Cement Australia’s operations in Gladstone incorporate Australia’s largest cement kiln, capable of producing more than 1.6Mtpa of cement.

Early in 2017, it was identified that the heat exchanger duct between the clinker cooler and the inlet to heat exchanger no.1 (HE1) had reached the end of its life, and was significantly impacting on plant production. Cement Australia engaged Walz Group to replace the equipment to return the kiln performance to full capacity. The project required us to remove and replace the failing heat exchanger, ductwork, inlet chamber, associated supports, and specified tubes during a time critical shutdown.

We utilised our dedicated fabrication facility to manufacture all the ductwork, inlet chamber, and the associated supports and components. We also applied protective coating as required. Prior to the shutdown for the replacement works, we reinforced the plant foundation and structure to ensure it could accommodate additional loads.

Our comprehensive plant and equipment fleet was invaluable for this project, which required craneage and scaffolding to remove and replace the existing structure.