HeidelbergCement has recently started a new plant, TulaCement, situated 150km south of Moscow. With a cement capacity of 2Mta, the works is among the largest cement manufacturing facilities in Russia, and is also one of the most friendly and safest in terms of the environment. Anna Borisova, HeidelbergCement Rus LLC, Russia, takes us on a tour.
Cement at the new TulaCement plant is produced using dry-process technology with limestone and clay from the company’s nearby quarries. The raw material reserves are sufficient for more than 50 years of operation. The plant is provided with all the necessary energy resources: electricity is drawn from the 220/120kW public grid, gas is being supplied by its own gas pipeline and Russian mines supply the coal used. The entire plant site, including quarries, amounts to around 100ha.
The key advantage of TulaCement’s plant is its geographical location adjacent to the Moscow region, a constantly-growing market which accounts for an average 21 per cent of total Russian cement consumption. This prospective market requires new cement capacities and new partners to supply high-quality cement with a reliable customer-oriented approach. Bearing in mind increasing cement demand on the back of large, upcoming infrastructure projects in the region, intensifying competition and a need to improve the level of service, HeidelbergCement took the decision to build a new greenfield plant in Tula Oblast in 2007.
