CEE Oct-Dec 2002

7 large. Quill: in line" ith this image, nt th e :.ta rt of 200:2, VDZ ha s created an l ~ uropean Cement Re:-.earch 1\cademy. The independence of the /\cademy ensures equa l Treatment to al l its ml.!mbers. Re' erting now to the themes of VDZ Congress ::!00:2, one may make a special mention abouT three of the si :x theme'> covered : a. Influence of process Techno logy on the manufacturi ng of market– oriented cements b. Process technology and information mnnr1gement c. Sustai na bi lity nnd ceme nt production The above three themes, inta uliu. provide the bridges to modernity for the trad it io nal ceme nt industry. So far as the ..ma rket orientation,. is concerned, the general report on the theme broughT out the disti nct shift in production from normal Portland to lJicnded and Composite Cements, :~chi(.'Vement of higher lc\'Cis of pr·oduct consistency and manufacture of cements with application -o riented quality par:~meter·s. The concept of "virtual" cement and conc rete testing lab "as also mooted in this SCSS IOn. With regard to the iss ues pe rta in ing to "information management". the general report highlighted that the recent advances in communication protocols, open :-. tnndard s and condition-based sensor diagnosti cs have provided the oppo rtuni ty to implement more cos t-effect ive. condi ti on-based maintenanc e strat eg·ies. The interne t. too , has had a maj or impact on the av ai lability or information, on leveraging scarce expe rti se and in o ffering the potential for real-time management or resource throughout a g loba l emerpri se. Through successive levels of data acquisition and integration, the whole operation of manufacturing is linked to procurement, marketing and company overheads in a comprehensive lnform ~1tion Management System. Such systems. obviously, have enormous po•ver and nexibility. Fi nally, it was brought out in the general report on sustainability thaT s us ta in ab le dev e lopment is increasi ng ly becoming a central socio po liti ca l model fo r a ll industrial and economic act ivities. The cement industry, therefore, has to tit into this model. In order to realise this goallO leading cement companies of the world have sponsor ed a s tudy "Towards u sustainable cement industry" with the World Business Council for Sustai nable Development. Unti l now th e iss ue o r sus ta inab le management in the cement industry is s trongly focussed on the environment a l compatib ilit y of ce ment production. lt is now emphas ize d that a successfu l strategy or sustainability can only be implemented i r the synergies between economic profitability and 23 sustainable management arc opened up. Anothcr area ofconcern that \\as highlighted in the general report on this speci li e theme is the lack of consensus of cement man ufac tu rers on ·'emiss ions trad ing". Due to the relati vely lo" value addit ion per tonne of co~ emi ssion, the cement ind ust l') is spec ially affected by such a system of trading, as the cement industry wil l never be able to purchase suffi cient em ission certilicatcs if the prices are determined by thos~..: indus tri es which have a highe r purchasing power than the cement industry. While on the subject or susta inability. a ment ion may be made about a presentation mad~:! at this Congress on the top ic by a representative or the trade unions 1-1. Bartels. He emphasizcd that in ach ievi ng sustainability, equal importance will have to be assigned to ecological, socia l and economic interests. All in all. the Congress as well as the 125'" an ni ve rsary of VDZ were undoubted ly a well-managed global event of' great technological sign ilicancc. Dr. Mnrtin Schneider. Congress Secretary and Dr. Jurgen ;\ Ibeck, Chairman of the Congress Advisory Board as well as the team behind th em deserve congratulati ons from the g lobal cement community for organising such a successfu l event. Tht: technical contribu ti ons at the Congress were va luable nne! wi ll pave the way for the future course of the global cement industry. •