About The Client

Caribbean Cement Company Limited (CCCL) began its operations in 1952 in Kingston, Jamaica. They are the sole manufacturer of high-quality Portland and blended cement in their country. The cement company benefits from its access to indigenous raw material (mineral deposits) and a natural harbour utilized for importing coal and exporting cement. CCCL’s Portland cement is produced from 100% indigenous raw materials, mined within ten miles from the cement plant. 

Caribbean Cement announced its Kiln 5 expansion project to expand its production capacity. The project was part of the company’s US$130m modernization and expansion program and was undertaken over a three-year period. CCCL hired FLSmidth to supply machinery and auxiliary equipment for the project through their US project centre in Bethlehem, PA.

The Client Problem

Caribbean Cement was set to expand its cement plant and increase its production capabilities. For this, the company required a new conveying system that could keep up with such an increase in capacity. The problem for this project did not lie simply in creating a new conveyor system, rather the shipment of such large infrastructure across the world. Furthermore, CCCL’s plant being located in a hurricane zone posed an additional challenge. The new conveyor systems needed significant structural engineering to be able to withstand intense hurricane winds.  BID Canada was selected by FLSmidgth to supply material handling (conveyor) systems and associated structures for this project to help improve efficiency and environmental performance.

Our Work at BID

This project required BID’s team to think inside the box as conveyor modules needed to be shipped within shipping containers. Work began by having a structural engineer redesign all of the conveyor structures to accommodate the dimensions of a standard 40ft shipping container. BID customized, supplied, manufactured and delivered eight cement plant conveyors for Caribbean Cement’s kiln expansion project, totalling 1,100 ft of conveyors, 24 to 48 inch wide belts, conveyor structures, trusses and bents. Custom conveyor modules were preassembled with handrails, walkways and straps that fit into 80 shipping containers. BID’s general arrangement drawings were used to reassemble each module correctly once unstuffed from containers. Additionally, BID’s structural engineer designed the conveyor structures to withstand significant high-speed winds experienced in the Jamaican hurricane zone.

The Result

CCCL’s Expansion and Modernization Program was completed with the installation of a new In-Line Precalciner low NOx kiln system (line No.5) and a vertical cement roller mill No. 5. BID Canada successfully designed, supplied, manufactured and delivered eight custom cement plant conveyors that were broken down and shipped in 40ft shipping containers from Canada to Caribbean Cement’s plant in Kingston, Jamaica. Since its kiln expansion, the company has continued to be a world leader in cement production. BID’s customized conveyor system enabled the capacity of the plant to expand to 1.3 million tonnes of clinker per annum and 1.8 million tonnes of cement per annum.