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.

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.

This summer, we told you in a post about theoretical-practical workshops that had been held in Colombia.

In line with our commitment to ongoing training for clients, another series of sessions have been organized during the month of September. On this occasion, the sessions were held in Spain, with participants from different countries.

There were four days in which there was both theoretical and practical training. It began with a guided tour of the factory, to know the manufacturing equipment and sacking of materials. Additionally, the participants learnt about the manufacturing process for precast shapes.

After visiting the factory, the participants were also able to visit our laboratory, where they were explained some of the quality tests and the characterization of concretes, which we carried out in Alfran.

Following the dynamics of previous workshops, the participants had the opportunity to mix, vibrate, shoot and project via shotcrete, with their own hands, the different materials on a test panel.

Four days of training for the cement sector

Some of the subjetcs covered during these four days were the following:

• Theoretical training on joint systems.
• Theoretical training on the anchoring systems used.
• Alfran procedures: method of generation and implementation of Alfran procedures for the installation of refractories.
• Drying of refractories
• Planning of works in the cement sector.
• Thermographic analysis
• Theoretical training on Alfran Steel Tech materials technology.
• Gun-Mix systems: theoretical training of the application system and practice on the test panel. Explanation of the equipment and the factors that affect the installation of High Gun materials.
• Alfranjet installation system: theoretical training of the application system and practical training on the system assembly method. Practical training on test panels with explanation of the equipment and the factors that affect the installation of Alfranjet materials.
• Bricks installation system in a rotary kiln.

Of the training sessions, it is worth noting the commitment of the different collaborators. Multinational teamwork, Alfran Mode.

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”.

We have just finished one of the projects that we were most excited about. A great repair, under our supervision, at the Cemex Balcones cement plant in Texas. Our ALFRANJET ABR CLEAN + was installed using our SHOTCRETING technology. Also, other works were carried out by vibrocasting system with ABR CLEAN SUPER + and high-pressure gunning with HIGH GUN range, in different areas of the plant, in record time, even reducing the deadlines agreed with our client. All the material was supplied directly from our Laredo warehouse.

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.

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.