Concrete

A Common Control Platform

Published

3 years ago

April 12, 2023

admin

Combining the old and new production lines on a common FLSmidth ECS/ControlCenter™ Platform at Arghakhanchi Cement, Nepal.

Having experienced the benefits of the latest FLSmidth ECS/ControlCenter™ control software on its newest production line, Arghakhanchi Cement was convinced of the need to upgrade the obsolete and fault-prone software on its existing line 1. With both lines now controlled from a common platform, productivity has increased and knowledge sharing between operators has improved.

AN OBSOLETE CONTROL SYSTEM CAUSES PROBLEMS
Production line 1 at Arghakhanchi Cement in Nepal was experiencing an increasing amount of unplanned downtime, caused by an obsolete control system. It was resulting in a loss of production. But the issue came to a head when production line 2 was commissioned with the latest FLSmidth ECS/ControlCenter™ process control software. process control software. This really highlighted the benefits of a modern state-of-the-art control for achieving reliable productivity.
“When production line 2 was commissioned with ECS/ControlCenter v8, the benefits were evident. With easier fault tracing, advanced trending and reporting features, it is much easier to achieve stable operation, as operators can easily understand and fix potential issues,” explained Krishna Pandey, General Manager – Plant, Arghakhanchi Cement.
The old system was engineered without any standardisation, which meant only specific engineers knew how to troubleshoot and maintain the system.
“A great advantage of ECS/ControlCenter v8 is that everything is based on a standard system, so learning how to operate the system and extract information is simple and intuitive. This applies to everything from troubleshooting to configuring process analytics using trend and reporting tools, and even back-up and restore functions,”said Pandey.
“As a result, operators began to ask for a similar control system to replace the old system on production line 1,” he concluded.

INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING
To upgrade the obsolete control system in as cost-efficient a way as possible, much of the existing hardware, with complete I/Os and panels was retained and re-used. This not only made lasting use of the customer’s previous investment; it also has a sustainability advantage. The amount of waste generated and new
materials used is reduced – a key pillar of the circular economy.
PLCs and communication cards had to be replaced, as did the entire PLC programming code. To do so, FLSmidth employed several proven engineering and processing tools to ensure consistent and uniform structure in the PLC programmes.
For commissioning, FLSmidth ECS/ControlCenter v8 includes a device simulation mode that allows the operation of the entire plant to be simulated and tested as per process requirements. This helps to ensure smooth and quick commissioning, allowing any problems to be identified and solved, without impacting the real-world operations of the plant.

NEW AND OLD LINES: A COMMON FLSMIDTH CONTROL PLATFORM
As one example of the benefits of the new system, “all interlocks can be seen and bypassed by every authorised user, directly from the faceplate, most often from the engineering system,” explained Pandey. “It means the new system is very easy to operate and – most importantly – we avoid the plant tripping, as operators can take action very quickly. Before, it was very difficult to know the interlocks and impossible to bypass them from the faceplate, as each bypass required reprogramming of the PLC system,” he added.
The upgrade of production line 1 is another example of the benefits gained by customers using FLSmidth ECS/ControlCenter v8. It is also a demonstration of FLSmidth skills and expertise to suggest the optimum upgrade strategy, even for obsolete and third-party supplied PLC hardware.
“From a control and logistics point of view, we wanted to have one central control room for both lines,” said Pandey. “The new system from FLSmidth gives us more flexibility with process control, more powerful control capabilities over both lines and excellent reporting capabilities.”

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Concrete

Lokesh Lays Stone For Rs 31 Billion Cement Unit In Kadapa

Line-2 expansion to make Kadapa a major cement hub

Published

4 days ago

July 20, 2026

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Andhra Pradesh Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the Line-2 expansion of Dalmia Bharat Cement at Chinnakomerla village in Mylavaram Mandal in Kadapa district. The project carries an investment of Rs 31 billion (bn) and is slated for completion by the third quarter of the financial year 2028. The expansion is intended to boost industrial growth and employment generation across the Rayalaseema region.

Once commissioned, the Kadapa facility will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated cement manufacturing ecosystem in southern India, creating over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs and opening new business avenues for regional micro, small and medium enterprises and transport operators. Lokesh said the expansion signalled growing corporate confidence in the state and reflected the practical ease of doing business that secured repeat investment.

He placed the project within the government’s wider economic targets and recalled the Yuvagalam padayatra commitment to generate two million (mn) jobs within five years, noting that the state would cultivate talent while industry created opportunities. Lokesh highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s competitive pursuit of major manufacturing accounts, mentioning past successes and a personal initiative to engage global investors when persuading them to anchor expansion in the state.

The plant will leverage Kadapa’s abundant limestone reserves to scale production and sustainability. Clinker capacity is planned to rise from two point five million tonnes per annum (mn tpa) to six point one mn tpa, while overall cement output will increase from three point six mn tpa to nine point six mn tpa. The unit is designed to operate on over eighty per cent renewable energy and deploy waste heat recovery, zero liquid discharge, water recycling and advanced AI systems to optimise efficiency. Industries Minister TG Bharat, BC Welfare Minister S. Savitha and Jammalamadugu MLA C. Adinarayana Reddy attended the ceremony.

Concrete

Cement Prices to Stay Flat in Q2 FY27 as Costs Squeeze Margins

HDFC Securities warns monsoon slowdown and higher fuel costs

Published

7 days ago

July 17, 2026

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HDFC Securities has said the cement industry is unlikely to register a sequential increase in prices in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-related demand moderation coincides with rising fuel and packaging costs that will squeeze margins. The brokerage observed that price gains remained modest, with increases of two to three per cent quarter-on-quarter across regions, and noted subdued offtake in May with improvement in June as a delayed monsoon supported construction activity. The brokerage added that modest pricing gains so far have been insufficient to offset the input cost escalation.

The report stated that input cost pressures intensified in Q1 FY27 owing to the West Asia conflict, which pushed up coal and pet coke prices and is expected to keep fuel costs elevated, with a likely peak in Q2 FY27. It assessed that total variable costs, including packing, could rise by around Rs 150 per t quarter-on-quarter and that lower offtake and seasonal operating deleverage could further raise operating expenditure by about Rs 50 per t quarter-on-quarter.

Overall, cement prices were estimated to remain flat in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-led demand weakness offsets limited upside in realisation, and rising fuel costs alongside seasonal deleverage were expected to compress industry margins by over Rs 100 per t quarter-on-quarter to below Rs 880 per t. The brokerage indicated that the combined impact of energy inflation and higher packing expenditure would be the principal drivers of margin contraction in the near term. HDFC Securities projected a recovery in margins in H2 FY27 should the West Asia turmoil subside and energy and packing costs cool off.

The brokerage expressed optimism on long-term demand fundamentals and said improving realisation together with an anticipated cost cool-off should support a margin rebound from H2 FY27 onward, underpinning favourable industry prospects over the medium term. Its outlook rests on monsoon normalisation and a decline in imported fuel prices in the second half of the fiscal year.

Concrete

Dalmia Bharat Begins Rs 31 Bn Green Cement Unit in Kadapa

New Andhra Pradesh plant to add 9.6 MTPA cement capacity by FY28

Published

1 week ago

July 16, 2026

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Dalmia Bharat Limited recently laid the foundation stone for its second manufacturing unit at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. The company will invest Rs 31 billion in developing the next-generation integrated cement manufacturing facility.

The foundation-laying ceremony was attended by Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Real-Time Governance and Human Resources Development, along with Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dalmia Bharat, senior government officials and company representatives.

Scheduled to be commissioned by the third quarter of FY28, the Kadapa unit will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated manufacturing facility in southern India. It will have a clinker production capacity of 6.1 million tonnes per annum and a cement manufacturing capacity of 9.6 million tonnes per annum.

The facility is designed to produce what the company describes as one of the world’s greenest cements. It is also expected to generate approximately 1,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities while supporting local MSMEs, transporters, contractors and service providers.

Lokesh said the investment reflected Dalmia Bharat’s confidence in Andhra Pradesh and aligned with the state’s objective of promoting sustainable industrialisation, job creation and technology-led economic growth.

Puneet Dalmia said the project represented the company’s long-term vision of developing low-carbon cement manufacturing assets. He added that the facility would establish new benchmarks in operational efficiency and sustainability while supporting India’s infrastructure and environmental goals.

Dalmia Bharat will also expand its regional community development programmes in education, healthcare, skill development and welfare through its DIKSHa and Gram Parivartan initiatives.

The company currently has an installed cement manufacturing capacity of 54.7 million tonnes across 19 manufacturing units in 12 states. It is also the first cement company globally to commit to the RE100, EP100 and EV100 initiatives.