25 years of white cement in India

Going back to an India 25 years ago, white cement was hardly a feasible idea. This was when FLSmidth, the long time technology partners of JK Cement Ltd., accepted the challenge of creating a dry process white cement plant in an arid, inhospitable and remote village called Gotan.

Mr. Jørgen Huno Rasmussen, CEO, FLSmidth Group was honored with an invitation to be the Chief Guest at the silver jubilee celebration of JK White Cement, at their plant site in Gotan in Rajasthan, on 1 September 2009. Mr. Huno Rasmussen and Mr. Anders Bech, MD & CEO of FLSmidth Private Limited, India, were welcomed by Mr. Yadupati Singhania the Managing Director & CEO and the management of the JK organization.

Several of the speeches addressed this culmination of a partnership spanning nearly four decades; Mr. Yadupati Singhania savored the strong bond between JK Cement and FLSmidth and Mr. Huno Rasmussen quoted “we celebrate 25 years of loyal relations and thriving cooperation with JK White Cement and look forward to continued fruitful partnership.”

The ceremony was a fabulous show involving all the company’s stakeholders, recognizing and appreciating the contributions from villagers, dealers, stockists, suppliers and employees. The event also saw the release of a commemorative publication, capturing the journey of JK White Cement from inception to the present days. The evening reached a climax with a cultural program by Ms. Hema Malini, a versatile dancer and a famous actress with the Indian cinema, who enthralled the 5000 odd audience with her performance.

JK White Cement was commissioned in 1984 and presently operates to a capacity close to 0.5 tpy making JK White the second largest producer of white cement. Other supplies include grey cement lines for Nimbahera in Rajasthan in 1975, 1979 and 1982 and most recently a greenfield line for Mudhol in Karnataka which is presently being commissioned. JK Cement is one of the largest cement manufacturers in northern India with a total production capacity of 7 tpy and is a part of a major industrial conglomerate in India.

FLSmidth House in Chennai certified “Gold Rated” Green building

During August 2009, FLSmidth was certified “Green Building with Gold” rating by the Indian Green Building Council under their LEED-India (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. This achievement heralds FLSmidth House into the elite band of LEED certified green buildings across the world. The LEED Rating is a leading-edge system for certifying the greenest performing buildings in the world and is a nationally and internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance buildings.

On 22 September 2009, the Gold rating plaque was unveiled by His Excellency Ole Lonsman Poulsen, the Ambassador of Denmark and in his address to the employees the Ambas-
sador lauded FLSmidth’s green initiatives:

“This achievement is an important result of FLSmidth’s global effort towards reducing the Company’s carbon foot print and at the same time staying fully competitive. As a Danish ambassador it is heartening to see a Danish Company in India being in the forefront in this context.”

FLSmidth India inaugurates foundry near Chennai

On April 30, 2009, Kristian Gregersen, Vice President, Customer Services declared open the foundry near Chennai. Located at Arakonam,100 kilometers west of Chennai and around 115 kilometers from FLSmidth House, the foundation stone for the foundry was laid during February 2008.

The foundry has commenced producing heat resistant castings for kilns, SF Cross-Bar coolers and preheaters in its phase I of development and its focus will be on quality product and cost competitiveness. A demonstration of state-of-the-art methods, techniques, moulding and melting processes was made to all present during the official opening ceremony.