Customer experience
Customer Story: NZIC
Customer Story: NZIC
Boosting cement throughput by 40 percent at NZIC
New Zealand Independent Cement (NZIC) is a new entrant in the New Zealand cement supply market, focused on delivering cement and solid solutions across Aotearoa New Zealand. To scale up cement supply on the South Island, NZIC decided to move from a temporary installation to a permanent processing line. Together with Skookum and Dinnissen, they invested in a new bulk bag unloading and dense phase conveying system with extensive pneumatic transport. This installation is designed to deliver 100 tons of cement per hour and is expected to improve throughput time by about 40 percent once in operation in New Zealand.
In this customer story with NZIC, you will read:
- How NZIC is scaling its cement supply on the South Island with a new permanent processing line
- How NZIC uses pneumatic conveying to deliver around 100 tons of cement per hour
- How NZIC expects about a 40 percent improvement in cement throughput time
"It’s impressive to see the project come off the drawings and into reality. We’re very happy with how it has come together."
MR. Hanger, National Manager Operations, logistics and engineering at NZIC
Dinnissen’s solution in NZIC’s new processing line
New Zealand Independent Cement is focused on building strong foundations for a better New Zealand. As a new entrant into the cement supply market, the company chose to invest in a permanent processing line to scale cement supply on the South Island. “We are moving from a temporary installation to a permanent setup that allows us to scale our operations properly,” says Sarn Hanger, National Manager Operations, Logistics and Engineering at NZIC.
For this project, NZIC partnered with Skookum, which has more than 25 years of experience in capital equipment, design, installation, and commissioning. Based on earlier cooperation, Skookum brought Dinnissen into the project. “We worked with Dinnissen on a project with a large mineral handling facility, which was very successful,” says Greg Bester from Skookum. “That gave us confidence they could deliver the right solution for NZIC as well.”
At Dinnissen’s factory, the complete process line for NZIC was assembled for a factory acceptance test (FAT). Seeing the full installation in operation was an important step for NZIC. “It’s impressive to see the project come off the drawings and into reality,” says Mr. Hanger. “We’re very happy with how it has come together.”
"We expect around a 40 percent improvement in throughput time for cement through the pneumatic conveying system"
MR. Hanger, National Manager Operations, logistics and engineering at NZIC
How the system and pneumatic conveying process work
The system NZIC has purchased from Dinnissen starts with a bulk bag unloading solution. From there, cement is transferred via a dense-phase conveying system into storage silos. From these silos, NZIC loads cement into road tankers for shipment to customers.
A significant part of the installation consists of pneumatic conveying. This technology is essential because NZIC needs to deliver about 100 tons of cement per hour over a certain distance. “Pneumatic conveying was the appropriate method for transporting cement at this capacity,” explains Mr. Bester.
The engineering process involved several challenges, such as designing equipment capable of reliably achieving 100 tons per hour. The installation also had to be designed so it could be disassembled, packed into containers and shipped more than 18,000 kilometers to the other side of the world.
Carrying out the FAT at Dinnissen’s factory hall allowed NZIC and Skookum to see the complete line in operation before shipment. “Being based 24 hours away, doing the FAT here saves us considerable time and money,” says Mr. Hanger. “It also allowed us to identify a few operational improvements before dispatch.”
Results and expected performance in New Zealand
By performing the FAT at Dinnissen, NZIC avoided the need for Dinnissen staff to travel to New Zealand for initial testing. Instead, NZIC sent a small team to Sevenum to run the system together with the engineers responsible for building it. Once the line is operational, NZIC expects to see a strong improvement in process efficiency. “We expect around a 40 percent improvement in throughput time for cement through the pneumatic conveying system,” says Mr. Hanger.
Collaboration between NZIC, Skookum and Dinnissen
The cooperation between Skookum and Dinnissen is built on a strong working history. “From the preliminary stages to detailed engineering, the interaction with Dinnissen has been very good,” says Mr. Bester. Mr. Hanger highlights the quality visible on the factory floor. “The level of professionalism and the quality of work at Dinnissen is impressive. The investment in technologies like CNC and laser cutting, and keeping as much of the process in-house as possible, really stood out.”
Dinnissen’s local presence in New Zealand also played an important role. “Fons kept us informed throughout the project and supported us along the way,” says Mr. Bester.
Fons Kuijpers, Manager Dinnissen Pacific, confirms the value of local representation: “Being in the same time zone makes communication easier, and having someone locally helps connect the right people within Dinnissen.”
This close cooperation between NZIC, Skookum and Dinnissen is now moving toward the final step: commissioning the installation in New Zealand, where it will help NZIC scale its cement supply with a permanent, high-capacity processing line.
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