Investing in our plants

Our Parkstone plant in Dorset is benefitting from our investment in a new dryer, which is helping the team to work more effectively and efficiently. The existing dryer was 20 years old and was becoming costly to maintain, so the investment in a new version was needed. There has been a marked improvement in temperature controls, and the faster drying times have also supported with swifter loading of materials for customers.

The new equipment reduces downtime, minimising impacts on our busy collect trade while improving fuel efficiency and emissions. As a result, the carbon footprint will be reduced, and it also enhances the life of the filter bags which are used to minimise dust emissions. Customer feedback has been positive – clients have commented on how the product quality is consistently good and how they have noticed reduced waiting times since the installation. There has been a 36% reduction in gas usage of 3.7 m³ per tonne since the new drier was installed.

Over the last year, our Dunbar cement plant in Scotland received extensive investment to modernise the plant incorporating the latest technology to deliver several new benefits. These include the installation of a new state-of-the-art cement mill to help deliver a major improvement in energy efficiency at the plant, and the expansion of its rail operations to support the company’s commitment to transporting as much product as possible on the rail network.

In 2021, Tarmac gained approval for a new chlorine bypass at our Tunstead cement plant in the Peak District. The chlorine bypass was commissioned in the summer of 2022 and has been operating since then. The bypass successfully passed all environmental testing and is now helping the plant reduce the use of fossil fuels by increasing the consumption of waste-derived fuels. With the potential for alternative fuels to make up 70 per cent of fuel sources at the plant, the new system will save an expected 9,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually.