(Minews) – The demand cement products will grow annually in between four and five percent in Azerbaijan beginning from 2016, said Hasan Yalcinkaya, the CEO of Norm Gizildash Cement, the largest cement plant in the South Caucasus.
“The company plans to produce 1.1 million tons of cement and 240,000 tons of clinker in 2015,” he said, adding, however, the total volume of cement production in Azerbaijan is expected to decline this year to 3.8 million tons. In 2014 the country produced 4.4 million tons of cement.
For comparison, the Norm Sement produced 540, 000 tons of cement in 2014.
“Today, the plant’s production capacity stand at two million tons of cement and 1.6 million ton of clinker, he said, noting that working for full capacity is directly dependent on the growth of the country’s construction sector.
Yalcinkaya went ahead predicting a growth on the cement demand in the country in between four and five percent for next years, after a slight drop of the demand this year.
The plant is also going to start production of cement, destined for oil wells.
According to him, this product is very needed in Azerbaijan and its production will reduce cement import to the country.
“Today, the import of cement in Azerbaijan is gradually reduced. The share of imported cement amounted five percent and clinker -- 10 percent of the total market,” he said.
The company is also going to export its production to the Caspian Sea countries. “Currently, we are considering possibility to export our product to Russia’s’ Southern regions, as well as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan,” he noted.
Norm Sement plant was established in 2014. Its production capacity includes 5,000 tons clinker per day and 2 million tons cement per year.
World’s leading consultants and experts in cement industry have been involved into the project’s implementation. Various equipments from the world-renowned companies of Germany, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands were installed at the Norm Sement plant’s production line.
The company cooperates with such international organization as VDZ - German Research Institute, which plays an important role in the development of global cement industry, carrying out the scientific researches in cement production and its application fields.
High qualified specialists from VDZ visit Norm Sement plant and carry out technical audit of the manufacturing process. As a result, VDZ granted the Norm’s products with KLASS A (with CEM II/A-P 32,5R grade), KLASS B (with CEM II/B-L 32,5R grade) and KLASS C500 (with CEM II/A-P 42,5 R grade) certificates, in accordance with the DIN EN 197-1:2011 standards.
The Norm is also a member of the European Cement Research Academy, which is one of the prestigious organizations in the world, aiming to facilitate and accelerate innovation to guide the cement industry.
