Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd (LMC) will see the cement-grinding capacity of its Rawang plant increase by 800,000t by July next year when it commissions an additional cement mill there. The company has embarked on a project to transfer an idle cement-grinding mill at its Langkawi plant to the Rawang plant.
The addtional mill will enable LMC to consume the excess clinker from its plants in Rawang and Kanthan in Perak, which have increased clinker production over the last few years as a result of improved performance. This will reduce the group’s overall logistic costs as the need to ship cement from its Langkawi plant to the mainland and to export excess clinker from Perak will be reduced. In addition, the excess cement from the sea-fronting Langkawi plant will be exported to bring in more foreign earnings.
LMC president and chief executive officer Alain Crouy said that increasing the grinding capacity of its Rawang plant will enable the company to serve its customers better, both from a logistical and quality standpoint. "The natural market of our Rawang plant is Klang Valley and the surrounding region, which constitute a significant portion of Peninsular Malaysia’s total cement consumption," he said in a statement.
Crouy added that LMC regularly reviews the clinker and cement capacity of the group to improve its market position and keep up with changing domestic cement demand. At present, LMC operates three integrated cement plants in Rawang, Kanthan and Langkawi; a grinding plant in Pasir Gudang, Johor; and nationwide distribution channels by road, rail and sea.
