Votorantim Cimentos targets 60% capacity hike and CO2 cuts in Brazil expansion

At the Nobres plant, a new cement mill will increase the site’s production capacity by 60%, from the current 750,000 tonnes/year to 1.2 million tonnes of cement per year. Image: Adobe Stock

The expansions and the modernisation of its sites located in the towns of Cuiabá and Nobres will start before the end of the year and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

At the Nobres plant, a new cement mill will increase the site’s production capacity by 60%, from the current 750,000 tonnes/year to 1.2 million tonnes of cement per year. Votorantim Cimentos will also increase the aglime production capacity of this plant by more than 20%, from the current 740,000 tonnes/year to 900,000 tonnes/year. 

At the Cuiabá site, the company will invest in modernisation and in a used tire shredding facility. After shredding, these tires are sent to be co-processed in the company’s cement production kilns.

Co-processing is a technology used worldwide to properly dispose of various types of waste, which are transformed into energy for the cement industry, replacing petroleum coke, a fossil fuel, and reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, such as CO2. The collected and shredded tires are 100% reused.

“These expansions and modernisations will increase our competitiveness and our production and storage capacity, and improve our efficiency to better serve our customers and the consumer market, while also reducing CO2 emissions. In this way, we contribute to the economic, social and environmental development of the state and the entire region,” said Osvaldo Ayres Filho, global CEO of Votorantim Cimentos.

Votorantim Cimentos’ expansions in the state of Mato Grosso are part of a comprehensive investment program by the company in Brazil, focused on modernization, capacity growth, competitiveness and decarbonisation. Announced in early 2024, the plan includes R$5 billion (US$909 million) in investments to be deployed by 2028.