Over 100 years of history and, at present, one of the country's biggest producers of materials for the construction industry (ceramic, bricks, roof tiles), the Gruppo Canteras Cerro Negro has commissioned Sacmi to complete an ambitious technological revamping at the former Losa Ladrillos Olavarria. The latter, a long-standing manufacturer of heavy clay items, is now part of the Canteras Cerro Negro Group following implementation of a strategic takeover plan in 2015.
Following the excellent investment made back in 2012 that had – thanks to Sacmi-Gaiotto systems – made this production facility one of the most modern and highly automated in Argentina (via the installation of dedicated robots for green and dried product handling and fired product palletization), Canteras Cerro Negro now aims to make a further qualitative leap in terms of output capacity and, more importantly, flexibility and energy efficiency.
More specifically, this latest order involves turnkey revamping of the existing tunnel kiln; this means complete modernisation of the kiln equipment, starting with installation of the new Sacmi Forni combustion system which features high-speed burners and ceiling-mounted combustion units to which a cutting-edge adjustment and control system has been added.
Largely aimed at boosting productivity and quality through outstanding energy performance and low consumption – a crucial competitive factor on the Argentine market, especially in light of the new macroeconomic scenario (flexible exchange rates, adaptation of energy costs to international standards) - this investment will also give Canteras Cerro Negro plenty of room for manoeuvre as regards flexibility. Thanks to new kiln equipment technology – especially the new automatic kiln car handling system specially designed to allow switching from one production run to another – the same kiln can be used to fire both bricks and roof tiles, thus providing a ready, effective response to market demand.