Concrete

We have designed and developed energy efficient products

Published

1 year ago

July 17, 2023

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Amit Deokule, Director of Sales and Marketing, Nord, shares insights on the importance of drives and motors in the cement industry and the benefits they offer for plant maintenance and productivity.

Tell us about the role of drives in cement plant machinery.
Cement manufacturing is a continuous process. Considering the market demand the plant must be in operation 24×7. These plants are located in remote areas, hence, getting spares in breakdown conditions is one more challenge for the cement industry. So, in this situation drives play a pivotal role. With use of reliable drives like Nord, which are designed for heavy duty application the uptime of cement plant machinery is high and ultimately the plant’s overall efficiency increases.
Secondly, as Nord offers products with our patented design of ‘Unicase,’ the cost of spares, oil refilling cost and downtime of machines decreases drastically. Hence, selecting good products is important for maintenance of cement machinery.

Tell us about the portfolio of drives and motors that you offer to the cement industry.
Nord is a German multinational and has been present in this market for the last 50+ years. We keep on adding products in our basket as per the market demand. We have designed and developed energy efficient products, which will require various applications of material handling in the cement industry. Today, we can offer from 0.12kW to 200kW motor with various combinations of helical,helical worm, helical bevel gearboxes with a torque range of up to 100kNm and also the heavy-duty gearbox range with torque range up to 300KNm. Considering the demand in the heavy industry, there are some new products already in the development stage.

As machinery in cement plants is advancing with time, how do you accommodate the change in drives for the betterment of functionality in cement plants?
Being a German company, we believe in offering efficient and futuristic technology to customers. Globally, we have stopped offering IE1 and IE2 class motors and offer more energy efficient IE3 and IE4 motors and soon IE5 efficiency motors will be available in a complete product range. As the world is adapting to Industry 4.0, hence, we have made our products suitable for new edge technology and we can get all kinds of data like temperature, speed, vibration, bearing life etc., from our product, process through our drives and store on the cloud for periodic analysis sitting at remote locations. This will be useful for the maintenance team to keep their machinery operative and avert breakdowns with proper and accurate feedback in advance.

How can drives by your organisation help cement manufacturers achieve better productivity and energy efficiency?
NORD products are designed for longer productive and efficient life spans. From the design stage we follow the highest standards of manufacturing geared motors. Gears are designed as per DIN3990 standard, gear housing is made with GG 20 or GGG40 material with best class of FEM standards. We offer our gear housing with our patented ‘UNICASE’ design, which leads to less joints and less sealing surfaces, meansing a virtually leak-proof design. Secondly, UNICASE design increases the shock taking ability of gear boxes, hence, no fear of breakdown. We offer high efficiency motors (IE3 and IE4 Class) with advanced VFD support that helps to consume optimum power in operation. With all these features, cement manufacturers can achieve best efficiency in their production process.

Which machinery of the cement plant is the most challenging and how do you overcome the challenge?
In a cement plant, there are five crucial cement manufacturing machines, namely, cement rotary kiln, shaft kiln, cement vertical mill, cement ball mill and cement roller press. Earlier with a limited product range, we were not able to cater our products for mill applications, but with new product additions in our MAXXDRIVE series we can offer solutions in all midsize cement mills and very soon we will offer a complete product basket for even large size cement plants.

How often do you service and audit your installations at the cement plant?
Nord products are designed for a longer productive and efficient life. Our products are suitable for 24 hours of high shock loads in a harsh atmosphere. They are a reliable drive for any industry. Because of the best design standards, world class manufacturing processes, our products consume optimum oil and energy. With this feature we proudly say Nord offers a fit and forget product. For over the last 10 years, our service spares business has been negligible. That means once you select Nord products with the correct procedure, servicing is not needed regularly and no regular operational audits are required for the gear box.

Tell us about the upcoming innovations from your organisation that would be beneficial for cement plants?
At Nord, with scientific market research we keep on adding the products. Considering cement plants, we add products in our MAXXDRIVE product range. Soon we will offer the Maxxdrive from 5kNm to 40o kNm, with all options like extended housing, J mounting, customised base plate bigger product range in IE4 and IE5 motors.

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Concrete

Jefferies’ Optimism Fuels Cement Stock Rally

The industry is aiming price hikes of Rs 10-15 per bag in December.

Published

4 weeks ago

December 4, 2024

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Cement stocks surged over 5% on Monday, driven by Jefferies’ positive outlook on demand recovery, supported by increased government capital expenditure and favourable price trends.

JK Cement led the rally with a 5.3% jump, while UltraTech Cement rose 3.82%, making it the top performer on the Nifty 50. Dalmia Bharat and Grasim Industries gained over 3% each, with Shree Cement and Ambuja Cement adding 2.77% and 1.32%, respectively.

“Cement stocks have been consolidating without significant upward movement for over a year,” noted Vikas Jain, head of research at Reliance Securities. “The Jefferies report with positive price feedback prompted a revaluation of these stocks today.”

According to Jefferies, cement prices were stable in November, with earlier declines bottoming out. The industry is now targeting price hikes of Rs 10-15 per bag in December.

The brokerage highlighted moderate demand growth in October and November, with recovery expected to strengthen in the fourth quarter, supported by a revival in government infrastructure spending.
Analysts are optimistic about a stronger recovery in the latter half of FY25, driven by anticipated increases in government investments in infrastructure projects.
(ET)

Concrete

Steel Ministry Proposes 25% Safeguard Duty on Steel Imports

The duty aims to counter the impact of rising low-cost steel imports.

Published

4 weeks ago

December 4, 2024

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The Ministry of Steel has proposed a 25% safeguard duty on certain steel imports to address concerns raised by domestic producers. The proposal emerged during a meeting between Union Steel Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi, attended by senior officials and executives from leading steel companies like SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, and AMNS India.

Following the meeting, Goyal highlighted on X the importance of steel and metallurgical coke industries in India’s development, emphasising discussions on boosting production, improving quality, and enhancing global competitiveness. Kumaraswamy echoed the sentiment, pledging collaboration between ministries to create a business-friendly environment for domestic steelmakers.

The safeguard duty proposal aims to counter the impact of rising low-cost steel imports, particularly from free trade agreement (FTA) nations. Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik noted that 62% of steel imports currently enter at zero duty under FTAs, with imports rising to 5.51 million tonnes (MT) during April-September 2024-25, compared to 3.66 MT in the same period last year. Imports from China surged significantly, reaching 1.85 MT, up from 1.02 MT a year ago.

Industry experts, including think tank GTRI, have raised concerns about FTAs, highlighting cases where foreign producers partner with Indian firms to re-import steel at concessional rates. GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava also pointed to challenges like port delays and regulatory hurdles, which strain over 10,000 steel user units in India.

The government’s proposal reflects its commitment to supporting the domestic steel industry while addressing trade imbalances and promoting a self-reliant manufacturing sector.

(ET)

Concrete

India Imposes Anti-Dumping Duty on Solar Panel Aluminium Frames

Move boosts domestic aluminium industry, curbs low-cost imports

Published

4 weeks ago

December 4, 2024

admin

The Indian government has introduced anti-dumping duties on anodized aluminium frames for solar panels and modules imported from China, a move hailed by the Aluminium Association of India (AAI) as a significant step toward fostering a self-reliant aluminium sector.

The duties, effective for five years, aim to counter the influx of low-cost imports that have hindered domestic manufacturing. According to the Ministry of Finance, Chinese dumping has limited India’s ability to develop local production capabilities.

Ahead of Budget 2025, the aluminium industry has urged the government to introduce stronger trade protections. Key demands include raising import duties on primary and downstream aluminium products from 7.5% to 10% and imposing a uniform 7.5% duty on aluminium scrap to curb the influx of low-quality imports.

India’s heavy reliance on aluminium imports, which now account for 54% of the country’s demand, has resulted in an annual foreign exchange outflow of Rupees 562.91 billion. Scrap imports, doubling over the last decade, have surged to 1,825 KT in FY25, primarily sourced from China, the Middle East, the US, and the UK.

The AAI noted that while advanced economies like the US and China impose strict tariffs and restrictions to protect their aluminium industries, India has become the largest importer of aluminium scrap globally. This trend undermines local producers, who are urging robust measures to enhance the domestic aluminium ecosystem.

With India’s aluminium demand projected to reach 10 million tonnes by 2030, industry leaders emphasize the need for stronger policies to support local production and drive investments in capacity expansion. The anti-dumping duties on solar panel components, they say, are a vital first step in building a sustainable and competitive aluminium sector.