Cem'In'Eu - A European Network

1. A EUROPEAN
NETWORKIntroduction
Cem’In’Eu is an industrial start-up, developing new
cement production and marketing concepts in
Europe, with a flexible approach to the business and
strong breakthroughs in supply, logistics, production,
and the selling of cement.
Current projects
Cem’In’Eu has launched several identical cement
grinding projects that will cover part of the European
market.
France
Aliénor Ciments
Built on a fully-owned property located in Tonneins
and connected to the rail network by a private
junction, Aliénor Ciments will serve the markets of
southwest France.
Vincent Lefebvre,
Cem’In’Eu, discusses
the growth of
cement plants in
Europe.
CimSaRo
Located in the Port of Chalon-sur-Saône, on a plot
with a long‑term lease directly connected to the rail
network and the Saône river, CimSaRo will offer its
products in Auvergne-Rhone-Alps, Burgundy-Franche
Comté, and French-speaking Switzerland.
Rhône Ciments
Located on land of the Port of Valence with a
long-term lease, using rail and the Rhône river, Rhône
Ciments will supply the customers of Rhône Alpes,
Auvergne, and the Mediterranean Coast.
Ciments des Trois Frontières (C3F)
Located on land off the Port of Mulhouse‑Ottmarsheim
with a long-term lease, using rail and the Rhine river,
Ciments des Trois Frontières will supply customers in
Alsace, Baden-Württemberg, and German-speaking
Switzerland.
Val de Loire Ciments
Val de Loire Ciments is located in Montreuil Bellay, in
western France, on fully‑owned land with its private
rail branch, and will deliver to the markets of western
and central France.
Poland
Pomorski Cement
Pomorski Cement is located in the Port of Gdynia,
with a long-term lease on a plot at 800 m from the
bulk docks. It will deliver to the markets of northern
Poland around Gdansk.

2. Reprinted from April 2018
World Cement
UK
Cem’In’Eu’s project will be on the River Thames, in
the east of the Greater London area. It will deliver to
the souteastern part of England, where 50% of the
national GNP is concentrated.
Industrial and production model
The modular grinding plants of Cem’In’Eu are highly
versatile and adapt themselves to a large variety
of possible installations. They occupy a reduced
land area (about 2.5 ha), are modular, removable,
entirely above ground, and built on simplified
civil engineering. As such, they are adaptable to a
variety of topographic configurations, and allow
the installation of two grinding mills with an output
of 30 tph each. The second mill is designed from
the very beginning, but not built in the first phase,
allowing a smooth ramp-up to a production of
250 000 tpy before eventually doubling the capacity,
depending on market demand.
The use of the best technologies available in terms
of environmental protection (dust and noise) and the
supply of raw materials by environmental friendly
logistics (maritime, river, or rail) allows Cem’In’Eu
to implement plants in places where a bigger and
traditional cement mill would never be possible.
Cem’In’Eu conducts the engineering of the plants
internally, working with talented manufacturers from
the EU to ensure the highest standards in term of
safety, environmental protection, and cement quality.
Each grinding plant will employ around 30 people,
including local administration and sales.
The CAPEX involved for the various French plants
varies from e18 − 20 million, depending on the size
and design of the clinker hall as well as the following
civil engineering conditions:
ll Raw materials storage of 5000 – 10 000 t
(Serru, France).
ll Cement ball mill of 30 tph with the lastest
generation of cement separator to ensure
high‑efficiency particle separation (Intercem,
Switzerland).
ll Six cement silos of 500 t each for bulk loading
with two weighbridges (Orhand, France).
ll A cement bag hall with a third weighbridge
(Serru, France).
ll An Adams packing machine for polyethylene
bags production (clean and waterproof) and
a Batipal palletiser with paletless stretching
technology (Haver & Boecker and Newtec,
Germany).
ll An electric crane bridge and automatic tilting
tray (Secam, France).
ll An electric and fully automatised control system
(Ibitek, France).
For the bagging process, Cem’In’Eu has chosen
polyethylene sealed plastic bags, using an Adams
Chalon
Montreuil Bellay
Tonneins
Portes
Ottmarsheim
Sète
Figure 1. France project map.
Poland
Project in Gdynia
Figure 2. Poland project map.
UK
Project
Figure 3. UK project map.

3. Reprinted from April 2018
World Cement
system coupled with a palletless Haver &
Boecker. This will allow a direct supply of
cement at the jobsite, with self‑discharging
trucks, regardless of the weather.
Logistic model
In France, Cem’In’Eu imports the clinker by sea
freight, thanks to its large-capacity storage in
the port of Sète (60 000 t). The discharging of
the clinker from the boats is completed by a
hydraulic crane (Liebherr, Germany) into the
dedusted hopper of Cem’In’Eu (RBL, France).
In Poland and the UK, the port sites are
at the heart of the targeted markets. The
clinker storage capacity of the two sites will be
optimised by combining their supply and by
benefiting from the return freights available.
Due to the high density of 1.4 t/m3
of the
clinker, Cem’In’Eu decided to containerise it in
order to use container trains instead of bulk
car wagons.
Cem’In’Eu has designed a specific 20 ft
container, reinforced with two manholes and
a tilt door. This allows the loading of 32.8 t per
container and a total payload of 1350 t per
train. This train, which consists of 21 wagons
and is 290 ml long, is much smaller than a
400 ml conventional bulk carriage train,
allowing the use of private junctions on much
smaller pieces of land.
At the plant, the train is unloaded by a
reach-stacker on tyres, operated by the ports.
On the sites only connected by rail, where
reach-stackers are not available, there is a
fully‑automatic electric crane bridge that
discharges and recharges full and empty
containers efficiently.
The transfer to bulk storage is completed
by an automatic tilting tray, which drains
through the tilting door of the container.
Commercial model
Cem’In’Eu implements its grinding plants at
the heart of the targeted markets, minimising
the outbound logistics by truck comparative
to integrated plants that have to reply on
geography. Locations are selected in mature
markets where two to three international
cement players currently share a volume of
3 − 4 million t. Therefore, the plant of
250 000 tpy will capture a 7 − 8% market
share, not enough to destabilise it.
The company divides its targeted market
into three equal segments: prefab concrete,
ready-mixed concrete, and bags. Thanks to its
fully‑sealed and waterproof plastic bags and
palletless technology, Cem’In’Eu can deliver its
bags directly to the end user (Masons) at the
job site.
Figure 4. Aliénor plant.
Figure 5. Plans for Cimsaro plant.
Figure 6. 3D view of Séte.

4. Reprinted from April 2018
World Cement
Therefore, Cem’In’Eu is able to avoid a lot of
inefficiencies linked to the traditional model of
selling bagged cement through building material
distribution chains. These inefficiencies include the
following:
ll No double transport (cement plant to warehouse,
warehouse to jobsite).
ll No cost for handling and dry storage.
ll No cost for commercial intermediaries,
ll Direct access to the end user for more efficient
marketing.
The digital package offers precise geo-tracking
and personalised quotes, as well as the benefit of
a dynamic pricing linked with Cem’In’Eu’s logistic
planning and savings.
Planning
The company started in summer 2014. During the first
18 months, it developed the design and engineering
of the plants, and selected the various markets it
wanted to be in. It secured the land for its first three
French plants during 1Q16. The process to obtain
the construction licence and the environmental and
operating licence lasted roughly one year in France,
after at least 6 months of preliminary studies.
All permits for Aliénor Ciments were obtained
in June 2017, and the civil engineering started in
September. The commissioning of the plant is due
mid‑May 2018. The CimSaRo plant has obtained all its
necessary permits, and plans to start its construction
are due to commence during the summer of 2018,
just after the start of Alienor plant.
C3F already has the construction permit, has
passed all the steps of public enquiries, and expected
to receive the final environmental and operation
licence during 1Q18.
The two other French projects (Rhône Ciments
and Val de Loire Ciments) are at an earlier stage of
development. The land is secured, and the process of
licencing and permitting will start in early 2018, with
all permits expected to be granted by the end of the
year.
In Poland, the land was secured at the end of
2016. After a long process of detailed engineering,
the construction permit and environmental
licence are expected to be obtained 2H18, with a
construction period of 10 − 12 months, dependent of
the weather conditions.
In the UK, the land is almost secured, with a
permitting and licensing process of 6 − 8 months, and
a similar timeframe for construction.
Conclusion
By 2020, Cem’In’Eu expects to have built a network
of seven identical cement grinding plants, in strong
markets currently served by very few established
cement players. With its innovative concepts, it aims
at offering an alternative to its future customers.
About the author
Vincent Lefebvre has been the Founder and Executive
Chairman of Cem’In’Eu since 2014. Previously, he
worked for Holcim for more than 20 years, as Executive
Committee Member and CEO in France, Belgium, and
Spain.
Figure 7. Lastest workshop plan for the containurisation of Séte plant.
Figure 8. Plan for the bridge crane.