Upon upgrade completion, Florida's newest and most modern cement facility opened officially on May 18, 2005. Titan America's Pennsuco cement plant boasts a production capacity of 1.8 million tons a year, in addition to the lowest NOx and CO per ton of clinker of any cement facility in the Sunshine State.

In 2000, Norfolk, Va.-based Titan America acquired Tarmac's sprawling 6,500-acre Pennsuco site in Florida as part of a package of U.S. assets. Located in the industrial town of Medley, in the Hialeah area northwest of Miami adjacent to the Everglades, the Pennsuco facility included a limestone quarry producing eight million tons of aggregates, a ready-mix concrete plant, a 12 million unit-per-year gray block plant, and two wet process cement kilns with a capacity of one million tons a year. The company's filing with the Athens Stock Exchange at the time of the acquisition noted, “Titan plans to initiate modernization immediately, thereby increasing production capacity,” citing also a prediction of strong growth in the U.S. cement market.

FLORIDA'S LIFEBLOOD

The Portland Cement Association estimates annual domestic cement production valued at around $8.6 billion. In the U.S., 39 companies operate 118 cement plants in 38 states. Worldwide, the United States ranks third in cement production, behind China — the world's leading producer — and India. Average kiln capacity in the U.S. has grown steadily for the past two decades, increasing from 287,000 tons in 1982 to 484,000 tons in 2002.

Recently, cement has seen higher consumption in the southern states. Additionally, consumption has increased nationwide every year since 1991, excluding 2002, a down year for the construction industry. Further, per capita tonnage of cement is on the rise: 369.7 tons per thousand people in 2003 is expected to reach 399.9 tons by 2008.

Canada is the top foreign supplier, accounting for just over 24% of all cement imports into the U.S. The next two largest, and relatively recent, sources of cement imports are Thailand and China. California, Texas, and Florida are the front-running states in cement consumption, accounting for more than 30% of all cement consumed in the U.S.

In Florida, virtually all residential and commercial construction begins with concrete block or poured concrete, and much of it ends with stucco. An increased number of residential and commercial starts, large public works projects, and damage repair following three major hurricanes in 2004 placed even greater demands on the supply of domestic and imported powder in the state. According to USGS and PCA figures, plants in Florida produced 5.4 million metric tons of portland cement in 2004, while statewide cement consumption for the same year amounted to nearly 9.6 million metric tons.

PREPLANNING

Building a cement plant of the size and type envisioned by Titan America involved a capital outlay in excess of $200 million. The plant's complexity necessitated an engineering feat of breathtaking scope, including the organizational challenge of sourcing and fully integrating a few million parts from several countries. The actual construction phase required nearly two million man-hours.

When the steering committee first met during the summer of 2001, one of the foremost items on the agenda was environmental stewardship. Incorporating Titan Cement's culture of sustainability from the very beginning, the steering committee settled upon a goal to double cement production, while maintaining or decreasing current emissions levels and recycling all materials and energy not consumed in the cement-making process. They also agreed that members of the Pennsuco team would communicate both vertically and horizontally, working together to solve unexpected problems. Above all, the work was to be completed on time and on budget.

TEAMWORK

The Pennsuco steering committee selected two lead suppliers: F.L. Smidth (FLS) for civil engineering, production equipment fabrication, and systems design; and, Zachry for the construction. Timing worked in favor of the project, as engineering, construction, and equipment suppliers faced a bleak future in 2000 when the world economy appeared to be heading into a depression. Because Titan America was ready to move ahead, the best people, best prices, and best turn-around times were within reach. Accordingly, suppliers were enrolled as a vital part of the solution. Pennsuco's team of players — Zachry, Titan America, and FLS — functioned cooperatively, so that problems were discovered early and resolved quickly, advancing the project with very few delays.

BENEFITS OF INNOVATION

Reaping three days' work out of 24-hours via the Internet, engineers at the FLS head office in Copenhagen transferred work to U.S. offices at the end of their day; and, when the U.S. engineers headed home, they sent it on to India for another full day of work before it was sent back to Denmark for the a.m. opening of FLS offices there. That innovation saved several months of time and contributed significantly to the goal of keeping plant construction on time and on budget.

The best location for the new cement plant was determined to be near the existing primary crusher for the Pennsuco quarry, just over a mile away. Because the Pennsuco block plant already occupied that spot, Titan America executed a double move, relocating the block plant on the site (while expanding its capacity to 85,000 blocks/day) and preparing the massive foundation for a 435-ft. preheater tower after demolition of the former block plant structures.

As the top of the water table in south Florida is almost at ground level, dewatering systems were also installed. Pumps and piping systems were readied for foundation excavations and to handle any excess rain.

To complete the 4,000-cu.-yd. concrete foundation block in a continuous pour, the on-site ready-mix plant brought in additional trucks from other southeastern Florida Tarmac operations and worked continuously over a February weekend in 2003. Thus, site preparation and some initial construction work was finished before the contractor came on board. Completing the foundation for the preheater tower saved two months.

In addition, fabrication steel was ordered in advance and stored on site so that Zachry could go to work immediately. Because the steel supplier was not overwhelmed with orders at the time, Titan was able to get good service and excellent pricing.

COUNTY PERMITTING PROCESS

The common occurrence of hurricanes in South Florida and attendant storm damage led Miami-Dade County to revise building codes in the late 1990s, bringing additional environmental regulations. Permitting officials were still gaining experience and developing expertise in the new regulatory codes when the Pennsuco plant construction was first undertaken. In addition, most of their prior experience had been in the residential sector; industrial projects the size and complexity of a cement facility could not be handled quickly.

To meet the “on time, on budget” requirement, a solution that satisfied county permitting regulations while allowing construction work to continue unabated was the employment of “permitting consultants,” professional firms familiar with relevant codes and procedures as well as the scope of engineering involved in the project. Permitting consultants reviewed plans, recommended any necessary changes, completed on-site inspections, and issued provisional permits that stood until county inspectors could investigate and issue final permits.

Zachry and the subcontractors often worked seven days a week on construction phases that required precise timing. Having to wait for a busy inspector or a county employee to issue a critical permit could have put the project months behind schedule and significantly over budget. Furthermore, adding safety to efficiency, Zachry completed almost 1.5 million man-hours without lost time due to accident, despite 850 people working on site during the construction.

Managing the many hundreds of thousands of plant parts from Denmark, Germany and India was a daunting task requiring immense spread sheets, hundreds of three-ring binders, and walls of filing cabinets. Everything from quarter-inch hex nuts to huge kiln sections was cataloged and location mapped on the 200-acre “lay down field,” along with precise specifications as to function and installation.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

Promoting environmental stewardship, a recycling system will introduce quantities of kiln dust from previous wet process cement operations as a production feed stock. Upwards of 300,000 tons of this material, currently in managed storage areas, could be consumed in the Pennsuco plant over a five-year period, eliminating the need for an equivalent amount of raw material. Removal of the managed storage areas will also assist in the continuing Pennsuco site beautification.

The Pennsuco plant was designed to recover and reuse heat from both the kiln and the cooling clinker. Raw materials are preheated by exiting kiln gases as they travel through the five cyclones in the preheater tower, resulting in reduced energy requirements. The calciner burns pulverized coal in reducing conditions before mixing with tertiary air, ensuring low NOx emissions. Other processes as well have reduced NOx and other emissions per ton of clinker to the lowest among cement plants throughout Florida.

Pulverized coal is used as fuel and is fully consumed in the manufacturing process. Producing intense heat — up to 3,400° F at the kiln flame — the coal adds essential mineral components to the clinker.

A fully equipped on-site lab continually tests raw materials, clinker, and finished cement using automated samplers and pneumatic transport systems. Clinker samples from the cooler are automatically delivered to a preprogrammed robot, which routes them to various test equipment for immediate analysis.

Real-time monitoring of raw materials blending processes, kiln conditions, stack emissions, and finished clinker is continuous. Control room operators can make immediate adjustments to minimize emissions as well as maximize the quality of output.

ON BUDGET, AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

On June 1, 2004-21 months after groundbreaking and 33 months after the first Pennsuco steering committee meeting — the raw mill was started to support production of the first clinker. The Pennsuco cement plant had been completed on budget and two months ahead of schedule.

Instrumental in meeting — and beating — the timetable was the ready access that Titan America and the contractors had to people with previous experience on cement plant construction projects, due to the downturn in employment for such workers at the time. In fact, more people were brought in than originally budgeted. Since many lived out of state, they were eager to get the job done and go home, often working seven days a week, which saved both time and money. Add to workforce availability the benefits of teamwork, preplanning and site preparation, as well as favorable economic and meteorological climates, and meeting project goals was a predictable outcome.

TITAN PENNSUCO PLANT

PENNSUCO LIMESTONE QUARRY

Primary Crusher — Allis-Chalmers Jaw Feeder

Secondary crusher — FFE
Minerals/FLSmidth Abon Sizer

System capacity — 1,200 tph

Conveyor to cement plant — Continental Conveyor - Canada, rated at 1,000 tph

Annual quarry output to cement plant — 2 million tons

Distance from primary crusher to materials storage building — 1.2 miles

MATERIALS STORAGE BUILDING

Floor size: 410 ft × 920 ft. 18 acres

Height: 95 ft

Materials stored in/outside MSB + quantities

Blended limestone: 2 piles, 40,000 tons each

Alumina source: (Bauxite) 1 pile, 6,000 tons

Sweetener high-lime limestone: 1 pile, 2,000 tons

Iron source: (mill scale) 1 pile, 2,000 tons

Coal: 2 piles, 12,000 tons each

Materials handling systems manufacturers:

FLSmidth bridge reclaimer and stackers Number of stackers/reclaimers: 3 each - 1 blended stone, 1 additives and 1 coal Continental Conveyor - Canada belt conveyors Capacity: 600 tph

Conveyor system from MSB to raw mill:

Continental Conveyor - Canada Length of conveyor: 1,500 ft. Capacity: 600 tph

Control system/analyzer: ASYS Cross Belt

Control system/analyzer: Proprietary X-ray analysis

RAW MILL

FLSmidth, Model 52/4 Capacity: 400 dry tph

FLSmidth CF Blendng Silo Capacity: 15,000 short tons

KILN

FLSmidth Dimensions: 5 m × 65 m long Features: FLS Rotax with friction drive, two-pier

Capacity: rated at 5,000 stpd at 720 kcal/kg specific fuel consumption

PREHEATER

FLSmidth type ILC with low NOx preclaciner Features: 5-stage with dual inlet; stage one built for Florida Hurricane codes 2001 Emissions: NOx — 2.38 lb./ton clinker CO — 1.77 lb./ton clinker

BAGHOUSE

FLSmidth Airtec (segmented construction, screw conveyors)

Features: 10 compartment, 690 bags per compartment

Rated capacity: 1.03M cu. meters/hour @ 204°C

Operation: 611,000 acfm @ 294°F

CLINKER COOLING

FLSmidth 4×5 Cross Bar cooler

Cooling capacity: 5,000 tpd at 120∞ above ambient

Cooling operation: hydraulic drive with HRB

Heat reclaiming: 186,000 acfm at 520°F

COAL MILL

FLSmidth: 24/2 dual roller, 35 short tph

FINISH MILL

FLSmidth: 4 ball mills, Fuller FK transport systems

CONTROL CENTER

FLSmidth/FLSA

PLANT PRODUCTION CAPACITY

1.8 million tpy

MARKET AREA

SE Florida including Miami to Jacksonville

A SWEET HERITAGE

In the early 1900s, Pennsylvania Sugar Co. (shortened to “Pennsuco”) was one of several companies that obtained large acreages and planted sugar cane on the drained “muck land” of the Florida Everglades. Operations thrived until the Great Depression of the 1930s hit the sugar market. While Everglades-grown sugar was the least expensive homegrown in the U.S., it could not compete with Cuban sugar at nearly half the price. Although some sugar cane is still grown in the Everglades, Pennsuco Farms stopped growing cane in 1929. The Pennsuco cement plant site in Medley, Fla., is located on the former Pennsuco Farms property.