Cimpor to increase Brazilian production capacity

Cimpor to increase Brazilian production capacity
11 July 2008


Brazil’s third largest cement manufacturer, Portuguese Cimpor, is planning to invest BRL400m (US$248m) to expand its production capacity by around 30% by 2011, according to local press reports.
 
To meet increasing demand the company also intends to build two new plants by 2011, one in the central west region and another in the south or southeast.
 
The two new plants, which will have a production capacity of at least 650,000tpa each, are not part of the BRL400m investment, the report said.
 
According to the company’s commercial director, John Ghira, Cimpor is still studying the size of these plants, the exact locations and the resources needed.
 
"We are still evaluating the details but we are certain that these units will be needed to meet the demand, which should continue to increase for the next two or three years," the executive was quoted as saying.
 
For the moment, Cimpor is focusing on plants that can be expanded quickly. Cajati, which is located in São Paulo state’s Vale da Ribeira region and can produce up to 1.3Mta will receive a large part of the resources as the company plans to increase its production capacity by 35%. "At the beginning of 2011 Cajati will be able to produce nearly 1.8Mta" said Ghira.
 
Plants in Paraíba state’s João Pessoa and Goiás state’s Cezarina cities will have their kiln capacities expanded.
 
In João Pessoa production will increase by 20% while in Cezarina, the only plant in the mid-west of the country, production capacity should be expanded by 30%.
 
In addition, the company is in the process of reactivating the first kiln at the Bahia state Campo Formoso city plant. This had ceased operations after the company built a new production line in 2003. "With the reactivation of this furnace we will add another 350,000tpa to our capacity," he said.
 
Once all the investments are complete, Cimpor should have a production capacity of around 7Mta.

Source:
Valor Econômico.
Published under Cement News