Novolukoml expanded clay gravel plant plans to increase production capacity by 5 times

August 28, Minsk / Yekaterina Markovich - BELTA /. JSC "Keramzit Gravel Plant of Novolukoml" (Vitebsk region, Chashniki district) plans to increase the enterprise's production capacity fivefold. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the enterprise's director, Mikhail Lazarashvili. According to the head of the enterprise, a new workshop for the production of expanded clay concrete products will be launched in November 2012. "The implementation of this large-scale investment project will allow us to increase the production volume of expanded clay concrete blocks to 75 thousand cubic meters per year in 2013, which is five times more than is produced today," Mikhail Lazarashvili noted. The supply of equipment and the complete setup of the workshop are provided by the German company Hess, which is the largest manufacturer of concrete molding machines in Europe. "The need to implement this investment project was primarily driven by the fact that in recent years, even despite a slight decrease in housing construction volumes in the country, individuals and legal entities wishing to purchase expanded clay concrete blocks were lining up to us. The number of applications submitted twice exceeded the production capabilities of our enterprise," he explained. In addition to meeting consumer demand, the launch of new production capacities will, according to the director, significantly reduce the cost of production, as the new equipment is many times more productive than the equipment currently at the plant. "It will enable us to significantly improve the technical characteristics of the products and make them even more competitive," Mikhail Lazarashvili noted. In addition, the project implementation will allow for the development of promising types of expanded clay concrete blocks. The plant also plans to master the production of paving slabs using expanded clay according to Slovak technology. "According to our partners from Slovakia, such tiles help solve the problem of icy roads, but they need to be tested in our climatic conditions. We will produce prototypes, evaluate their technical characteristics, and conduct field tests. If the tiles meet expectations, we will establish their production in the future," the enterprise director reported. JSC "Keramzit Gravel Plant of Novolukoml" is one of the largest producers of expanded clay in Europe. The plant is part of the system of enterprises of the Ministry of Construction and Architecture of Belarus. The enterprise is a multiple winner of the professional competition "Best Construction Product of the Year". The "ThermoComfort" expanded clay concrete blocks were awarded the winner's diploma in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, and in 2005, expanded clay fractions of 8-16 mm and 10-22 mm were awarded. This year, the plant acts as an official partner of the competition.