Lafarge revamps plant

revamping work at a cost of US$3,3 million.
The plant, which was shut down on Saturday, will reopen on June 13 and is expected to operate at 80 percent capacity.
According to a statement issued by the company, the exercise is the second phase of the refurbishment work that started last year.
“This plant capacity revamping will cost US$3,3 million and it is the second phase of the refurbishment works that started last year,” read the statement.
The company indicated that the major refurbishment jobs include replacement of obsolete 3,3 KV medium voltage breakers, kiln refractory replacement, revamping of the clinker cooler, the ball mill and refurbishment of dust suppression equipment.
“During the course of this shutdown, the plant will save 4MVA which will be available for Zesa to distribute to other electricity users,” read the statement.
They also indicated that the shutdown would not affect cement sales as they will try to meet all their customer’s obligations.
Lafarge manufactures a wide range off products that include cement and concrete and the local market is reportedly consuming more than 85 percent of production while demand on the export market continues to rise.
Lafarge Cement was established in 1956 as Circle Cement and it is part of a French conglomerate with operations in 78 counties. In Zimbabwe it employs 326 permanent staff members and a number of contractors and trainees.
The firm is also seeking to invest US$5 million in the next years in order to raise capacity from 450 000 tonnes to one million tonnes annually.