Investing in a cleaner future KCM 2000

INVESTING IN A

CLEANER FUTURE

KCM 2000 is the largest producer of lead and zinc alloys in south-east Europe. Its privatisation in 2000 heralded a new dawn of investment and product innovation. Philip Yorke reports on the transformation of a company that brims with renewed confidence and a positive vision for the future.

The KCM 2000 Group is headquartered, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and was founded ten years ago as a joint stock company to bring together all the services of the companies that work within the group’s central manufacturing operation – the KCM SA smelter. The KCM Group comprises ten synergistic companies and is one of the biggest industrial groups in Bulgaria. The group is set to become the single most important influence in the economic success story of the country. KCM employs more than 2,000 people, all of whom are focussed on developing system solutions and innovative products in the field of mineral raw materials, process engineering and trade.

All KCM 2000 Group companies arecommitted to improving the sustainability and environmental well-being of their diverse operations. Subsequently, the company has been awarded the quality certifications; ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and BS OHAS 18001 in support of the management of these processes.

From strength to strength

As far as the production of zinc alloy products is concerned, KCM plans to increase capacity from 75,000 tons to 100,000 tons over the next two years. The company manages its own extensive zinc–lead mining facility near Plodiv as well as a large engineering and industrial service company and is a major shareholder in the country’s largest industrial and commercial zone complex.

Building on its success over the past ten years, KCM has made significant investments in a number of key facilities. These include a state-of-the-art battery recycling facility, a wastewater termination plant and a zinc roasting and sulphuric acid facility. All of these make a significant contribution to improving the reduction in the company’s carbon footprint. According to the project objectives, the use of recycled raw materials in the manufacturing processes will be significantly higher as a result of these strategic investments.

In the third quarter of 2010, the company also commenced another major investment project costing more than €100 million. This was for the erection of a totally new lead facility that employs the latest environmentally friendly technology. This is in addition to an investment for the upgrading of the company’s zinc manufacturing facility. The key markets for the products manufactured in these plants are batteries for the automotive market and galvanised products for the building and automotive industries.

KCM’s domestic market for its smelterproducts is around 10 per cent of total

production, with the majority of the products going for export to Turkey, Greece and other Mediterranean countries. However, with its new production facilities in place, the company is now moving into western European markets for the sale of its zinc alloys.

The company plans to produce a wider range of alloys for a variety of applications including those for protection against corrosion. In addition, all types of precious metals are manufactured through KCM’s smelter, including alloys for coins as well as for gold and silver specially treated for banks and ‘rolled’ precious metals for industry.

Focus on Europe and technology

KCM’s non-ferrous metals smelter is dedicated to the recovery and refining of metals and to producing products for customers both in the Balkans and in Western Europe. KCM’s chief executive Nikola Dobrev said, “We will continue to focus on both our local and export markets. However, South eastern Europe and western Europe are our core geographical markets today, with countries such as Turkey and Israel also becoming increasingly important to us. We are committed to ensuring that our business remains competitive and sustainable and that we will continue to develop new, innovative solutions for our customers.”

Building on its substantial experience gained during the company’s restructuring process and the implementation of new plant and technology, KCM is also able to offer a wider range of technological consultancy services. These include conceptual, technical and economic research, specialised high-tech and laboratory testing procedures, the design of new systems and installations using AutoCAD and Inventor Professional 2010 software and the licensed monitoring of equipment.

Additional solutions and production know-how are also available in fields such as continuous lead slag fuming, zinc dust production, the production of zinc and lead alloys, the processing of fluids and the recycling of waste water cooling as well as the recovery of gold from gravity concentrate.

Conceptual investments

KCM’s most important ongoing conceptual investment project is the ‘Process Innovation and Production Increase Project (PIPIP). This was started in 2008 and is expected to be finalised in 2013.The PIPIP’s main objective is to achieve environmentally appropriate and competitive production of non-ferrous and precious metals, alloys and chemical products. The concept includes energy-saving processes and options for the processing of recyclable materials, as well as for the reduction of greenhouse gases and emissions.

Cutting-edge technologies have been imported from countries at the forefront of this technology to ensure its success. The estimated cost of this major project amounts to more than €150 million. n