PCA announces new classes Training sessions at the Portland Cement Association (PCA) cover cement and concrete technology, as well as masonry and materials dispatching. Cement courses include: Cement Manufacturing for Process Engineers; Environmental Performance in Cement Manufacturing; Advanced Microscopy of Clinker and Cement; Mill Grinding; and Kiln Process.

For a complete class catalog, contact Julie Lisiecki at (+1) 847-966-6200, ext. 407; or e-mail: julie_lisiecki@portcement.org

Lehigh buys two mills Lehigh Portland Cement Co. signed an agreement to buy two mills for its Union Bridge plant in Maryland. The first is a type 60.4 for raw material grinding at a capacity of 520 mtph at a fineness of 10% DIN R 0.09mm. The second is a type 28.3 D with a capacity of 63 mtph at a fineness of 10% DIN R 0.09 mm.

Delivery is expected in mid-2000, and when both mills are in operation, they are expected to be the largest roller grinding mills in the U.S. cement industry. They will provide a 5,500-tpd rotary cement kiln with raw meal and pulverized coal for the rotary kiln firing. Loesche GmbH, in cooperation with Loesche America, is supplying the mills.

Health issues may push air filter market to $4.5 billion >From the "sick building syndrome" at the office to the new baby room in >the home to the jetliner at 40,000 ft, concerns about disease and >environmental pollutants are sparking an increase in sales of air >filtration and purification equipment. According to the McIlvaine Co.'s >new report, World Air Filtration and Purification Market 1999-2004, world >sales of air filters will rise from $3.2 billion in 1999 to $4.5 billion >in 2003, for an annual increase of 8%.

Analysts attribute this growth to upgrading, as many consumers look to high-end, electrostatically charged media filters, and to the expansion of new applications. These include cabin filters for automobiles and airline travelers, gas turbine blade protection, and semiconductor protection. Analysts also expect new technology, including glass fiber, high efficiency filters to shape the future of the industry. Consolidation also can be expected, as the market leader, American Air Filter, has less than 10% market share worldwide, with no other competitor holding even 5% market share.

In another recently issued report, World Fabric Filter & Element Market 1999-2004, the McIlvaine Co. cites four major factors behind the substantial growth: 1. development of pleated elements; 2. concern about air pollution in developing and newly developed countries; 3. tighter regulations of fine particulate; and 4. regulations on air toxins. The report also chronicles the developments that are transforming the filter system and elements market, such as globalization, decentralization, and the building of new plants in the world's fastest growing markets, such as Latin America.

National Gypsum chooses energy provider APS Energy, an energy provider based in Phoenix, announced that it has been selected by National Gypsum to provide energy for its California operations.

National Gypsum operates 30 facilities throughout the United States. As a fully integrated manufacturer and supplier of gypsum wallboard and related products, National Gypsum serves the residential repair/remodeling, commercial, and manufactured housing markets.

Argentinian firm to expand production line Cementos Avellaneda S.A. in Argentina has signed a DKK 170 million ($93 million) contract with F.L. Smidth & Co. The order comprises a new 3,000-mtpd production line.

The production line will be built at Cementos Avellaneda's facility at Olavarria, 350 km southwest of the capital of Buenos Aires. Due to go on stream by late 2001, the new line will more than double the production capacity to nearly 6,000 mtpd.

The order includes a two-support, 4.35- x 51-meter kiln; a 5-stage preheater; a 3- x 4-meter cross-bar clinker cooler; a 42- x 12-meter cement mill; and a 12- x 32-meter, 4,000-mt homogenizing silo.

The contract also comprises cement silo and internal transport systems, supervision of erection and commissioning, and an FLS miljo a/s electrostatic precipitator to dedust the flue gases from the raw mill and the pyroprocessing system.

Cementos Avellaneda S.A. is owned equally by the two Spanish companies, Cementos Molins and Cementos Uniland. The company has a total annual production capacity of 1.4 million mt, which places it among Argentina's four largest cement producers.

Holderbank offers analysis of U.S., Latin industries At the recent annual general meeting of Holderbank, Chairman Thomas Schmidheiny said that the outlook in North America is still very good, and that Holderbank Group companies are going all out to meet rising cement demand. He also said that cement markets in Latin America have generally proved "crisis-resistant" to date; that Europe looks set for its "upswing" to continue in the building sector; and that most Asian economies appear to have "bottomed out," with signs of a trend reversal, albeit a modest one for the moment.