OPTERRA plant in Karsdorf lays the foundation stone for the KALINE immission control project
Investment in the future
The OPTERRA plant in Karsdorf is gearing up for the future. The location in Saxony-Anhalt is going to be prepared for the future requirements of the 17th German Immission Control Act (BImSchV) over the next two years with the start of an extensive immission control project. The aim of the retrofit is to comply with or fall below the new values that the BImSchV stipulates for dust, ammoniac and nitrogen dioxide, which apply from 1 January 2019.
The foundation stone for the EUR 23 million project was laid on 9 May, 2018 in the presence of Saxony-Anhalt’s Economics Minister Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann and other representatives from politics and administration. The ministers, District Administrator Götz Ulrich, Dr. Frank Heisterkamp, Head of Investor Relations at CRH, and Danilo Buscaglia, Chair of the OPTERRA Management Board dug in themselves at the official ceremony under the guidance of Plant Manager Berthold Perschall. The foundation stone and traditional “time capsule” are being inserted into the foundation walls during the course of the project by the contracted construction company, the Kramer Group from Merseburg.
OPTERRA CEO Danilo Buscaglia sees the implementation as being an important step in securing the location: “We have worked on the project as hard as possible over the last few years. So we are all the more delighted that it is now being implemented. The Karsdorf plant will therefore be able to sustainably improve its environmental performance and secure jobs for the future for the employees.”
Minister Willingmann accentuated the importance of the project: “The multi-million euro investment is positive news for the whole region. The Karsdorf plant is securing its ticket for the future with his important immission control project. The employees whose jobs will be safe in the future, the numerous SME supplier firms and last but not least the residents and environment are all benefiting from this. In short: today is a good day for the region!”
The complexity of the project called for an extensive preparation phase. The stipulation for this was to choose a process with the best available technology and maximum safety to comply with the emission limits in the context of the new regulations. The SCR process, which will be applied in future, reliably meets these requirements. Nitrogen oxide is reduced by the selective catalytic reaction during the process. The filtered kiln exhaust gases are then transferred to the existing stacks.
With a view to the challenging time frame for implementation, Danilo Buscaglia assured us: “The project team is working closely together with everyone involved and regularly seeking dialogue with the authorities, community and residents during the implementation.”
The new plant will be commissioned during the 2018/2019 winter repairs. When it starts up in spring 2019, the values achieved with it will be significantly below the limits required by law from 2019.
About OPTERRA
OPTERRA is a subsidiary of the global CRH group. With an annual production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes of cement, OPTERRA is one of the leading cement producers in Germany. 400 employees work at plants in Karsdorf near Leipzig, Wössingen near Karlsruhe, Sötenich near Cologne and Neufahrn in Lower Bavaria. They secure a strong position in the south, east and west of the country. Modern technology and technical expertise set the standards in the quality of the more than 30 types of cement on offer. Besides this, OPTERRA offers comprehensive application consulting, sales, quality and logistics services.
About CRH
CRH (LSE: CRH, ISE: CRG, NYSE): CRH is a global, diversified building materials group employing over 85,000 people at approx. 3,600 locations in 32 countries. CRH is the largest building materials group in North America and the second largest in the world with a market cap of more than EUR 25 billion (May 2018). The group has leading positions in Europe as well as strategic positions in aspiring economic regions in Asia and South America. CRH is committed to improving the built environment by supplying sophisticated materials and products for construction and the maintenance of the infrastructure, residential and non-residential buildings. As a Fortune 500 company, CRH is a constituent member of the FTSE 100 index, the EURO STOXX 50 index, the ISEQ 20 with American Depositary Shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
More information at www.crh.com
Press contact
Anke Wunder
OPTERRA GmbH, Goerdelerring 9, 04109 Leipzig
Tel. +49 (0)341 3937 8531
anke.wunder.ignore@opterra-crh.com
www.opterra-crh.com