Cimpor Global announces a new collaboration with FIZIX to detect malfunctions in cement production facilities before they occur.
Cimpor Global, one of Portugal’s leading and most long-established brands in the building sector and operating under the world’s third largest cement producer TCC Group Holdings will commission the deployment of Fizix’s technology at 25 facilities in ten different countries on three continents, while continuing its investments in Africa, where the pace of economic growth and urbanization is high, in order to further strengthen its position in the global market.
Cimpor Global, a subsidiary of the TCC Group Holdings, continues to strengthen its leading position in the sector with its innovative practices. Today Cimpor Global announces the launch of a new project run in collaboration with FIZIX. The project will allow Cimpor Global to assess and monitor the machine health of 25 industrial facilities on a global scale in ten countries detecting malfunctions and failures before they occur.
The FIZIX collaboration symbolizes the beginning of a new era for Cimpor Global’s operations globally as well as for different stakeholders in various sectors, especially the cement industry.
The project will stop and reduce inefficiencies and carbon emissions, which will greatly decrease machine damage, labor and energy losses which occur due to downtime. The project, will allow for production continuity, requiring much less energy and producing more environmentally-friendly building materials with a lower CO2 footprint compared to products with similar performance and quality.
One of the most important benefits of the project will be in Health and Safety, as emergency, risk maintenance and repair interventions will be reduced and only to take place during pre-planned tests.
To be commissioned in three continents, ten countries, and 25 facilities
The project will be implemented in a total of 25 facilities in three continents where Cimpor Global is present. Assembly and optimization works will take place in 2025. This will enable global machine health traceability which will be put into use in six different countries in the first stage.
An industry-first, the project will then be deployed in the group’s China and Taiwan operations in 2026 and beyond enabling machine health traceability in 14 different countries and a system will be created where expert staff will be able to provide remote support, analysis and optimization thanks to its cloud-based infrastructure.
The project, which will continue integrated in other facilities within the Group, has the potential to be directly deployed in other cement production facilities and in different industries. In the last five years, Cimpor Global has allocated approximately 800 million Euros to innovative investments with global scale integration, special projects, greener building materials, renewable energy and solutions based on R&D and innovation.
The result of this entrepreneurial approach is directly linked to the company’s success both in operations, the environment and in cost-efficiency and financial returns. In the coming period, Cimpor plans to allocate approximately 35% of its annual profits to R&D and innovation on industrial digitalization, transition to green energy, decarbonization, and low-carbon new generation processes and products.
“The most comprehensive sensor and AI-based machine health project in heavy industry”
Berkan Fidan, Cimpor Global CTO, stated that with the cooperation of FIZIX, the machine health project with the largest scope applied in the heavy industry to date has been realized: ” As one of the first cement companies in Europe to commit to Net-Zero, we invest in innovative technologies to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency and act with the responsibility of leaving a green world to future generations.
This project consists of the combination of industrial internet of things, 5G MPN, smart devices and advanced software and we took it into action after conducting detailed analysis and practical tests on many different solutions for nearly 2 years.
The joining of forces between Cimpor Global and FIZIX, which stands out with its advanced technology, will bring new and pioneering approaches to cement production. It is one of the largest and unique IIoT projects in the world because of its size, content and footprint.”
Continued growth in Africa
Underlining the great importance of operations of Cimpor Global in Africa, Berkan Fidan said: “We are providing innovative solutions to the increasing needs of construction and infrastructure projects in strategic countries such as Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Ghana within the framework of the principle of sustainability.”
Rapid urbanization, industrialization and the need to expand economic infrastructure are among the key factors contributing to the growth of the cement production sector in developing economies, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, as emphasized by Berkan Fidan, stating “Unfortunately, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)—the most commonly used type of cement—accounts for approximately 8% of total global carbon emissions, primarily due to clinker production.
With international agreements calling for a 50% reduction in global emissions by 2030, the decarbonization of the cement and concrete sector has become an urgent priority.
With this in mind, Cimpor Global, a pioneer in low-carbon cement innovations, reported the launch of the first integrated calcined clay cement plant in Ivory Coast in August 2020. This was followed by a second project in Cameroon, which, on October 29, 2023, became the world’s first vertical calcined clay process facility.
Additionally, a third project in Ghana is set to become the world’s largest calcined clay production line. These groundbreaking initiatives will also be enhanced with Industrial IoT (IIoT) and AI technologies, driving both digitalization and decarbonization in Africa.”
Berkan Fidan emphasized that this new technology – deOHclay as an inhouse developed concept of calcined clay by CIMPOR- established in West Africa significantly reduces CO2 emissions and has a positive impact on controlling the carbon footprint of cement production with a capacity of 1 million tons per year.
As a cement company that prioritizes environmentally friendly investments in Africa, Fidan also mentioned that they were awarded the second place among all companies in the “2024 Business Awards in Africa” given by the Netherlands-Africa Business Council, thanks to their strong financial structure and contributions to local employment. Berkan Fidan said, “The newly established deOHclay technology in Africa is revolutionizing the cement sector by potentially reducing nearly 800,000 tons of CO₂ emissions.
What makes this innovation even more remarkable is that the reduction is achieved using Africa’s own resources—labor, raw materials, energy, and biofuels. “
“Objective: To become a global local player”
Suat Çalbıyık, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cimpor Global, stated that they are taking a historic step by joining forces under the roof of the global cement giant TCC Group Holdings in 2024, which we successfully left behind as the Cimpor family: “As we move forward even stronger globally with the Cimpor brand, we continue to grow, develop and make a difference in the sector in line with our environmental awareness and higher product quality principles.
Today we do not only produce cement; but we build cities of the future, strengthen the infrastructure and construct the sustainable world of the future. We set new goals to create a smarter, greener, more sustainable cement industry. We believe in three key elements to execute our goals: innovation, sustainability and strong partnerships. In the future, we will continue to move forward in line with our goals of carbon neutral production, environmentally friendly innovations, increasing efficiency through digitalization and creating a greater impact on a global scale.”