peninsula and a greenfield project
in southern Egypt.
Customer and FLSmidth representatives study the
site and raw materials for OCI’s new greenfield
plant in northern Syria.
Leading Latin American producer
signs up for 5,000+ tpd line
Cementos Argos S.A. has awarded
FLSmidth a contract for a new 5,250
tpd line in addition to other aftermarket
services and support.
Located in Cartagena, Colombia,
the plant will support both the local Colombian market and strengthen Argos’s
position as the fifth largest cement producer in Latin America and an exporter
to 27 countries.
Much of the success for winning
this contract is due to FLSmidth’s ability
to provide technology and services that
will minimise the total cost of ownership
throughout the plant’s life. FLSmidth
will supply engineering services, project
management, training, and commissioning, as well as all major machines and
auxiliary equipment, including:
•Primary and secondary ABON sizers
for 2,500 tph
•5 kilometres of MVT-designed overland conveyors from quarry to plant
•MVT stackers & reclaimers for limestone, chert, puzzolana, gypsum,
and coal
•An FRM 48/315 raw mill with central
feed
Celebrating the laying of the foundation stone
for Cementos Argos’s new 5,250 tpd facility in
Cartagena, Colombia.
•A CF 18 m x 47 homogenisation
blend silo
• An ILC 5–stage preheater with low
NOx In Line Calciner
• A ROTAX-2 (5.25 x 62) two pier kiln
•A Multi-Movable Cross-Bar cooler
(MMC 467/14 x 87) with electromechanical roll breaker
•Complete air pollution control (APC)
systems: main kiln/mill/cooler vent
baghouses
•Two 37,000 tonne clinker storages
and discharge control equipment
• An ATOX 25 coal mill
•Two OK 33-4 vertical mills for
finished cement grinding
•Two 10,000 tonne cement storage silos and discharge control equipment
• FLSmidth Automation plant control
system plus a complete automated
sampling and QCX/RoboLab quality
laboratory and gas sampling package.
Fuel efficiency and strict emission standards will be achieved with a pyro process
system design that includes the latest
generation MMC cooler, DUOFLEX kiln
burner, and ILC preheater with low NOx
and CO calciner. Two OK vertical roller
mills have helped make this solution the
Cementos Molins has contracted FLSmidth to supply
another production line at its Barcelona-based plant.
Seated l – r: Thøger K. Christiansen, General Manager,
FLSmidth Spain; Erik Birch, Vice President, FLSmidth;
Juan Molins Amat, Managing Director Grupo Cementos
Molins; Enrique de Bobes General Manager Grupo Cementos Molins.
The new production line is due to be
commissioned during the second half of
2009. It will be the plant’s sixth line and
is expected to replace the capacity of
production lines 3, 4 and 5 – all supplied
by FLSmidth between 1962 to 1972.
One of the World Heritage fortresses in Cartagena.
market standard for finish cement grinding. The efficient design will minimise
power consumption and the high moisture content in the raw materials will be
mitigated by using a centre feed in the
FRM mill.
Key considerations in the selection
process included FLSmidth’s attention
to safety and ability to train staff and
support installation and operation. The
project will use resources from FLSmidth’s
US headquarters and local satellite offices in Latin America. Project centres in
both Denmark and India will also assist.
Operation is scheduled for 2009.
Celebrating the contract, which includes all major equipment and services for
the new line, seated l-r: Christian Jepsen, FLSmidth, and Jose Alberto Velez,
President, Cementos Argos. Standing l-r: Kevin Chabin, Joseph McKay and
Mark Brugan, FLSmidth; Luis Fernando Vergara, Victor M. Lizarralde, and
Fernando Montoya, Cementos Argos.
Long-standing Spanish
relationship pays off
FLSmidth has won a contract from Cementos Molins to supply equipment for
a new 4,100 tpd production line. The
production line will be the fourth supplied by FLSmidth to Cementos Molins’
plant near Barcelona in Spain.
Based on state-of-the-art environmental technology that complies with
the European Union’s stringent emission standards, the production line will
include a calciner characterised by low
NOx and CO emissions.
For the new project, FLSmidth and its
Group companies are to supply:
• An ATOX 47.5 raw mill
• An 18 m CF raw meal silo
•A complete 4.75 x 56 m ILC
two-support kiln with preheater
•An 11 x 85 Multi Movable Cross-Bar
cooler
• A MAAG mill gear
• FLSmidth Airtech filters
• Supervision services
Cemex chooses FLSmidth main
equipment for greenfield plant
in Spain
Cemex, one of the world’s leading cement producers, is a major player in the
Spanish market. In 2006, the Group
invited bids for a new greenfield plant
in Spain, and FLSmidth was chosen to
provide the main equipment.
Located in the town of Andorra,
Teruel province, a typical Aragonian rural environment with olive and almond
groves, the new plant will get electricity
from a nearby power plant.
Cemex and FLSmidth signed the
contract in December 2006. The scope
of supplies is an ATOX 40 raw mill, a
Rotax 4.15 x 49 m kiln and a 2 x 5F SF
Cross-bar cooler. March 2007 saw the
signing of an additional contract for an
OK 33-4 grinding mill, which will be the
first OK vertical cement mill in Spain.
The contracts reflect the long-standing relationship between Cemex and
FLSmidth. Known as a strong supplier
for major projects, the contract underlines that FLSmidth is also competitive in
package solutions for equipment supplies.
Three existing lines at Molins are to be replaced
by a new modern line.
Growing Indian economy
triggers spate of projects
India’s economy grew nearly 10% in
2006 and the growth rate for 2007 is
expected to be around the same level.
As a result, infrastructure development
is accelerating and cement producers
are experiencing a boom in demand.
They are all busy preparing new projects,
and the industry expects to add 40 million tonnes per year (tpy) of new capacity
this year. This will increase the present
installed capacity of 158 million tpy by
26%. It is estimated that the industry’s
total capacity might rise to 300 million
tpy by year 2010.
In the first six months of 2007,
FLSmidth’s Indian project centre signed
four major contracts as shown in the
table on the next page.
Customer
Chettinad Cement
Vasavadatta Cement
Raghuram Cement
Location
Ariyalur, Tamilnadu
Sedam, Karnataka
Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh
Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh
Capacity
4,000 tpd
3,800 tpd
4,500 tpd
4,500 tpd
Core equipment:
Raw mill
ATOX 42.5, 350 tph Coal mill
ATOX 22.5, 33 tph Blending silo
Inverted Cone, 22 m x 41 m
FRF 16 m x 45 m
Kiln
4.15 m x 64 m ROTAX-2, 4.55 m x 56 m
4.35 m x 67 m
4.35 m x 67 m
Preheater
5-stage ILC, 8 m x 8.2 m
6-stage ILC 7.8 m x 8 m
6-stage ILC, 8.5 m x 8.8 m
6-stage ILC, 8.5 m x 8.8 m
Calciner
ILC LowNOx, 6.9 m x 37.5 m
ILC LowNOx, 7.2 m x 33 m
Cooler
SF Cross-Bar, 3 x 5
SF Cross-Bar, 3 x 6
SF Cross-Bar 4 x 5
SF Cross-Bar 4 x 5
Burner
DUOFLEX
DUOFLEX
DUOFLEX
DUOFLEX
History
FLSmidth/Fuller supplied first plant Two existing Polysius lines. KHD supplied first line,
in 1989, L&T-FLS second plant in
upgraded by FLSmidth in
2004. This is plant 3.
Third line by FLSmidth
commissioned in 2006.
2002. In 2006 FLSmidth
This is repeat order for line 4.
supplied new 3,800 tpd pyro
system, blending silo and
stacker/reclaimers
Raghuram Cement’s greenfield
plant in Andhra Pradesh is to include
an FLSmidth pyroprocessing system.
Vasavadatta Cement in India’s Karnataka
province has ordered major equipment
for its new line 4.
10
Dalmia Cement
11
World’s largest ATOX mill
successfully onstream
As cement kilns continue to grow
in size, so do mills. FLSmidth’s
largest raw grinding mill to date,
an ATOX 57.5, was commissioned
at the start of this year – and
performance guarantees were
reached shortly after.
Ordered by Zhonglian Luhong Cement
Qingzhou Co. for its new 6,000 tonnes
per day (tpd) plant, the mill has a 5356 kW
main drive, a MAAG gear and a 57.5
RAR-LVT separator. The mill’s capacity
of 460 tonnes per hour (tph) reflects the
grindability of the fairly hard limestone
mill feed.
The plant is the first of several 6,000
tpd cement clinker production lines that
China Building Material (Group) Corporation plans to build in Qingzhou in the
Shandong province.
10.8 metres
Layout of the grinding system
Based on the commonly used three-fan
system (preheater fan + raw mill fan +
electrostatic precipitator fan), the grinding system at Qingzhou uses cyclones
to dedust the mill vent gas. This reduces
the operating suction, and usually limits
the gas volume of the precipitator.
The raw materials (limestone, sandstone, iron ore and fly ash) are fed into
the mill from proportioning bins. Feeding devices under the bins extract the
materials according to a preset ratio and
a belt conveyor carries the materials to
the mill. The average moisture content
of the raw materials entering the mill
is 2.5 - 3.2 percent, with a maximum of
6 percent.
The fly ash does not enter the grinding process but is mixed into the raw
meal that leaves the mill.
The excellent drying capacity means the
mills are well suited to raw materials
with high moisture content, as well as
highly abrasive or very sticky materials.
Some of the mills grind very dry raw
materials with a moisture content of less
than one percent, while others grind
very wet raw materials with a moisture
content up to 20 percent.
The grindability of the mill feed varies widely, from less than 3 kWh/t to
more than 11 kWh/t. And ATOX mills
can be designed specifically to produce
a raw meal of a suitable fineness for the
kiln operation in question.
The ATOX is also extremely compact compared to other vertical mills. It
produces very little noise which allows
for outdoor installation, like the one at
Qingzhou.
Highly versatile ATOX mill
FLSmidth’s ATOX mills successfully grind
raw materials that vary greatly in terms
of grindability, drying requirements and
abrasion. The mills combine grinding,
separation and drying into a single unit.
26.2 metres
The world’s largest ATOX raw mill at
Zhonglian Luhong Cement Qingzhou
Co. in China will grind 460 tonnes of
hard limestone per hour.
12
13
Alternative fuels: Today’s alternative
– tomorrow’s standard
A wide range of waste materials are used to fuel cement
kilns. FLSmidth offers complete solutions and all the necessary
technology for handling and firing alternative fuel.
On 1 May this year, FLSmidth set
up a group dedicated wholly to
establishing the use of alternative fuels in the cement and minerals industries. The FLSmidth
Alternative Fuels group brings
together specialists from many
disciplines, consolidating focus
in this increasingly important
field.
For over a decade, FLSmidth and the
FLSmidth Group have developed products that are market leaders in the simple, effective and reliable use of alternative fuels in the cement industry. These
include:
• The HOTDISC combustion device
• The DUOFLEX kiln burner
• Pfister rotor weighfeeders
• FLSmidth Automation’s multi-fuel
controller
• KOCH conveying systems
• Silo extraction systems.
Generally, the industry’s use of alternative fuels has become more established
and accepted. Cement and minerals
producers are now seeking suppliers
who can offer a complete range of
equipment and services related to alternative fuels. It was this development
that prompted FLSmidth to create the
Alternative Fuels group. In addition to
supplying market-leading machinery,
FLSmidth now offers to take responsibility for complete alternative fuel projects,
including all accompanying technical
services.
All needs covered by one group
There is a wide range of disciplines
involved in successfully replacing fossil
fuels with alternative fuels. The role of
specialists should not be underestimated, and combining their different areas
14
Lars Skaarup Jensen, head of FLSmidth’s newly established Alternative Fuels group,
introduces the Company’s new initiative at Cemtech in Prague in September 2007.
of expertise is the best way of successfully leveraging the potential benefits of
using alternative fuels.
Problems frequently encountered
when firing alternative fuels are reduced
clinker production capacity, higher emission values and inadequate availability
of the fuel handling equipment. But all
these difficulties can be successfully addressed.
The connection between handling
equipment and the fuel process is often
ignored. A solid understanding of both
aspects is necessary – and this is best
dealt with at the earliest possible design
stage.
The fuel of the future?
Over the past century, the cement industry has used a variety of fuels for pyroprocessing. Oil has largely been replaced
by coal, which in turn has partly been
replaced by petcoke (and natural gas).
In the coming decades, alternative fuels
made from waste generated by society
are likely to be a major energy source.
Driving the industry forward
FLSmidth’s investments in alternative
fuel technology have proved fruitful.
We have greatly improved our fundamental understanding of the differences
between burning fossil fuels and alternative fuels, particularly through our
research collaboration with combustion
experts from the Technical University of
Denmark. Products and services based
on market-leading technological developments will continuously be launched.
Moving forward, FLSmidth will accelerate its research and development into
alternative fuels. This will ensure that
our customers have access to industryleading technology and make alternative
fuel usage by the cement and minerals
industries even more attractive.
15
Upgrades important for the
Italian cement industry
Italy doesn’t just produce good
football players, it also has some
major players in the cement market who have been around for
many years. In 2004 FLSmidth
approached the Italian market
with a minor upgrades concept.
Now, it’s one of the world’s best
markets for upgrade projects.
Highlights visited the beautiful medieval
town of Gubbio, in the Umbrian region
of Italy, to interview managers at both
Barbetti I.C. and Colacem. Situated on
the slopes of the Monte Ingino on the
outskirts of Gubbio, both companies
have recently ordered FLSmidth upgrades – and we wanted to learn more
about their views on environmental issues and FLSmidth services in general.
We talked to Alessandro Agostinelli,
the Technical Manager at Barbetti. From
Colacem, we spoke to Pier Federico
Baldinucci, Manager of Engineering, and
Nando Tinti, Project Manager.
Barbetti
FLSmidth has a long-standing relationship with Barbetti. Back in 1982, FLSmidth
installed a 1,500 tonnes per day (tpd)
pyroprocessing line at the Gubbio plant.
In 2000, the plant was upgraded to
4,000 tpd in only 72 days. Now production has been boosted to 4,600 tpd. The
success of this project spurred Barbetti’s
decision to work with FLSmidth again.
We have since collaborated on various
projects, including a new separator for
the existing ATOX mill.
In November 2006, FLSmidth
strengthened its relationship with
Barbetti, winning a contract for a 100
tonnes per hour cement grinding plant.
Colacem
Colacem’s collaboration with FLSmidth
started in 2002 when it ordered a new
grate cooler for its plant in Tunisia. This
newly developed technology ideally
suited Colacem’s plant. As Colacem was
one of the first plants to introduce the
new type of cooler, there were some
teething problems – more than Colacem
actually expected. However, FLSmidth
quickly solved the problems and its
personnel remained at the site until the
cooler was up and running. Since then,
there have been no problems with the
cooler and the plant is producing at
maximum capacity.
Colacem was impressed with the
way FLSmidth handled the initial problems, so the company decided to work
with FLSmidth on various other upgrade
projects. These include a bypass system
in the town of Sesto Campano, and
most recently, a project in Caravate in
northern Italy, which involved enlargement of the calciner and installation of
a tertiary air duct. FLSmidth’s low NOx
technology was considered the best solution for this upgrade.
Colacem’s plant is beautifully situated
in Umbria, the green heart of Italy.
Talking about the environment
Environmental protection is important to
both Barbetti and Colacem. Barbetti has
installed an FLSmidth low NOx calciner
to reduce emissions. The new ATOX mill,
tower and filters supplied by FLSmidth
have also had a positive impact on the
environment. According to Mr Agostinelli,
Italian cement producers are keen to
protect the environment. Energy is now
becoming very expensive so there is a
great deal of interest in reducing energy
consumption. However, partly because
NOx limits differ greatly from one Italian
region to another, Italian cement producers don’t have a common approach to
environmental issues.
Colacem is also actively involved in
minimising the environmental impact
of its facilities. At Caravate for example, the plant is very close to the town
and the local community has a great
interest in how the plant affects the environment. Messrs Tinti and Baldinucci
explain that the plant has changed from
electrostatic precipitators (ESP) to hybrid
filters (ESP and bag filter together), and
the pyro system is being upgraded to
reduce NOx emissions.
Barbetti and Colacem both agree
that the Italian cement market will remain
stable for at least four or five years, but
is unlikely to grow. Meanwhile, higher
environmental standards will continue to
necessitate upgrades, revamping and new
products, so there will be a lot of activity in
the Italian cement industry in the future.
High quality and strong relations
In general, both companies value working with FLSmidth. They consider good
personal relations to be very important.
The service provided by FLSmidth is
good, its proposals are clear and its
support is supreme. The prices are a bit
high, though, even though they realise
that FLSmidth quality is probably superior.
“Price is balanced against the quality of
the products and the good relationship
with FLSmidth – and then FLSmidth often wins,” they say.
Barbetti, also situated in Umbria,
has worked with FLSmidth on
several upgrade projects over the
past few years.
Back in 2003, FLSmidth found a gap in the services
provided to customers. The company was selling
major projects and spare parts, but had no specialists
to take care of the upgrades market. Now there are
four Customer Services Projects (CSP) departments in
FLSmidth. They keep on expanding to keep up with
all the orders coming in.
16
17
Pretoria Portland Cement Company Ltd (PPC) has launched an
ambitious capacity expansion
plan for its southern African
operations. This includes a
new 3,300 tonnes per day (tpd)
clinker line at PPC’s existing
Dwaalboom cement factory
originally supplied by FLSmidth.
The project is entitled “Batsweledi”
– a Sotho word meaning “growing into
the future”. Founded in 1892, PPC is
currently South Africa’s leading cement
producer. It has eight cement factories
in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Incidentally, FLSmidth’s relationship
with PPC goes back to the first supply of
a mill in 1906.
A booming economy
Greg Thomas, the Construction Manager for the Dwaalboom Expansion
Project, has been in the cement business for 27 years, but has never before
experienced such a growing need for
cement.
“The demand in South Africa has
grown significantly. The soccer World
Cup in 2010, booming housing construction, and increasing public sector
infrastructure investment have boosted
cement consumption by 50% over the
last 4 years from 9.6 million tonnes per
annum in 2002 to 14.3 million tonnes
per annum at the end of 2006. Cement
sales are forecast to rise to in excess of
15.5 million tonnes in 2007.
Room for further expansion
To cope with the increased demand,
PPC has embarked on an upgrade and
expansion programme, which will
increase capacity of its South African
operations from the existing around
6.0 million tonnes per year to 7.5 million
tonnes by mid 2009. They have recommissioned their Jupiter plant, but they
will soon need additional capacity.
PPC faced two options when
deciding to expand Dwaalboom: either
upgrade the existing line or build an
additional one. The existing line was
based on SLC technology from 1984 so
it made sense to build a new line based
on modern technology while keeping
the old line producing during the peak
sales cycle.
The new line is planned for future
expansion and there is space for more
additional lines on the present site.
The quarry facilities and stacker/reclaimer system were originally built for
double capacity, so no expansion of
this part of the Dwaalboom plant was
needed.
PPC will increase the grinding capacity at Hercules which is where the biggest
market is and where fly ash is readily
available. The clinker from Dwaalboom
will be transported by rail to the Hercules
plant’s grinding facilities near Pretoria
and also to the recommissioned Jupiter
plant in Johannesburg.
The new line is planned to be commissioned as from April next year. In addition
to serving the South African market, PPC
exports to other African countries.
Protecting the environment
PPC is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its operations. They
have implemented a risk management
system which is certified to the ISO 9002
and ISO 14001 standards for quality and
environmental management, respectively.
The state-of-the-art technology
that will be installed at Dwaalboom will
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
lower the fuel (coal) consumption per
tonne of production.
FLSmidth is supplying
• An ATOX 37.5 raw mill
• A Pfister kiln feed system
• A 6-stage preheater and ILC calciner with an
option for subsequent installation of a HOTDISC
• A ROTAX-2 4.55 x 54 m rotary kiln
• A DUOFLEX kiln burner for coal
• An MMC 11 x 73 Multi-Movable Cross-Bar
cooler with Heavy-duty Roll Breaker
• An ATOX 20 coal mill
• FLSmidth Airtech fabric filter and electrostatic
precipitator
• An FLSmidth Automation CEMulator for
training the PPC staff
Pretoria Portland Cement Company is expanding its
Dwaalboom plant with a new 3,300 tpd clinker line.
18
19
QCX/RoboLab sales
still buoyant
Scarce water supplies
The impressive 115 metre tall preheater
tower made of concrete is a landmark
and will probably be of high marketing
value for PPC and FLSmidth. The preheater system has six stages instead of five,
which enables lowering the gas temperature. This saves water for cooling. The
limited water reserves in this part of the
country, particularly in the summer, also
ruled out a conditioning tower.
There were significant orders
for QCX/RoboLab in the first half
of 2007, continuing its strong
market performance from 2006.
This positive trend shows the industry remains confident in the
automated sample preparation
and analysis solution.
Movable Cross-Bar (MMC) cooler
with roller breaker. The project also
marks the first collaboration between
FLSmidth and its sister company
FLSmidth Minerals in carrying out a
project. FLSmidth’s contract with PPC
includes design, equipment supplies
and supervision. FLSmidth Minerals’
role is to erect and commission the
equipment and manage the fabrication
and installation of the preheater steel
structure.
The industry ordered 18 QCX/RoboLab
systems and around 50 QCX systems in
2006. These impressively high numbers
confirmed FLSmidth Automation’s QCX
line as market leaders.
Several firsts for South Africa
Dwaalboom will be the first site in South
Africa to install FLSmidth’s new Multi-
FLSmidth is responsible for the pyroprocessing
system at Dwaalboom’s new line, which includes a
spectacular 115-metre high preheater.
Both new and retrofit projects
The QCX/RoboLab system is robotics
based and, of the 18 sold last year, 13
were new projects that included complete packages of automated sampling,
sample handling and sample preparation equipment as well as analysers. The
sampling and preparation equipment
for all these projects is supplied by Pfaff
AQS. The remaining five orders were
retrofit projects, which included software upgrades to the latest Windows
version of the QCX software.
Saudi Arabia tops the list for new
projects with five systems orders, includ-
ing one double RoboLab cell for the
gigantic Hofuf plant. Russia and Kazakhstan are significant newcomers to the
automated laboratory systems market.
Meanwhile, Spain dominated the retrofit market with three software upgrade
projects, two of which included additional automated combustion analysis.
QCX Product Manager Steen
Tokkesdal Pedersen says: “We see a
clear trend towards adding on the more
complex preparation and analysis tasks.
For example, among the projects sold
in 2006 and the first half of 2007, eight
included automated fusion and four included automated combustion analysis.
In the early days of robotics automation,
we and other suppliers typically automated the simpler tasks such as powder
sample preparation. Now, customers are
considering the automation potential of
all tasks in their 24/7 production laboratories.”
New orders in US and India
The first half of 2007 saw a couple of
important entries to the sales list. One is
the QCX/RoboLab for Holcim’s St. Genevieve project in Missouri, USA. It will
produce 12,000 tonnes of clinker each
day, making it the world’s largest single
production line. Another important
milestone is India’s first QCX/RoboLab
system, ordered by Sagar Cement Ltd.
Director S. Sreekanth Reddy of Sagar Cement Ltd. comments: “We are
looking for the best achievable quality
in our lab operations to facilitate high
product quality. QCX/RoboLab will bring
us this, and the flexible robotics concept
allows us to add more automation in
the future. Another important reason
for choosing QCX/RoboLab is FLSmidth
Automation’s strong presence in India.
Their skilled personnel from Chennai
make us confident that we will be well
looked after with fast local service.”
Market acceptance grows
FLSmidth Automation expects sales of
QCX/RoboLabs and other QCX products to rise in Russia and surrounding
countries, and particularly in India. The
growing acceptance of laboratory automation is a clear sign that improved
sampling quality and lab procedures are
ranked highly in these countries – possibly more highly than potential labour
costs.
The QCX/Robolab system, here at Cementos
Portland Valderrivas’ Alcala Plant in Seville,
Spain, is a well-proven and popular automation
solution for sampling, sample handling, sample
preparation and sample analysis.
20
21
Expanded 2008 programme
for FLSmidth Institute
2008 promises to be a bumper
year for FLSmidth Institute.
As well as an increased training schedule, there are courses
planned in Spanish and a comprehensive e-learning programme.
Next year, there are so many training
courses and seminars that we’ve had
to divide our calendar up into two sections. And there are separate application
forms depending on whether you want
to enrol in a training course or a seminar. Pull the calendar out and put it on
your wall, so you know exactly what’s
coming up when.
Seminars in Spanish back – and
better than ever
Due to popular demand, FLSmidth Institute will run a week-long set of seminars
in Spanish in Madrid in October 2008.
FLSmidth Institute has not held any seminars in Spanish since 2003, but many
Spanish-speaking plant employees have
asked for a repeat. “Of course, we’re
not content to rest on our laurels at FLSmidth, so the new seminars are better,
more extensive and more flexible than
before,” says Cristina Holmark, International Seminar Manager.
This year, the seminars will feature
two educational lines, running concurrently: maintenance and production.
Moreover, a new arrangement of subjects on the Spanish production seminar
makes it possible to select from the
following options: three days focusing
on grinding with a plant visit (module 1);
four days focusing on kiln and cooler
systems with a plant visit; or both modules over six days. The greater range
of topics and booking flexibility should
allow participants to concentrate on exactly what they want to learn. The Spanish maintenance seminar, however, will
be a week long session.
The seminars are aimed at people
with one year of experience or more,
but of course all process and maintenance staff will find them relevant.
You can find more information
on the content and issues covered at
www.flsmidthinstitute.com. And you
can sign up by e-mailing Cristina Holmark
at [email protected]
Extended e-learning activities
With a new intranet-based e-learning
management system on its way in 2008,
FLSmidth Institute plans to step up internal training programmes for FLSmidth
employees. Accessible from anywhere
in the world, the new system will help
to raise our employees’ skills and knowledge. As Carsten Storgaard, e-learning
manager explains, “This will have a
great knock-on effect for our customers,
because the better and quicker we are,
the faster their installations are up and
running.”
There will be a number of elements
to the new system, including online
simulations where engineers can, for example, run through all the documentation for the total installation of a cement
plant. The simulations can be configured
to suit specific installations, taking into
account the varying equipment on a
site. “Part of the beauty of the
e-learning platform is its flexibility,” says
Carsten. “People have different learning
styles and the e-learning programmes
contain many elements, from text-based
learning to 3D animation and video.”
Carsten continues, “One of our main
goals is to include what we call the three
Es: Engaging, Educational and Entertaining. We’ve followed these principles as
much as possible, so the programmes
are interactive and learner-centred, and
they use tasks that are directly relevant
to people’s everyday work situations.
Everything is designed so trainees can
relate to the information they are doing
and see its relevance in their work”.
Technical training will also be covered by the new e-learning platform.
“E-learning is much faster and less expensive than classroom-based training,
so there’s less time learning the processes and more time working with customers. Reducing time-to-competence
can only be a good thing for everyone
involved,” Carsten concludes.
FLSmidth Institute opens in India
India is an expanding market
and its cement and minerals
industries are in great need of
training and seminars. To meet
the growing demand, FLSmidth
Institute has now set up a unit in
Chennai, India.
FLSmidth Institute is an umbrella organisation covering all training, seminars and
human resource services for FLSmidth
Group customers. It consists of FLSmidth
Institute Denmark, FLSmidth Institute US
and now also FLSmidth Institute India
22
At the International Maintenance Seminar, delegates
meet various specialists from
FLSmidth (left) and apply their
knowledge at a cement plant
(below).
– which will operate as part of Customer
Services India. Working closely with the
other FLSmidth Institutes, it will support
the entire FLSmidth organisation including FLSmidth Minerals and all other
divisions.
FLSmidth Institute India will provide
training and seminars both to the industry and within FLSmidth. Opened
on 1 August, the new department is
headed by Mr Shyamsundar Iyer, who
will support FLSmidth Institute Denmark on a number of large training
projects in the future.
23
Up the Mississippi to world’s
largest clinker line
Equipment supplies for the
12,000 tpd Holcim (US) Ste.
Genevieve project are literally
streaming into the construction
site on the banks of the Mississippi. As Highlights visited the
site in late June, the contours
of Holcim’s new flagship plant
in the US were rapidly taking
shape.
How’re you doin?
It’s seven o’clock in the morning. This
friendly greeting in a strong southern
accent stands in contrast to the tense
and hectic mood at the specially built
harbour, only 300 metres from the construction site. The last of the kiln tyres
for the 6.6 m diameter and 93 m long
kiln has just arrived from Korea and is
being brought safely ashore. FLSmidth’s
site manager, Michael Olsen, is carefully
following the landing operation. The
people from Washington Group Alberici,
whom Holcim (US) Inc. has chosen to
do the construction work for the USD
905 m cement plant, have the situation
fully under control. The tyre is landed
safe and sound, before being carried
on a special truck the last 100 metres
to the site and unloaded next to the kiln
sections and an increasing amount of
other FLSmidth equipment ready to be
installed.
“This project is simply great by all
measures,” Michael comments. “Not
just because of its size, but also because
the people here are great to work with
and have great equipment at their disposal.”
The Mississippi River plays a decisive role
in the gigantic project. The waterway is
the nation’s largest transport corridor,
and the location of the plant – in Ste.
Genevieve County, Missouri, halfway
up the river – will enable Holcim (US) to
serve cement customers from the U.S.
Gulf of Mexico in the south to Minneapolis and Chicago in the north and
in no less than 22 of the largest cities in
the US.
The Mississippi is also contributing to
the actual construction project. The site
has limited space for receiving goods,
and only ready-made components arrive
directly by barge. FLSmidth is supervising two pre-assembly sites down the
River: In Memphis, Tennessee, 400 km
downstream, the Atlas Company is assembling the kiln riser, the preheater
and calciner including cyclones, the kiln
hood and other FLSmidth supplies, and
at Scott City, Missouri, some 125 km
downstream, Delphi, a specialised contracting firm, is assembling the FLSmidth
Airtech process filters.
Three of the key players at the Ste. Genevieve site,
l-r: Michael Olsen, site manager, FLSmidth; Phil
Morony, construction manager, and Rudy Blum,
project manager, both Holcim.
24
The famous Mississippi River tugs are
like taxis moving barges with goods up
and down the River regardless of the
strong currents. “They come and go like
a Swiss clockwork based on Holcim’s
and Washington Group’s master plan,”
Ole Sørensen says. He is FLSmidth’s
mechanical engineer at the Memphis
pre-assembly site. “The secret is to be
slightly ahead of schedule all the time
and be ready when the tug arrives. So
far, we’re making good progress here in
Memphis. We reckon on being finished
by June 2008.” Some of the machinery
comes from China where FLSmidth’s
own field inspectors visit the workshops
regularly to check the quality. Before
being shipped, all the equipment is trialassembled and inspected. Both Ole and
the customer are fully satisfied with the
marking and the quality of the supplies.
At Scott City, all the Airtech filter
components are being preassembled according to the same principles. To minimise the number of individual components to be unloaded at Ste. Genevieve
even the top and bottom casings are
welded together here on the river bank.
25
Up the Mississippi to world’s largest clinker line
An extraordinary project
The size in itself makes the project
something quite unique to all parties
involved. The preparations have been
extensive. In the mid 1990’s Swissbased Holcim Ltd. acquired the huge
site which holds enough limestone for
more than 100 years’ production. Holcim underwent a six-year review and
permit process involving both federal
and state regulatory agencies before
the final go-ahead was received in
2005 and the subsequent planning of
the project progressed very swiftly.
Executing the world’s largest single
clinker production (greenfield) line with
the world’s largest cement producer
as your partner requires exemplary
planning. Together Holcim and
FLSmidth have meticulously planned
the engineering phase by identifying
critical milestone deliverable dates affording Holcim the opportunity to get
the full benefit of efficient erection
planning.
Recognising that the success of the
project hinges upon open communication at all project team levels, FLSmidth
has dedicated a core team of ten engineers from its US office to the project
and is utilising the strengths of its other
project centres in Denmark and India to
ensure that work is completed to support field erection needs.
Holcim has assigned two experienced members of its staff, Project Manager Rudy Blum and Construction Manager Phil Morony, to oversee the project.
Environmental concern, occupational
safety and health and efficient planning
have top priority at the site which at first
glance resembles a bustling anthill of
people, machinery and contractors. But
it is all backed by a strong organisation.
Highlights asked the two Holcim
managers for their opinion on the project.
Both Rudy Blum and Phil Morony as well
as several of the team members have
worked together in other projects around
the world. So everyone knows each other
and is conversant with the job.
Why FLSmidth?
Safety and reliability. A project of this
magnitude leaves no room for experiments when selecting the technical solutions. All the process solutions are therefore well-proven and familiar to the
project team. FLSmidth made the best
proposal and has experience in building huge facilities. Moreover, FLSmidth
has a large organisation in the USA
capable of carrying out the engineering
and project management for this large
plant. The resources of FLSmidth Inc. in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, are of course
being supplemented by the worldwide
FLS organisation.
The choice of technology is always
a balance between several factors, notably the type of raw materials available
and the characteristics of the site. For
example, we chose to have several mills
instead of one big one. But why then only
one huge kiln? The answer is: It’s no big
complication to have one large kiln. There
is less maintenance and there are economies of scale. So at Ste. Genevieve this is
the most suitable solution. But at other
sites, the situation could be different.
One hundred percent safety and
environmental compliance
In Ste. Genevieve County Holcim has acquired a 3,900 acre (16 square kilometre)
site which is located in an environmentally sensitive area. Over 1,800 acres (7
square kilometres) are being preserved
as a conservation area. The quarry will be
mined in increments no larger than 200
acres (0.8 square kilometres) at any given
time. As the quarrying is completed in
one area, that portion of the quarry will
be reclaimed and mining will continue in
another portion of the quarry. Stormwater runoff is not discharged directly into
the River, but is cleared first in huge artificial ponds. Holcim considers these precautions not only a necessary additional
cost, but also a natural commitment to
ensuring the sustainability of the project,
demonstrating both on a local and a
global scale that such a gigantic plant
can operate in an environmentally sound
way, whilst creating jobs and prosperity
for the local community within a radius
of some 50 miles (80 kilometres).
Holcim is equally committed to maintaining a maximum level of occupational
health and safety. Safety courses, safety
boots, badges, eye protection and helmets are all a natural part of the project.
Any violation of the safety guidelines
immediately results in sanctions – both
personal and financial - for the contractors and their personnel at the site. The
success criterion of the Ste. Genevieve
project is of course that 12,000 tonnes
or more of clinker will leave the kiln every
day as from the agreed time in 2009. But
until then it is also a definite goal that
no serious personal accident occurs that
might have been avoided by correct behaviour. So far Holcim has been successful in this respect.
Our interview is over. Rudy Blum and
Phil Morony need to go back to the harbour and attend a special safety award
session held by Washington Group, the
main civil works contractor. The harbour
team is being awarded for safe and correct landing of equipment. The master
plan proves to be working.
FLSmidth’s Site Manager, Michael
Olsen, also attends the ceremony and
promises those present many more
tonnes of FLSmidth equipment to be
tugged in via the Mississippi from all
over the world, from Memphis and from
Scott City over the coming months. The
point is taken. We are all in the same
boat until we can say: Job well-done.
Everyone is making their contribution
and helping to create industrial history here in the baking Missouri sun.
“How’re you doin” acquires a new
meaning when visiting Ste. Genevieve.
FLSmidth scope of supply for the project:
• FLSmidth Minerals gyratory crusher
rated for 2000 tph limestone
• Secondary crusher rated for 800 tph
limestone
• 65,000 tonne circular limestone store
from MVT
• Additives and correctives stacker /
reclaimer units from MVT
• 46,000 tonne circular coal/petcoke
store from MVT
• Docksider barge vacuum unloader
• Two ATOX 50.0 raw mills rated for
515 tph each
• Two ATOX 27.5 solid fuel mills rated
for up to 70 tph coal or 37 tph petcoke each
• Equipment for two 15,000 tonne
CF raw meal homogenisation silos
• ILC 5-stage preheater with low NOx
and low CO calciner
• 6.6 metre diameter x 93 metre
3-support kiln with tangential tire
suspension
• DUOFLEX kiln burner
• MMC 774/23 x 123 Multi-Movable
Cross-Bar cooler with Heavy-duty
Roll Breaker (HRB)
• Pfister solid fuel and kiln feed dosing
systems
• Four OK 36-4 vertical roller mills for
cement grinding rated for 165 tph
cement at 3800 Blaine
• Eight MAAG vertical roller mill main
gear reducers
• Equipment for eight inverted cone
cement storage silos
• FLSmidth Airtech process filters
• FLSmidth Automation control system
with QCX laboratory and sampling
system.
Kiln tyres are a key component for a project of this magnitude. The tyres are cast in Korea, shipped to the US, tugged on barges
up the Mississippi to the specially built site harbour where they are unloaded, ready for assembly onto the kiln.
26
27
D.G. Khan inaugurates
environment-friendly plant
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz attended the inauguration of D.G. Khan Cement’s new
Khaipur plant on 14 May. The
Prime Minister, who laid the
foundation stone back in April
2005, remarked that the commissioning of this modern plant
had generated numerous jobs
and created several associated
industries.
The Khaipur plant will supply both the
national market and neighbouring Afghanistan. A greenfield production facility, the 1.3 square km site is located next
to limestone and clay raw material deposits near Khaipur village, 38 km from
Chakwal city in the district of Shakwal,
Punjab.
Contributing to economic
development
The cement plant will contribute to the
industrial economic development of a
poor rural region. The increased cement
production capacity will also help Pakistan maintain low cement prices. This is
essential for developing infrastructure
and affordable housing projects, as well
as for reconstruction following the October 2005 earthquake.
D.G. Khan Cement Company
D.G. Khan Cement Company Limited
(DGKCC) belongs to the Nishat Group,
one of the leading and most diversified
business groups in South East Asia.
Assisted by FLSmidth, DGKCC is also
optimising two existing lines, built in
1986 and 1998, raising the company’s
Attending the inauguration of D.G.Khan’s new environment-friendly production facility, r-l: Ole Bak, General
Manager, FLSmidth; Jan De Kok, Head of EU delegation to Pakistan; Jehangir Tareen, Federal Minister of
Industries; Shaukat Aziz, Pakistan’s Prime Minister; Lt Gen (Retd) Khalid Maqbool, Governor Punjab; Sardar
Ghulam Abbas, Administrator, District Chakwal; Mr. Raza Mansha, Chief Executive Officer, D.G. Khan Cement.
total capacity from 5,500 tonnes per day
(tpd) to 6,700 tpd. This will help make
DGKCC the largest cement producer in
Pakistan, with about 10 percent of the
industry’s total production capacity.
Environment-friendly production
The production processes at DGKCC
comply with the World Bank’s environmental standards. The company
is certified to ISO 9002, as well as the
ISO 14001 Environment Management
System. It’s the only cement producer in
Pakistan to have both certifications.
Making Pakistan a major
cement exporter
At the inauguration ceremony, Prime
Minister Aziz acknowledged the role the
Nishat Group is playing in the country’s
development. He said that Pakistan was
emerging as a major cement exporter
to the neighbouring countries and the
Middle East – and that this industrial
growth will trickle down to the benefit
of all layers of society.
According to Chief Executive Officer
Raza Mansha of DGKCC, who thanked
the local authorities and suppliers in
making “a dream come true”, the
Nishat Group will expand further over
the next three years.
FLSmidth supplied:
• A raw material store
• ATOX coal and raw grinding mills
• Two OK vertical cement grinding mills
(the first in Pakistan)
• A preheater and kiln, and the world’s
hitherto largest SF Cross-Bar cooler
• Four FLSmidth Airtech electrostatic
precipitators
• Six Ventomatic packing lines
• Four MAAG gear units
• An FLSmidth Automation quality
control and laboratory system
• Supervision of erection and commissioning, as well as staff training
FLSmidth’s contribution
The contract between D.G. Khan Cement Co. Ltd. and FLSmidth for a new
6,700 tpd production line was signed in
June 2004.
Quality control for Grasim
Industries
India’s Grasim Industries Limited
(Cement Division) has once again
selected FLSmidth Automation
to supply a Quality Control by
computer and X-ray (QCX) system. The system will manage
laboratory information, and
optimise raw mix and cement
quality.
Celebrating the first bag of cement from D.G.Khan’s new Khaipur plant in Pakistan’s Punjab province,
Ole Olsen, FLSmidth (left) and Dr Arif Bashir, General Manager, D.G.Khan, shake hands.
28
Grasim Industries are leading cement
producers in India and are expanding
their production capacities.
The quality control systems are for
Grasim’s three upcoming plants: Grasim
Cement at Kotputli; Aditya Cement,
Line 2; and UltraTech Cement, Line 2
at Tadpatri, and for the existing Shree
Digvijay plant.
The scope of the projects comprises:
• Advanced raw mix control by QCX/
BlendExpert
• Complete laboratory information
management solution
• Registration and storage of quality
control data for two years
• Specialised communication driver for
X–ray equipment
• QCX/Server and QCX/Client computers
• Networking solution.
In addition to these software solutions,
FLSmidth Automation will supply:
• XRF machines
• XRD machines (not in Shree Digvijay)
• PGNAA-based cross belt analysers
(not in Shree Digvijay or Ultratech Cement in Tadipatri)
• Manual sample preparation equipment from Pfaff AQS
• Fused bead preparation equipment
(not in Shree Digvijay or Ultratech Cement in Tadipatri).
All supplied software will be based on
the Microsoft Windows 2003/XP platform.
A regular supplier to Grasim Industries Limited (Cement Division) and
UltraTech Cement Limited, FLSmidth
Automation has previously provided
high-level control solutions such as
ECS/ProcessExpert, ACE/ECS Cement
Plant Control and QCX Quality control
solutions.
29
New acquisition fuels rapid growth
of FLSmidth Minerals
Combining the strong engineering
legacy of the Fuller Company and
F.L.Smidth & Co., FFE Minerals had
become the predominant supplier of
crushing, grinding and pyroprocessing
equipment to the mineral processing
industry by the mid-late 90s.
FLSmidth Minerals has finalised
the acquisition of GL&V Process,
one of the world’s leading providers of separation technology
for the metals and minerals industries. The acquisition includes
the global businesses of DorrOliver Eimco, headquartered in
Salt Lake City, Utah, and Krebs
Engineers, headquartered in
Tucson, Arizona.
Two major differences
Despite many similarities, the cement
industry and the minerals processing industries have two major differences:
1.Minerals processing entails larger
equipment for crushing, materials handling systems (up to 12,000
tonnes per hour (tph)), and grinding
mills.
Shared technologies in
minerals and cement
FLSmidth Minerals, formerly called FFE
Minerals, and until recently the smaller
sibling of the FLSmidth Group, has
experienced rapid growth since beginning life as the Minerals Processing Divisions (MPD) of the Fuller Company and
F.L.Smidth & Co. in 1991. With sales of
USD 2bn projected for 2008, minerals
will become similar in size to the cement
side of FLSmidth’s business. Minerals
has many things in common with the
cement industry, including crushing,
grinding, materials handling, pyroprocessing, plant engineering, automation and pollution control. The FLSmidth
Group is the leading global supplier of
most of the equipment based on these
shared technologies.
For example, a preferred grinding method in minerals is to wet process large
(40 feet diameter) semi-autogenous
grinding (SAG) mills with 30,000 hp
wrap around motors. Primary gyratory
crushers and materials handling systems
range in size up to 12,000 tph.
Already the leading supplier of such
products, the company proceeded to
fill the gaps in its portfolio with acquisitions, and today it has the most complete line of products for the minerals
processing flow sheet.
The large capacity ABON sizer is particularly suited for crushing wet and sticky materials.
RAHCO mobile material handling system.
Heavy materials handling
equipment
In mining operations, materials handling systems account for a large part
of capital expenditure – so two German
companies were transferred to Minerals
from other parts of the FLSmidth Group
in order to grow that area of the business:
• MVT – A well-known manufacturer
of materials handling equipment
• Möller – Renowned for its pneumatic
conveying capabilities, and particularly prominent in the power industry
and alumina processing
Two new companies were recently
acquired: KOCH, a large and wellknown materials handling company
from Germany; and RAHCO, a US
company with advanced technology
in mobile materials handling systems.
This now makes FLSmidth Minerals
one of the largest materials handling
companies in the world, booking over
USD 200m in the first half of 2007.
MVT shiploader for coal.
30
Large capacity crushers
Some ores require a different type of
crusher than the well-known FullerTraylor gyratory, so ABON Engineering
was acquired in 1998 to provide a sizer
capable of handling large quantities of
coal, iron ore, bauxite and limestone
for cement and lime plants. The ABON
sizer is especially suitable for wet, sticky
materials. Also during the late 90s, Vecor, a large South African producer of
ball mills and other mining equipment
including mineshaft hoists, was acquired
which expanded business in Africa.
2.Minerals processing predominantly
entails wet processing for the beneficiation of ores.
Agglomerator at copper ore processing plant.
31
New acquisition fuels rapid growth of FLSmidth Minerals
Complementary activities
make FLSmidth Group the
market leader
The three companies, FLSmidth Minerals,
Dorr-Oliver Eimco and Krebs Engineers,
complement each other both geographically and product-wise.
FLSmidth Minerals is a market leader
in pyro technologies and in crushing and
grinding of minerals, while the GL&V
Process companies are market leaders
in downstream separation processes.
Together, their products represent one
complete process technology from the
extraction of minerals through to the
end product.
Excel heavy-duty cone crusher
In order to increase the crushing line for
mining and aggregates, the Excel Crusher company was purchased in 2006. This
brought the most modern heavy-duty
cone crusher into the Group along with
a manufacturing facility in Pekin, Illinois,
enhancing FLSmidth’s ability to supply
high-quality parts and components for
crushers and other mining equipment.
An 1100 hp cone crusher was recently
commissioned in a copper mine in Peru.
Comminution
•Crushers
•Sizers
•Mills
•Belt Conveyors
•Pipe Conveyors
Separation
•Flotation
•Thickeners
•Filters
• Cyclones & Pumps
Pyro
•Kilns
•Dryers
•Fluid beds
•Gas suspension
ABON
The competition took place in spring
and the winners were invited to Copenhagen to try the real simulator and meet
the FLSmidth people behind the campaign. The contestants with the highest
scores were:
Mr Kumar Tripathy Pasant
Technical Vice President
Shree Cement Ltd., India
Materials Handling
•Feeders •Stackers/Reclaimers
Product
Mr Tony Valenzuela
Control Room Operator Sr.
Salt River Materials Group, USA
•Loading/Unloading
For more information about the campaign see: www.beat-the-autopilot.com
Parts & Service
F L S m i d t h Minerals
FLSmidth Automation’s Beat the
Autopilot competition featured
an online simulation that demonstrated the complexity of kiln
process control and optimisation.
Mr Charles Randolph Walters
Control Room Supervisor
Salt River Materials Group, USA
Mineral Processing
E x t ra c tion
•At the face mining
• I n - p i t crushing
• M i n e Hoists
And the diploma goes to…
M öller
Vecor
Dorr-Oliver Eimco
Excel
MVT
Buffalo
Krebs
Rahco
KOCH
Award-winning campaign
garners commercial interest
This is the first time FLSmidth Automation has launched a campaign of this
magnitude. The ECS/ProcessExpert platform is a complicated product and a very
complicated simulation – and the online
campaign ran for longer than expected.
But General Sales Manager Peter Harrig
Nielsen and Product Manager Hassan
Yazdi of FLSmidth Automation were
both very satisfied with the outcome.
Approximately 3,000 operators at
780 cement plants in 128 countries
were initially contacted. Almost 150
plants qualified for the online game,
and 38 actively participated, benefiting
from the advanced real-time training
program.
The campaign has received awards
from the public relations communities in
Denmark and the USA. And the simulation program has attracted a great deal
of commercial interest – several cement
companies are considering buying training programs and 14 systems have already been ordered.
Knowing that it’s less expensive to practise on a training server than an actual
production line, FLSmidth Automation
will make the simulation program available on its website later this year. This
will help build interest in automated kiln
process control among kiln operators
around the world.
Mr Walters accepted the invitation to
visit Denmark. However, the two other
winners were unable to make the trip at
this time.
Solid/liquid separation
– the missing link
But FLSmidth was still lacking capabilities in one area of minerals processing:
the concentration of ores through a series of solid/liquid separation steps. So,
on 10 August 2007, FLSmidth acquired
the process division of GL&V, which
included Dorr-Oliver Eimco, leaders in
flotation, separation and filtration, and
Krebs Engineers, the world’s leading
suppliers of wet slurry cyclones.
Concentration of ores through a series of solid/liquid separation steps
32
33
FLSmidth adopts new internet media
New design facilitates
maintenance of FK pumps
Over the last two decades, the
internet has transformed our
communication habits. Among
the hottest venues on today’s
worldwide web are YouTube,
the world’s most rapidly growing video-sharing website, and
Second Life, an internet-based
virtual world.
For some products, like cars,
maintenance has become more
difficult over time and requires
special tools, but for the FullerKinyon (FK) pump it has never
been easier.
The fact that it is no longer necessary to
enter the bearing assembly during screw
flight replacement is an additional advantage. In this way, any damage to the
seal and bearings when removing the
screw is eliminated.
Development of the pump dates back
to 1919 and the pumping technology
was a central element in the formation
of Fuller Company in 1926 (Fuller was
acquired by FLSmidth in 1990). Over
the years, the pump has established
itself as a dependable high-performance
product, and new versions have been
launched:
• Type ‘H’ pump, developed in 1935,
over 12,000 sold
• Fuller-Kompact pump, developed in
1961, over 1,000 sold
• Type ‘M’ pump, developed in 1976,
over 2,000 sold
FK Pump
The FK Pump is a reliable two-phase
material injector for high capacity, long
distance conveying. It is simple in design, with only one moving part – the
screw, and it is designed to lower lifecycle cost and maximise run times.
The pump is used for transporting
materials from silo to silo and from the
grinding mill to the silo as well as for
loading and unloading ships, barges and
railcars.
The FK Pump is capable of handling a
large flow of dry, free flowing, fluidisable
materials over long distances. Conveying
distances up to 1500 metres and capacities up to 600 tonnes per hour of standard Portland cement have been achieved.
FLSmidth is active on both sites and has
been pleasantly surprised to see that our
fairly conservative industry is embracing
these new modes of online communication. As a case in point, FLSmidth
recently uploaded a short 3D animation
of a cement plant project to YouTube.
Within a couple of months, it had been
viewed more than 2,000 times. See it
for yourself. Visit www.youtube.com
and search for FLSmidth.
In Second Life, all the limitations of the
physical world disappear. You can say
goodbye to congested airports and
highways, closed shops – and all time
and space constraints. Just like a Star
Trek character, you can swiftly teleport
from one place to another. Soon, you
realise that Second Life is no longer
the preserve of teenagers and IT geeks.
Rather, it’s a place to do business and
discover new ways to communicate with
a global audience. 3D engineering and
online communication are opening up
new possibilities, and this is merely the
tip of the iceberg.
Visiting the FLSmidth Cement Theme
Park is easy. The Second Life software is
available at www.secondlife.com and is
free to download and use. All you need
to do is register and install the program.
You’ll need a good computer, preferably
with 512 MB RAM and a good graphics
card.
It may take some time to get used to
moving about in your new avatar (your
Second Life persona) in this virtual world
– but you’ll get the hang of it. Once
you’re ready, search for FLSmidth and
teleport yourself to our virtual Theme
Park. We hope you enjoy the ride!
FLSmidth Cement Theme Park:
Open 24/7
FLSmidth has created a virtual 3D environment on the popular virtual reality
site Second Life. Now, whenever you
feel like it, you can walk through a
3D cement kiln, meet someone from
FLSmidth, or watch the latest FLSmidth
film in the cinema.
Easier maintenance of FK Pumps
The latest conversion kit is based on the
“M” type and features a 3-piece screw
design. The 3-piece screw needs less time
for replacement, as only the flight section
has to be dismantled. Total replacement
can be done in just four hours instead of
up to 24 hours for a 1-piece screw.
New service centre in Europe
FLSmidth is opening an additional
service centre for customers in Europe,
Middle East and North Africa. The centre
includes a spare parts warehouse that
Kovako serves as the
European Service Centre
for the F-K pump for
customers in Europe,
the Middle East and
North Africa.
will provide both emergency and nonemergency supplies.
This will be the 11th FLSmidth
Pneumatic Transport service centre and
will be located at FLSmidth Kovako in
the Netherlands, which already has
specialist knowledge of the pump and
can provide technical support and
training. The service centre also offers
an exchange program to replace worn
pump screws.
Less disassembly
during screw removal
Lighter, more compact
FLSmidth is successfully embracing two new
internet media: the Second Life virtual world
(above) and the YouTube video-sharing
website (left).
flight section
Seal and shaft bearing can
be removed as a single unit,
including the screw shaft
34
35
Support from A-Z
longer equipment downtime and lower
production efficiency. The new Support
A-Z strategy will help customer services
address maintenance, upgrades and
operational needs to improve the longterm performance of a plant.”
In October 2007, Vice President
Kristian A. Gregersen and his
global team of more than 650
staff launched a new strategy
for FLSmidth Customer Services,
Support from A-Z. Highlights met
him on his return from presenting the strategy to colleagues in
Denmark, India and the USA.
36
FLSmidth is well-known for selling
complete plant projects. Over the years,
FLSmidth has accumulated extensive
know-how, helping to make it the largest service organisation in the cement
industry. Today, FLSmidth offers the
most comprehensive range of products
and services on the market.
The new strategy, Support A-Z is all
about taking a new approach to customer services. Vice President Kristian
Gregersen is very upbeat after meeting
management teams and employees to
discuss the change of strategy. “The
key to good service is really very simple:
listen to your customers. What are their
immediate challenges and their longterm goals? After all, there’s a reason
why it’s called customer service.
Cement plant projects are not just
about buying machinery and equipment. The total cost of plant ownership
(for example, over a twenty year period)
has to be considered as well. Independent studies have proven that attempts to
economise on the initial investment can
have long-term negative effects such as
Old wine in new bottles?
“The new strategy combines both the
old and new. Services have always
played an important role in our business; but now, we’re abandoning a very
product-oriented attitude and adopting
a more integrated approach. Maintain,
Improve and Operate are the keywords
of our redesigned Global Customer
Services organisation.”
Why “operate”?
“We need to keep on top of the rapidly
changing cement market as new players
from other industries enter the scene.
Outsourcing of the entire plant operation based on performance-pricing is
leading to new forms of partnering. Not
only when operating a plant, but also
when it comes to spare parts, continuous upgrades and other services. This
new form of partnership entails 24/7
joint responsibility for operating the
plant and carrying out scheduled maintenance stoppages.
For FLSmidth, the new concept
offers a unique opportunity to develop
our own resources at modern cement
plants.
How did you become involved
in Customer Services?
“I’ve worked at FLSmidth for 31 years
and have spent most of my time outside
Denmark. To me, it’s all a question of
dealing with people, whether performing field work in Indonesia, serving as
a plant manager in Mexico or heading
IT in the USA. Cement is in my blood,
and I consider this new service concept
a mission that will unite all my previous
activities. I’m convinced that the aftermarket will come to play a far more important role in the industry than it does
today. And it’s a great opportunity for
an old cement hand like me to be able
to influence the way in which things are
developing, and to change the business
focus from machinery and processes
to customer services. And on top of all
that, I’m supported by the best group of
professionals in the industry – the global
Customer Services team!”
What does a customer get if he
asks for category Z service?
“We’ve actually considered that too.
Seen from my desk, the answer is
quite simple: zero problems,” Kristian
Gregersen concludes.
MMC solution for existing Volga cooler
As the Ukrainian cement market
continues to grow, Volyn Cement
Plant, one of the largest cement
plants in Ukraine, is having to
put one of its kiln lines back into
operation to meet demand.
In the spring of 2007, Volyn Cement
asked FLSmidth to help modernise a
Russian-designed Volga cooler. Volyn
Cement has an annual production of 1.4
million tonnes and the cooler is part of a
kiln line already undergoing renovation.
FLSmidth came up with a technical solution for the rebuild.
Reusing existing parts
Although the second section of the
clinker cooler is intact, the first section
has been used for replacement parts for
the other kiln lines. As a result, it needs to
be rebuilt. FLSmidth chose a Multi-Movable Cross-Bar Cooler (MMC) solution
consisting of a stationary inlet, a material conveying system (cross-bars), an air
distribution plate with mechanical flow
regulators (MFR) and a cassette design.
Fits all types of coolers
The material conveying system will
present a challenge because the new
MMC system must fit into the existing
cooler frame. The MMC cassettes are
similar to the modules of an SF CrossBar cooler, but do not have the supporting frame – which makes them ideal for
all types of coolers. Unlike the SF CrossBar cooler, all the MMC crossbars move
and reciprocate, improving conveying
efficiency.
FLSmidth signed the contract with
Volyn Cement in June. Located near the
city of Rivne some 400 kilometres from
Kiev, Volyn Cement plant has been a
member of the German Dyckerhoff AG
Group since 2000.
37
KilnLoq total passes 100
June 2007 saw the 100th order
for the completely redesigned
kiln inlet analysis probe, which
was first released for sale on
1 January 2004. Now, with four
years’ site experience, the probe’s
reputation is going from strength
to strength.
The KilnLoq gas analysis system is specially designed for the highest temperatures and dust loads in cement production. Typical applications are in the kiln
inlet, the riser duct and the calciner.
The KilnLoq probe is simple and easy
to maintain; it is strong so it will not
bend; and it is reliable, ensuring trouble-free operation and reliable analysis
results. All this means that KilnLoq has
revolutionised the design of gas analysis
probes. The design is based on a single
pipe extending through the entire probe,
enabling cleaning without dismantling.
The actual probe is much thicker
than the old version, and uses a special
38
type of steel to increase strength. A PLC
monitors the system and the proactive
control system keeps it up-and-running,
as well as triggering an automatic purging procedure if the probe begins to
clog. FLSmidth Airloq has applied for a
patent for the concept.
Success proven through
experience
In July 2003, Aalborg Portland installed
the first KilnLoq probe on its coal- and
waste-fuelled kiln 87. The new probe
was continuously tested in operation,
resulting in a few design and control
system changes. Meanwhile, other
KilnLoq probes were sold to customers
in many countries, including Finland,
Spain, Chile, Jamaica, Australia, Canada,
the US, the United Arab Emirates, India
and Thailand.
The test installation at Aalborg Portland and the other probes around the
world have shown that:
• The operating ratio is extremely high
• The probes are hardly ever dismantled
for maintenance
• Preventive maintenance takes less
than 30 minutes per week on
average
• The probe is easy to maintain
• The investment in a KilnLoq analysis
system has proved highly profitable
with a ROI period of less than 200
days
Great performance at
Algeria’s Ain Touta plant
From 1986 to 1991, the Algerian cement plant spent a lot of time on daily
maintenance of its gas analysis system
because of probe blocking, leakage,
problems with the jet pump, water
circuit, manual extraction, and other
issues. In 1992, the system stopped
completely. Eventually, the cement plant
bought a new KilnLoq system, which
was commissioned in May 2006, bringing immediate success.
FLSmidth Airloq recently undertook
a satisfaction survey in which Belkhiri
Mokhtar, Ain Touta’s chief electrical
engineer, says: “I would like to congratulate all FLSmidth Airloq staff for designing the successful kiln inlet analyser,
the KilnLoq.” The operators at Ain Touta
only perform one or two weekly visual
inspections of the probe and analyser
system. Since being commissioned, the
probe has never blocked, and the run
factor has been almost 100 percent. The
system is only stopped for short periods
when cleaning or calibrating the probe.
The experience in Algeria is typical of
customers using the new KilnLoq probe
system.
Changing types of fuel
require stable and reliable
kiln gas analysis
In recent years, most cement plants have
started using different types of fuel,
including cheap coal, household waste,
old tires. These complicate gas measure-
ment in the kiln inlet - a process which is
already challenging because of the approximately 1100 °C temperatures and
a dust content of as much as 500 g/m3.
These challenges have increased the
problems of bent probes and clogging,
resulting in considerable maintenance
requirements. Sometimes, the probes
had to be inspected several times a day.
All of which illustrated the need for a
new and improved probe.
Nearly all greenfield cement plants
are equipped with kiln inlet gas analysis
– and plant operators agree that it provides important data to ensure efficient
and stable kiln operation. But less than
25 percent of the analysers are in stable operation after one to three years
in operation. When users were asked
why they thought the equipment failed,
most felt that the gas analysis equipment installed was:
• Too complicated
• Too weak
• Too unreliable
The new KilnLoq probe has been designed to answer these problems.
Answering the industry’s need
Focusing on simplicity, strength and reliability, the new KilnLoq probe is designed
to withstand and handle the most difficult cement production processes.
(Above) The KilnLoq analysis probe in action at
Haiphong Cement Plant in Vietnam.
(Below) The KilnLoq system is simple, strong and
reliable. More than 100 probes have been ordered
since 2004.
39
ECS/CEMulator: a key to successful
start-up for Finnsementti
Of all the challenges facing
cement producers, introducing
new equipment is one of the
most critical. Upgrading is essential, but the risk of shut-downs
associated with many traditional
operator training programmes
can seriously impact plant safety,
product quality and productivity.
FLSmidth Automation’s ECS/CEMulator software provides operators with the true-to-life experience that creates confidence in
the control room and stability in
the kiln, as Finland’s largest cement producer has discovered.
Introducing new equipment without introducing new problems
Finnish cement producer, Finnsementti
Oy, produces a total of more than 1.5
million tons per year at its Parainen and
Lappeenranta plants. The Lappeenranta
plant, which produces 490,000 tons of
cement annually, needed a comprehensive training programme after the installation of a new five-stage, in-line calciner kiln. Previously, the plant had used
two kiln lines without calciners, so the
training programme had to introduce
operators to completely new equipment
and processes. Jarkko Riepponen, Proc-
ess Engineer at Finnsementti Oy, explains
their training objectives.
“We had two goals. First, all the
operators needed to learn the main principles of how to run the new kiln before
actual commissioning to ensure they
would confidently be able to run the
kiln once it was operational. Our second
goal was to introduce new operators to
the process once the kiln was up and
running, using the ECS/CEMulator. We
also wanted to use the ECS/CEMulator software to train new operators in
our kiln process at Parainen, where we
produce more than one million tons of
cement a year. Obviously, we wanted to
achieve these goals with as little plant
downtime as possible,” says Riepponen.
Comprehensive, three-part
training
Fifteen Lappeenranta plant personnel participated in the ECS/CEMulator
training, which was divided into three
phases. Training began with a general
introduction, where operators learned
about the main equipment and the new
kiln process. This was followed by personal training sessions, where operators
were instructed on using the tutorials
and devising their own standard training
sessions.
One of the key advantages of the ECS/
CEMulator software is that tutorials
can be customised to meet the specific
needs of a particular process environment. Lappeenranta’s customised training sessions covered main burner flame
ignition, kiln heat-up, kiln start-up,
production increases, a normal run with
a variety of disturbances, and stopping
the kiln. In the final training phase, operators directed their own training sessions using the tutorials. As part of the
training, operators received detailed fact
sheets with information regarding kiln
operation.
Every operator repeated each of
the 20-30 minute tutorials five times. In
total, each trainee spent about 15 hours
using the self-conducted ECS/CEMulator
tutorials.
The immediate benefits
of a hands-on approach
Finnsementti was clear from the beginning that hands-on training was
important. “We believe operators learn
better by doing rather than just sitting
and listening,” says Riepponen. “It was
important to have hands-on training
instead of lectures, so that the operators
could feel more confident when it came
to running the actual kiln and changing
parameters in a real control room.”
Being in control of the simulated
environment encouraged trainees to
take action and responsibility, ultimately
creating a more valuable learning experience. “Because the ECS/CEMulator
provides customised hands-on training,
it allows operators to make decisions for
themselves – which is not so common
in traditional training situations,” Riepponen adds.
Using the ECS/CEMulator, operators at the Lappeenranta plant in Finland trained to run the plant’s new
five-stage, in-line calciner kiln with skill and efficiency.
40
Lappeenranta plant have been using the
built-in features to design self conducted
tutorials for specific process situation.
Realistic training leads to stable
operation
The ECS/CEMulator was just one part
of the overall operator training for
the new kiln – but it was essential for
Finnsementti’s productivity and quality.
“Without the ECS/CEMulator, operators
would not have gained the skills they
needed in the start-up phase,” Riepponen explains. “In such a realistic training
environment, we were able to avoid
unstable kiln operations, which can have
negative effects on the clinker quality
and the kiln production level – and can
also result in unwanted kiln stoppages.”
The operators’ feedback indicated
that the ECS/CEMulator was easy to
use. They reported that they were able
to learn all the major aspects of running
an in-line calciner – a significant achievement in a relatively short period of time.
Yet the training sessions weren’t entirely
obstacle-free. “Finnsementti doesn’t
use an FLSmidth control system, which
is what the ECS/CEMulator software is
based on,” says Riepponen.
Still, Finnsementti sees the training as a
significant improvement to its processes.
“We’re pleased with the ECS/CEMulator. It’s a good way to teach personnel
a completely new process in a safe,
risk-free environment. Our primary goal
– introducing the operators to the main
principles of the new process operation
– was achieved. And we plan to achieve
the second goal – introducing new operators to the process once the kiln is up
and running – when we use the ECS/CEMulator in further training.”
Why ECS/CEMulator training
works
The ECS/CEMulator offers a realistic
copy of a cement plant’s operating
conditions. Unlike most cement process
simulators, it has been developed on a
fully functional control system platform
– so users can experience a simulation
of the complete set of functions and
features of a modern control system.
FLSmidth has combined decades of
operational experience with theoretical
insight and the latest software technology to develop the groundbreaking ECS/
CEMulator training system. The simulator is unmatched in its ability to allow
process operators and engineers to visualise numerous operation difficulties and
test the boundaries of their process and
control knowledge in a completely realistic, safe and risk-free environment.
The results include:
• improved performance for the individual operator
• streamlined operation strategy
among operators
• steady, stable production
• optimal control system utilisation.
41
Celebrating 125 years with
customers around the globe
A long history in China sets FLSmidth
up for the future
Booming markets, busy schedules
and an anniversary to celebrate
– it can be difficult to fit everything in. But 125 years as the
leading supplier to the world’s
cement industry is an event not
to be ignored. So FLSmidth took
a road show to its customers to
celebrate.
Since Deng Xiao Peng introduced
the open door policy in the late
1970s, FLSmidth’s Chinese operations have gone from strength to
strength. Today, the future looks
bright.
In May, Chief Executive Officer Jørgen
Huno Rasmussen and the rest of the
executive management team travelled
the world, presenting seminars which
covered both regional and global issues.
Seminars were held in Denmark,
Egypt, India, Indonesia and the US.
There were also special customer events
in a number of countries, including
South Africa and Mexico.
The road show was designed to celebrate 125 years in cement with selected
customers, while focusing on key issues
in the industry. At each seminar the
combination of technical issues, future
studies, economics, history and celebrations formed an inspiring programme.
The presentations can be downloaded
from www.flsmidth.com.
long-standing personal relationships
make an ideal cocktail when addressing the challenges of the global cement
industry – and it’s always important to
meet face to face.
The world tour has strengthened
relationships. And hopefully customers
will have happy memories of the seminars, which will help maintain cooperation within the industry for many years
to come.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, FLSmidth
was by far the most important foreign
supplier to the Chinese cement industry.
Initially, we sold complete production
lines, but due to the on-going knowledge transfer, the Chinese design institutes have learnt to handle more and
more themselves.
The economic crisis that affected
Asia in 1997 led to a three-year blip,
during which our sales to China came
to a halt. But the establishment of a
small-scale Wholly Foreign Owned
Enterprise (WFOE) in 2000, combined
with an extraordinary sales effort, saw
us re-emerge as a local force in the
Chinese cement industry.
Impressive performance
in recent years
We think that our recent performance
is so impressive that it’s worth showing
some figures.
Strengthening relationships
face to face
This was the first time FLSmidth had
arranged a programme like this, and
the organisers were very excited as they
set off on their world tour. Judging
from the high attendance and positive
feedback, the seminars were very well
received. World-class technology and
• Our workshop in Qingdao has increased annual production more
than 10 fold since 2003
• The number of FLSmidth employees
has increased nearly four times in the
same period
• Our workshop began by supplying
equipment to the local market. Today, nearly 70 per cent of turnover
comes from sales to projects outside
China.
At present, we sell three products in
China: The ATOX mill (only large sizes
for raw material grinding), the DUOFLEX
burner and the SF Cross-Bar cooler.
ATOX mills
The sale of ATOX mills has risen dramatically. Since 2001, we’ve sold 127 mills,
and the ATOX 50 accounts for 90 per
cent. China’s biggest cement producer,
the Conch Group, has purchased 48
ATOX 50 mills.
DUOFLEX burners
The first product made in our Qingdao
workshop, the DUOFLEX burner has
recently passed the 100 mark for sales in
China. In the last 2 - 3 years, more and
SF Cross-Bar coolers
We also produce SF Cross-Bar cooler
modules in China for sale on the local market. Although coolers made by
Chinese design institutes are comparatively cheaper, demand for our coolers
is growing. Interest has increased as
customers are now more aware of the
long-term benefits of reliability and high
efficiency. We’ve now sold 14 SF CrossBar coolers in China, and believe that
sales will increase as the coolers prove
themselves in operation.
Sourcing from China to improve
global competitiveness
Many companies source parts in China
and FLSmidth is no exception. Several of
our traditional sub-suppliers have started manufacturing in China, and many
Chinese companies have improved the
quality and reliability of their products.
Together with lower costs, this gives us
an opportunity to increase our global
competitiveness without reducing our
quality standards.
In China, we are very confident that
our sales performance and sourcing opportunities will further strengthen our
offering to customers. The future looks
bright, and it’s going to get brighter.
42
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SF Cross-Bar cooler sections being assembled at the Qingdao workshop (below).
Visitors to the FLSmidth office in Beijing pass through this impressive entrance (right).
more export orders have been placed,
and we have 40 burners in our pipeline.
43
The perfect problem solver
Liu Ming loves coming up with
new ideas and finding practical
solutions to on site problems.
This is lucky, because since 2001,
he’s taken part in more than 120
ATOX mill and SF Cross-Bar cooler
installations for FLSmidth site
service in China.
On the job:
Liu Ming’s work at FLSmidth has taken
him to almost every big cement plant
in China and everywhere he goes he
searches for ways to improve the site,
the equipment and ultimately, the end
product. “I love being on site,” he says.
“And I enjoy solving the complex problems that can arise at an installation. My
goal is to make our products even better
and this means identifying problems and
suggesting improvements – both for our
customers’ sites and our products.”
Learning from the best
After studying cement design and
equipment at college, Liu Ming spent 10
years working as a site supervisor and
consultant. The job took him to Brunei
and Zimbabwe, but when he returned
to China he realised that if he was to
learn everything he could about cement
installations, he had to work with the
best. FLSmidth was the obvious choice.
“I wanted to compare what I knew with
the methods at FLSmidth,” he says.
“I knew I could bring some new ideas to
the company, but I also wanted to learn
from colleagues. Cement installations
are very complex things and I need to
keep researching into installation methods and technological know-how if I’m
going to make a real difference to the
customers I work with.”
Breaking the language barrier
When Liu Ming arrives on site, his first
job is to check the drawings made by
the Design Institute. He then inspects
the site and discusses any issues with
the parties concerned, before starting
technical training for the site personnel.
One potential problem he identified was manuals. Written in English,
they can be quite difficult for Chinese
workers to understand. Many have
been translated but the Chinese isn’t
always clear – so he began translating
the key points himself. “There are
Mr Liu Ming is mechanical supervisor at FLSmidth Beijing.
44
more than 100 ATOX mills in China,”
he explains. “And it’s essential that the
manuals are completely up to date.”
Liu Ming intends to extend this work in
training materials. He’s already written
numerous articles on installation, maintenance and operation – all designed to
help site personnel improve their working methods, increase their output and
extend the life of the mills.
Keeping our customers satisfied
“I really enjoy working at FLSmidth. I
work with Chinese, Danes, Germans
and Americans,” says Liu Ming. “To
keep doing well in China, FLSmidth
must continue to keep up with China’s
high speed development and satisfy customers’ needs for completing jobs on a
tight schedule.“
Of course, there’s more to life than
cement. Liu Ming is married and has a
20-year-old son who studies agriculture
at university. “He’s going to be a farmer,” he says proudly.

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