Assiut Cement Company is part of CEMEX, a growing global building materials solution company that provides products of consistently high quality and reliable service to customers and communities.
Assiut Cement Company is located in the center of Egypt, 400 km south of Cairo, with a plant of 3 cement production lines. While ACC had an original production capacity of 3.8 million metric tons / year, CEMEX invested to increase the capacity to 5.7 million metric tons / year, almost 50% more.
At CEMEX, we strongly believe that business and the environment must go hand in hand. After taking over Assiut Cement Company, we carried out a thorough modernization of the plant, with the objective of both improving our efficiency and protecting the environment for the benefit of our employees and the nearby community. We enlisted employees at all levels of the organization in environmental training and awareness courses.
Working according to strict guidelines, we implemented an environmental management system that would bring the plant up to CEMEX's strict environmental standards.
More stringent quality and environmental protection measures were applied to the plant, including enhancement of filters, upgrading line 1 to bag filter which will be followed in the coming year with the same upgrade for lines 2 and 3 as well, new control procedures for the cooling towers, and the implementation of a state-of-the-art computer system to control the entire manufacturing process. The result of these actions - and others - was a drastic reduction in emissions (less than 50 mg/m3 dust emission in the cooler and less than 20 mg/m3 in the main stack of line 1 compared to the original 500 mg/m3 at the acquisition time) as well as substantial improvements in efficiency and fuel use.
Our leaks reduction program has also targeted the main source of suspended dust by implementing better designs and performing a vast array of surveys and inventory-checks that are helping us find and repair leaks in record time.
But working for a better environment is not only about emission control, and in this regard CEMEX has also implemented a beautification project to provide a healthier and more appealing work environment for our employees. We have enlarged the green areas near the plant, and made the buildings where we work more aesthetic and functional.