GANGWON-DO < invest Korea

According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea,

South Korea’s Ssangyong Cement Industry Co. will install a waste heat power generator with an energy storage system (ESS) in its factory in the east coast to save energy costs in running the world’s largest cement facility.

The company said Monday it plans to install a waste heat power generator in its plant in Donghae, Gangwon Province that covers an area of 11.3 million square meters. The factory boasts an annual capacity of 11.2 million tons of clinker, a nodular material produced during the cement manufacturing process. The new facilities would be operational from August, it added.

A waste heat recovery unit is a system that collects heat generated as a byproduct from other operations to be used for other purposes, thereby boosting energy efficiency. The company expects the waste heat power generator to help it save about 33 percent of electricity, equivalent to 25.7 billion won ($24 million).

This is the biggest investment to be approved since Hahn & Company, a Korean private equity firm, became its largest shareholder. The company’s decision is considered a preemptive move to buttress its bottom line with cost-saving measures when the country’s cement industry enters a downturn cycle following the recent boom.

In late March, the company started operation of the ESS, which helps plants save power consumption by storing energy during low-demand night hours and using it during the day when demand is high. Powered by 2,880 batteries, the 22 megawatt-hour storage system is helping to save an annual 2.54 billion won in basic costs and 430 million won in additional costs, according to the company.

The company’s first-quarter operating profit on a consolidated basis dropped 61.9 percent on year to 19.7 billion won, with sales down 31.6 percent to 304.2 billion won.

But its performance is expected to pick up from the third quarter as cement demand is likely to surge once inter-Korean economic projects begin in earnest, according to Korea Investment & Securities Co. in a recent report. It maintained its buy position on the cement maker with the price target set at 39,000 won.

Shares of Ssangyong Cement closed Tuesday up 0.94 percent at 32,100 won.

By Lee Jin-han and Kim Hyo-jin

Copyrights Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea. All Rights Reserved.

Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (June 05, 2018)