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drymix.info Newsletter 202/2017; ISSN Number 1613-0111; 30. November 2017

1. Drymix Mortar Yearbook 2018: Deadline for Articles and Advertorials is 31.12.17!
2. Russian Mortar Days, Moscow, 30. and 31. January 2018: with Field Trip to Cedrus' Kolomna Plant; Program
3. The 4th Australia Drymix Mortar Meeting, 15. February 2018 at Q-Station in Manly (Sydney, NSW)
4. NEW: 3rd Philippines Drymix Mortar Meeting, Manila, 13. March 2018
5. The 6th American Drymix Mortar Conference admmc six, Chicago, IL, USA, April 26, 2018
6. Light Ore Joins drymix.info as Industrial Partner
7. Xella Sells Fermacell to James Hardie
8. Poraver Starts Construction to Build its Third Production Unit in Germany
9. PSLoop Builds EPS and XPS Recycling Pilot Plant in The Netherlands
10. Rockwool Acquires Swiss Mineral Wool Producer Flumroc

1. Drymix Mortar Yearbook 2018: Deadline for Articles and Advertorials is 31.12.17!

Our Drymix Mortar Yearbooks are the key publication and the world's single and only annual compendium about drymix mortars. Our Drymix Mortar Yearbook 2018 will appear in Chicago, at The 6th American Drymix Mortar Conference admmc six on April 26, 2018. But not only that: unlike the years before, it will accompany any drymix.info, MEDMA or SEADMA event in 2018 and way into 2019.

Should you wish to propose a scientific article (max 8 pages), an advertorial (max. 4 pages) or an ad in the coming Drymix Mortar Yearbook 2018, you should decide now and submit your materials until 31.12.2017 (publishing fees apply).

2. Russian Mortar Days, Moscow, 30. and 31. January 2018: with Field Trip to Cedrus' Kolomna Plant; Program

The scientific conference Russian Mortar Days 2018 takes place in Moscow, Russia on 30. and 31. January 2018. The event is hosted by the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (MCU or MGSU), Technical Chairman is Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Andrey Pustovgar. The Russian Mortar Days are being organized in a cooperation of MCU with The Association of Russian Mortar Producers SPSSS, The Russian Gypsum Association and drymix.info, The International Community for Drymix Mortars. Quintet Company, St. Petersburg, Russia is organizing the event locally. Russian Mortar Days 2018 will feature a scientific program and a cocktail reception on Tuesday, 30. January 2018 and a field trip to Kolomna on 31. January 2018 (all-day).

drymix.info is proud to announce, that our member Cedrus LLC, Moscow, Russia, has agreed to invite the delegates of Russian Mortar Days 2018 to Kolomna (about 120 km to the South-East of Moscow), where their mortar plants are located. This field trip will include the bus transfer, an extensive plant tour, a lunch, a laboratory visit and a coffee break, all sponsored by Cedrus (thanks a lot!). In the fully automated high-volume Kolomna plant, Cedrus produces their Osnovit, Indastro, Stroybrig, Master Garz and Zapas product lines.

The field trip takes place on Wednesday, 31. January 2018, our bus leaves from Cosmos Hotel at 08:30 sharp. Due to the complexity of this excursion and safety reasons, pre registration of each participant is absolutely mandatory by 26. January 2018, spontaneous guests can and will not be admitted.

Here is a preliminary list of topics for the scientific conference on 30. January (subject to change without notice, sorted by company names):
Actemium, V. Audiau: Flexiplant – Smart modular and flexible mixing plant for dry mortar
Akzo Nobel Chemicals AG, (lecturer tbd.): Maximizing the Life Time Value of Tile Installations
Building Information Agency, E. Botka: Preliminary Results for the Year and the Medium-term Forecast of Development of the Russian Market for Drymix Mortars
CEDRUS and drymix.info, V. Dokuchaev, F. Leopolder: Field Trip to Kolomna, visit of Cedrus Automated Drymix Mortar Plant (on 31.1.2018)
Belgorod State Technological University L.H. Zahorodnuk: Heat Insulative Drymix Mortars as Composite Binder Systems
Ferro, Dani Lladó: Mortar Coloration - Options to Enhance Aesthetics and Performance
Kerneos, Galaad Bulteau: Boosting Cold Temperature Performance of Drymix Mortars
Kovrovskoe Dolomit, Prof. Dr. Manevich: Advantages of Manufactured Aggregates for the Drymix Mortar Industry in Russia
Lahti Precision, Jarmo Sopanen: (working title) Customized and Versatile Drymix Mortar Plant Automation Concepts
MCU, A. Pustovgar: Designing the Formulations of Drymix Mortars, Taking into Account the Life Cycle of Buildings
MCU, Institute of Building Materials and Technologies, Anastasia Nikolaevna: Certification of Drymix Mortars and the Reform of the Accreditation of Testing Laboratories
Norkem, Evgeny Mahhov: Domestic Developments in the Construction Chemical Industry
Wacker Chemie, D. Firsaev: The Main Technological Trends in the European Markets for Drymix Mortars

Admission per person is 350 Euro, reduced to 270 Euro for drymix.info members (field trip is included). Drymix mortar producers pay only 150 Euro per person. Delegate registration for international visitors is available on the drymix.info website. For payments in Roubles within Russia, it is better to register with Quintet at baltimix.ru. A suitable hotel nearby is Hotel Cosmos, from which there is also a shuttle bus to MCU in the morning of 30.1.18 (exact schedule to be published later).

3. The 4th Australia Drymix Mortar Meeting, 15. February 2018 at Q-Station in Manly (Sydney, NSW)

From the beginning of time, aboriginies dwelled on this splendid peninsula governing which was later to become the Sydney Harbor (North Point, Manly) and here were the first encounters with colonists in January 1788. Apart from being an important strategic location, the area was used as a quarantine station from 1828 until 1998, when passengers of entire ships were quarantined there to protect Sydney and Australia from diseases such as the plague, smallpox, cholera or the spanish flu. Q-Station, as the area was called later, is part of Australia's National Heritage and a National Park Site. And, since 2006, also a hotel - and this is where we come in:

The 4th Australian Drymix Mortar Meeting will take place on Thursday, 15. February 2018 at Q-Station, Sydney, NSW. As in our previous events, this event will give drymix mortar experts from Australia, New Zealand and beyond to meet, network and exchange new ideas in a casual and concentrated atmosphere. The scientific program will be presented in our next newsletter. For the tourists among us: there is a great and cheap boat ride from Circular Quay (between the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge) to Manly, you should at least make it once.

drymix.info club on Wednesday, 14.2.18, from 20:00: all those already arrived are welcome to join our casual evening at the boilerhouse for drinks and snacks (everybody pays on his own - unless we find a sponsor for this).

Admission per person is 350 Euro, reduced to 270 Euro for drymix.info members. Drymix mortar producers pay only 150 Euro per person. Delegate registration is available on the drymix.info website.

4. NEW: 3rd Philippines Drymix Mortar Meeting, Manila, 13. March 2018

During the 12th Annual SEADMA Conference in Nusajaya Johor last week, the Philippine Drymix Mortar Manufacturer's Association PhilDMMA and the SEADMA Executive Committee decided to host yet another drymix mortar meeting in The Philippines: the meeting will take place in Manila on 13. March 2018 (immediately before the Worldbex Construction Exhibition), the location is yet to be determined. A Call for Papers for this event has been issued and is available from drymix.info, it expires on 31. December 2017. Of course PhilDMMA and SEADMA would appreciate the support of the industry, please give us a signal soon (those confirming within December 2017 will get a 10% discount on our member rates for sponsoring; admissions excluded). The scientific program will be published in our next newsletter.

Admission per person is 350 Euro, reduced to 270 Euro for drymix.info members. Drymix mortar producers pay only 150 Euro per person. Confirmed PhilDMMA members pay only 100 Euro per person.

5. The 6th American Drymix Mortar Conference admmc six, Chicago, IL, USA, April 26, 2018

As announced earlier, the 6th American Drymix Mortar Conference and Industry Showcase admmc six will take place in Chicago, IL, USA on April 26, 2018. Our location is (like back in 2010 for admmc two) the Hyatt Regency Hotel McCormick Place. admmc six gives drymix mortar experts the ideal occasion to meet, chat, network and grasp future trends for our industry. Technical Chairman is Prof. Dr. Johann Plank, Technische Universität München (TUM), our Drymix Mortar Yearbook 2018 will be published on occasion of this event.

Admission per person is 350 Euro, reduced to 270 Euro for drymix.info members. Drymix mortar producers pay only 150 Euro per person. Registration is already available on our website (Visa or Mastercard required, sorry, no other credit cards can be accepted).

6. Light Ore Joins drymix.info as Industrial Partner

LightOre GmbH, Gera, Germany has decided to join drymix.info as Industrial Partner. LightOre and its sister company DonRoad GmbH, also in Gera, are fully owned subsidiaries of DonRoad, Voronezh, Russia. The company started as producer of solid glass beads for road markings in 2004 and then developed a wider portfolio of functional lightweight fillers. The main raw materials are (recycled) glass and diatomite rock. LightOre produces pelletized foam glass (open and closed cell, the commercial name is Ore Grain) and solid glass spheres as well as sintered foam glass panels and blocks for acoustical and other non-structural applications. The functional fillers can be used in a variety of drymix mortars and will influence the yield, the workability as well as the (acoustic and thermal) insulation properties of such mortar. Other Applications include lightweight concrete, industrial filtering, road marking and automotive & military.

We warmly welcome LightOre to our Community.

7. Xella Sells Fermacell to James Hardie

Xella International GmbH, Duisburg, Germany, has anounced selling its cement-fibre board business Fermacell GmbH, Calbe, Germany, to James Hardie Pty. Ltd., Sydney, Australia. James Hardie, founded in 1888 claims the invention of cement fibre boards and has reached a turnover of 2.370 mio Euro in 2017. After buying insulation Manufacturer Ursa Insulation and selling Fels-Werke, this is Xella´s third big transaction in its 2017 restructuring process (we reported earlier).

8. Poraver Starts Construction to Build its Third Production Unit in Germany

Dennert-Poraver GmbH, Schüsselfeld, Germany has started to prepare the terrain for the construction of its third expanded glass factory. The location is near its headquarters in Schlüsselfeld. Poraver has bought a site in an industrial zone with 53.000 square metres. The new plant is designed to host 8 production lines with an annual capacity of 240.000 cu.m. (equivalent to 80.000 t) of product, eventually almost doubling the production capcacities of Poraver in Postbauer-Heng, Germany, and Innisfill, Ontario, Canada. Commisioning of the new plant is expected to be in 2020, it will initially employ 40 people and 120. in the long term.

9. PSLoop Builds EPS and XPS Recycling Pilot Plant in The Netherlands

The Polystyrene Loop Cooperative (PSLoop), Etten-Leur, The Netherlands, has recently been founded in order to build a recycling pilot plant for expanded poly styrene (EPS) and extruded PS (XPS) used in insulating buildings in Europe since the mid 60ies of the past century. PolyStyreneLoop is an initiative of the European EPS industry (over 40 EPS producers are members). The pilot plant will be constructed in Terneuzen, The Netherlands according to a design which was developed by major research institutions such as Fraunhofer-Institute and CreaCycle GmbH, both Germany. The plant will transform mechanically separated and cleaned EPS waste. The material is undergoing a solvent extraction (the solvent is regained and run in a loop, thus the name) and yields fully re-useable polystyrene polymer (cradle-to-cradle process). The sludge obtained in the process undergoes a destruction step of Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD, a flame retardant, we reported earlier) with a bromide recovery. The developers claim this process can be applied to recycle all sorts of used mechanically purified organic polymer waste. The new plant will have an annual capacity of 3.000 t and is expected to come on-stream in the third Quarter of 2018. The European Commission supports this project with 2,7 mio Euro. PSLoop is also working on installing a logistical concept to collect EPS and XPS from construction debris, the 500 t of material needed for the pilot plant initially is supposed to be collected in Germany, The Netherlands, France and Belgium.

10. Rockwool Acquires Swiss Mineral Wool Producer Flumroc

Rockwool international A/S, Hedehusene, Denmark has recently taken over the remaining stocks of mineral wool manufacturer Flumroc AG, Flems, Switzerland. Already back in 1969, Flumroc had taken up a technical license from Rckwool for the production of mineral wool and affiliated products, Rockwool was holding 43,5% of the stocks as part of this agreement. Flumroc has about 230 employees in every region of the country and sells its products mainly in Switzerland, turnover in 2016 was 57 mio Euro.

The drymix.info Newsletter is being sent exclusively to registered subscribers and all members of drymix.info. Editor-in-Chief: Ferdinand Leopolder. Back issues will be published on www.drymix.info.

Should you want to discontinue your subscription, please return this newsletter with the reference UNSUBSCRIBE to info (at) drymix. info. All information © 2003 - 2017 by drymix. info, Ferdinand Leopolder, Tegernseer Landstrasse 26, D-81541 München.

Sincerely Yours, Ferdinand Leopolder