Shutdown at unit 2 of the Fujairah Cement Industries. UAE

Since 2007, Refractarios Alfran has been the main player in both the refractory materials supply and installation at Votorantim Cimentos plants, in southern Spain.

Alfran has been the company chosen thanks to its knowledge of the facilities, the quality of its materials and our qualified personnel, mastering all installation methods and knowing perfectly the material requirements in each area, in the different maintenance shutdowns carried out at its plants in Cordoba and Niebla (Huelva).

We must highlight that castables such as ALFRAN CLEAN 85 G, ALFRAN ABR CLEAN, or DRYTECH 70 are commonly used in these cement plants, with exceptional performances.

We continue growing in the number of projects and customers in the USA. This time in Seattle, at the Ash Grove Cement Company plant located in Washington State. This is our first sale in this plant, belonging to CRH.

We supply and supervise our Alfranjet ABR Clean + material in the smoke chamber, installed by SHOTCRETE technology. The results obtained lives up to the customer´s expectations

As always “the outcome of a good job is a satisfied customer”.

One more year, Alfran will participate in the Technical Congress of FICEM (Interamerican Cement Federation). This will be the fifth consecutive year in which Alfran attends the Congress.

It is the most important meeting between producers and suppliers of the cement industry in Latin America. Additionally, it is the only event in the region where the main cement companies of the continent seek the best offer of equipment aimed at optimizing the costs and efficiencies of their plants.

On this occasion, the Congress will be held at the Megapolis Convention Center in Panama City on September 3, 4 and 5.

Come visit us at stand #20!

During the 2017 FICEM Technical Congress, Alfran did a technical presentation. You can read about Alfran‘s participation in the 2017 event here.

You can check the full schedule of this year’s Congress here.

Once again, Alfran was the company in charge of carrying out the refractory maintenance repair at the Cementos Portland Valderrivas plant, located in Alcalá de Guadaira (Seville).

Although a smaller repair was initially arranged, the scope of the work was increased both in terms of the installation of brick in the rotary kiln and the installation of concrete in different areas. Finally, the following areas were repaired:

• Arch and Smoke Chamber
• Inlet cone
• Tile
• Nose Ring
• Kiln Hood
• Rotary Kiln Brick

The work was performed during 10 days working in double shift, which made it possible to have a fast reaction capacity to fulfill the needs of the client.

Despite the circumstances in which we found ourselves due to COVID-19, the work was developed without any setback complying at all times with the deadlines required by the client.

In all work activities, to achieve an acceptable level of safety, it is vitally important to ensure and maintain adequate conditions of order and cleanliness. The lack of order and cleanliness in the facilities is a risk factor that deserves special attention since it is the cause of many accidents, falls due to stumbles or slips, bumps or steps on objects, and deterioration of equipment or facilities, which can lead to results other than those expected.

To achieve the goal of keeping the company “clean and tidy”, all staff must assimilate concepts such as:

1. Eliminate the unnecessary and classify the useful:

– Have the means to eliminate what is useless, prioritizing the elimination according to its usefulness.

– Classify according to utility and collect the useless in containers.

– Separate those elements that should not be in contact with others.

– In the case of flammable products, use metal drums with a fire-resistant lid.

– Machines with possible leaks must have a collection and drainage system.

– Act on the reasons why waste accumulates.

2. Store the material in appropriate places so that it can be easily located:

– Put everything in its place and eliminate what is useless.

– Collect tools on shelves that are easy to locate and identify.

– Designate the locations based on their functionality and speed of placement.

– Delimit and indicate the location of things.

– Classify waste properly.

3. Avoid dirtying and, if it gets dirty, clean immediately:

– Eliminate and control everything that can dirty.

– Cleaning is the means of controlling the state of things.

– Cleaning people must be properly trained and equipped.

– Quickly eliminate residues or substances that can contaminate and cause accidents.

– Avoid slippery floors due to oils or grease. Windows will be cleaned to allow light to enter.

– Keep changing rooms, showers, etc. clean.

– Involve staff in cleaning the environment.

– Control the critical points that generate dirt.

4. Generate work habits aimed at favoring order and cleanliness, etc:

– The characteristics of the floors, ceilings, etc. They shall be such as to allow easy cleaning.

– Standardize procedures by order and cleanliness.

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Our team was present at the major maintenance shutdown of the W8 furnace, belonging to the Rio Branco do SUL unit of the Votorantim Group, located in Paraná State, southern Brazil. Our client, once again, preferred the Alfranjet shotcrete technology, whose objective is LESS PEOPLE + LESS TIME = MINIMUM RISK OF CONTAGION. They were applied in different areas with excellent results. The work was carried out within the established deadlines with optimal performance.
As always “the outcome of a good job is a satisfied customer”.

Our young subsidiary, Alfran USA, moves forward with a firm step to become a benchmark supplier for the maintenance of refractories in the cement industry. In this way and with our portfolio of high added value refractorycastables, TIX, HIGH GUN, CLEAN, DRYTECH, alfranjet, and alfranpump, we are extending the number of references in clients such as Cemex USA, Drake Cement, and American Cement, among others.

Thanks to our 2 logistic warehouses in Laredo (Texas) and Savanah (Georgia), where we store a minimum of 100 metric tons in each, we can supply any customer in the USA with a maximum delivery time of 48 hours.

Alfran will continue to provide resources to our American subsidiary to consolidate its growth.