Taiheiyo Cement Philippines Inc. (TCPI) announced it has retired its old kiln to pave the way for the installation of a new and bigger furnace that will increase the company’s production capacity from 2,500 tons of clinker per day to 6,000 tons by mid-2024.
The old kiln had been operational for 30 years, according to TCPI chief executive officer and president Yoshihito Izawa. Contractors used it to build several edifices and infrastructure projects in Cebu and many parts of the country.
The kiln is used for the pyro-processing stage of the manufacture of Portland, and other types of hydraulic cement, in which calcium carbonate reacts with silica-bearing minerals to form a mixture of calcium silicates.
“Now we have decided to build a new line. It is inevitable to dismantle the whole facility to construct a completely new one. I am deeply grateful for this facility that has contributed to our business activities,” said Izawa.
According to Taiheiyo Cement Corp. (TCC), the demand for cement in the country has increased by 30 percent from 2015, reaching 32 million tons by the end of 2019, with TCPI contributing seven percent of the national demand.
Confident of the country’s projected growth trajectory in the post-pandemic era, TCC announced in the last quarter of year 2020 the construction of a new production line that will increase TCPI’s capacity to three million tons of cement that can increase its market share to 10 percent.
The new investment is seen not only to support the country’s “Build, Build, Build” program but also to meet the demand of the country’s forthcoming economic recovery.
The new line will offer significant advantages in terms of energy efficiency and will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy use in clinker production by more than 10 percent compared with the efficiency of the current line, TCPI said.
Additionally, it is expected that the higher quality clinker produced with the new line will enable a reduction in the clinker factor and thereby realize a further CO2 reduction per ton of cement produced, it added.
TCC acquired Grand Cement Manufacturing Corp. in 2001 through its international business division and has since operated it under TCPI. It decided to invest P15 billion in 2017 to build a new plant and associated facilities.
Then TCC president and now board chairman Shuji Fukuda committed the “Reborn” expansion to Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez in the presence of President Rodrigo Duterte during his state visit in Japan on Oct. 30, 2017.
Sunstar