MOISÉS R. NUNEZ, CEMENGAL, TALKS THROUGH THE

DEVELOPMENT OF A MODULAR AND PORTABLE SOLUTION

FOR SMALLER PLAYERS AND SMALLER MARKETS.

Europe has entered recovery after many years of suffering. During the downturn, the situation in some European countries was really bad; today, much of Europe has returned to growth.

At the same time as Europe and North America were suffering, other countries were growing. Brazil, preparing for the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics, is one clear example in

South America. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia also saw double-digit growth.

Reprinted from August 2015 \ World Cement

Elsewhere, countries in the Maghreb continue to deal with the ramifications of the Arab Spring, with some coping with unstable governments, civil war and terrorism. These problems extend also to Sub-Saharan Africa, where terrorists are destroying the economy in some countries and creating great uncertainty.

In Latin America, some of the local governments do not provide sufficient security for investors to build business confidence, as has been seen in Venezuela and Argentina.

All the above problems have caused delays or sometimes even stopped investment in the cement industry altogether. It is difficult to consider investing e250 million in a clinker line in an unstable country, or even to spend e25 million on a grinding station if it looks like the investment may not be secure in the long-term.

One solution to this problem is a portable grinding station. The investment is much smaller,

the time to market much quicker, and if everything goes wrong it is possible simply to pack up the grinding station with no loss on investment.

Timing is an important consideration. The market research necessary before making large investments plus the time from contract signature to commissioning can easily add up to three years, by which time the market situation could dramatically change. The portable grinding station is supplied FOB between 7 and 8 months from the signing of the contract.

When the idea was first launched, the major cement players looked on it with a mixture of fear and mistrust. The arrival of a portable grinding

station has opened up the market and removed the huge investment barrier

that used to prevent companies from entering the cement industry. However, in recent times, big players such as Lafarge have understood the benefits of such a solution and have bought a unit for use in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The main idea of the portable grinding solution is to be closer to the final cement consumer in small or new markets. This is a fundamental ethos to Cemengal, which has always strived to be close to the market and its requirements, and was reacting to the needs of the industry when it developed this range.

Many hundreds of working hours led to the development of the Plug&Grind®. The product, the name, the ‘&’ logo with the plug – everything was carefully studied and discussed between all departments involved in the development of this new product. Cemengal registered and patented this new idea worldwide, to protect its work.

The first model was the Plug&Grind® Classic, which is able to produce 12 tph of cement. Later, the Plug&Grind® CL, with an output of 30 tph, was introduced and this year the company has launched the Plug&Grind® Fuels and the Plug&Grind®XP4. Soon, the Plug&Grind®V will arrive.

This makes Cemengal the largest and most diverse small grinding station producer worldwide, being the only one to produce modular and portable small grinding stations able to produce from 90 000 tpy up to 250 000 tpy with Blaines up to 6500. The grinding plants utilise the latest technology from Magotteaux, and also offer the flexibility to grind petcoke and coal, and to use a vertical mill instead of ball mills.

Plug&Grind® ClassicA cement grinding plant with a production capacity of 90 000 tpy: ball mill 2.2 m dia. x 9.5 m and 500 kW;

Civil works for the Plug&Grind®.

Erection works at Kampala Cement, Uganda.

Reprinted from August 2015 / World Cement

bag filter for 25 000 m3/h. Nine containers, and only 7.5 months FOB delivery (the fastest in the market). The original modular and portable solution for grinding clinker and other raw materials.

Plug&Grind® XLA cement grinding plant with a production capacity of 230 000 tpy: ball mill 3.0 m dia. x 9.5 m and 1100 kW; bag filter for 50 000 m3/h. The plant comes in eight containers and four special modules, delivered in 8.5 months FOB.

Plug&Grind® Fuels A petcoke and coal grinding plant with a production capacity of 130 000 tpy: ball mill 3.0 m dia. x 9.5 m and 1100 kW; bag filter for 50 000 m3/h. Again, the plant comes in eight containers and four special modules, delivered in 8.5 months FOB.

Plug&Grind® XP4iThis cement grinding plant is an XL model with the new Magotteaux Classifier XP4i.

Magotteaux, in partnership with Cemengal, collaborates on the process sizing, the tube mill internals and the classifier.

The current development of Magotteaux’s original classifier XP4®I after 30 years of experience with the 3rd generation SD Sturtevant classifier and XP4® is fully aligned with the growing success of the Plug&Grind®.

This XP4®I classifier integrates the three functions in one unique body: the particles classification, the fan and the cyclone

The main advantages of this classifier are:

l Its compact design, which fits perfectly with the Plug&Grind® concept. No ducting to one external fan, no external fan and a drastic reduction of the filter capacity and sizing, as only a filter with 5000 m3/h is needed, on top of the mill filter.

l Its efficiency, fully comparable to the last classifier generation

l Its lower energy consumption, which is due to the lower pressure drop also linked to the compact design. The air rotation movements after the classifier cage are used for the integrated cyclone function.

The production capacity is 230 000 tpy. It has a ball mill of 3.0 m dia. x 9.5 m and 1100 kW, together with a bag filter for 50 000 m3/h.

Plug&Grind® VMThis is a cement and slag grinding station with a production capacity of 260 000 tpy of cement and 200 000 tpy of slag. This new product will arrive to the market to meet customer needs regarding energy savings. It will be delivered in 12 months and includes the latest in vertical mill technology.

Currently, 10 Plug&Grind® units are in operation and eight more are under fabrication.

Clients such as Lafarge, Mombasa Cement, Cementos Interoceánicos, Ndovu Cement, Kampala Cement, Saudi Readymix and many others have opted for Plug&Grind® to enter or develop their markets.

Cemengal also supplies substations, silos and packing and palletising machines adapted to the compact and modular philosophy.

It has taken only three years to make the Plug&Grind® grinding system the solution for small and niche markets, for new markets and for small upgrade projects. Advantages of the system include its modular design; short time to market; easy transport, erection and commissioning; simple civil works and simple operation and maintenance. Only a small number of people are needed to operate the Plug&Grind®, and it is especially suited to companies entering new, small or niche markets.

The Plug&Grind® at Cementos Interoceanico, Panama.

Mombasa Cement, Kenya, opted for a Plug&Grind®.

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