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Alfran started its activities in Mexico in 2003, so for more than 15 years we have been offering our materials and services on high temperature solutions for major industries in Mexico, such as steel, non-ferrous metals, cement, lime, oil&gas and energy, among others.

Alfran Mexico offers solutions in refractory, fireproofing, thermal insulation and industrial painting, mainly, both for new construction projects, as well as maintenance. From our offices in Nuevo Leon and the State of Mexico, our commitment of exceptional customer service can be confirmed by companies as important as ArcelorMittal, WEG, Mexicana del Cobre, Cemex, Rebasa, Pemex or Iberdrola, to name a few.

In 2019, Alfran employed more than 200 workers in Mexico. It is the subsidiary with the largest number of employees in our entire Group of companies, which has other American subsidiaries in Brazil, Colombia and the United States of America.

Refractories will always be an essential and vital industry for the manufacture of countless products that are fundamental to our everyday life. At the same time, our top priority is, and always has been, the safety and well-being of our employees as well as the environment around us. Since the earliest stages of the COVID 19 threat, ALFRAN has been proactive in taking preventive measures, to guarantee the health and safety of all workers, by designing an Action and Contingency Plan with our Health and Safety department. This includes complying with all the recommendations and guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO), both in our facilities and outside them, favoring and prioritizing teleworking , in those activities that allows it.

At these times, as always, ALFRAN continues to be available to all our customers in all our locations, to provide, as we have done for over 100 years, “High Temperature Solutions”

• WRA COVID 19 Position Statement

Our Managing Director, José María Dominguez, informs us about the importance of the refractory materials for almost any basic industry and its consideration as an essential activity within strategic sectors such as power generation, oil&gas, food, incineration, copper, aluminum, steel, etc.

These sectors are involved in the conservation and maintenance of the critical infrastructure that ensures the production and distribution of essential services that is why the activities carried out by ALFRAN cannot be suspended despite the health emergency.

On 13^th December, the traditional Christmas lunch of Grupo Aldomer took place in Spain. It was held in Seville and was attended by employees from different parts of the world, as well as members of the Board of Directors. We spent a friendly day and enjoyed one more year, the fellowship and complicity that offers this annual meeting.

The Christmas lunch was the closing of our Annual Convention, a conference of project’s presentations and objectives that showed our work fulfilled and our coming expectations for the future.

During our Christmas lunch, we gave the prize for innovation and the health&safety prizes, being evaluated:

ATTITUDE in the compliance with the safety standards of Grupo Aldomer, as well as the safety rules and procedures in the plants where we develop our activity. COLLABORATION by detecting unsafe situations and reporting them. And CONTRIBUTION in safety improvements.

For many years, we have been working closely with Lafarge Holcim Jerez in the supply of materials and services. This time we have replaced a section of rotary kiln shell with 4.4m diameter in the outlet area, implying the installation of refractory bricks during the scheduled maintenance shutdown.

In order to join the new brick in the 8th meter of the kiln and the existing coating in the 11th meter and above (stable coating), so there was no different levels and would serve as a base to create the new coating. These areas were re-grown with Magnesia-Spinel based castable, Alfran Mag 85 HG. To carry out this job, the surface of the brick was cleaned by sandblasting to facilitate the adhesion of the gunning material to the old brick. Once cleaned, the area to be re-grown was distributed in 3 rings of 1 ml each, and the castable was gunned by high-pressure gunning system increasing the average thickness by 80-90 mm.

It is known that the rotary kiln has started up production and the projected area has fulfilled the objective set forth: to preserve and serve as a base for creating the new coating. We have, therefore, achieved the full satisfaction of the customer and the possibility of being able to continue cooperating and adding value by offering different solutions.

Saving costs, timing, environmental benefits and safety.

For Gerdau Corsa, as well as for Alfran, Health&Safety is the most important thing. They are constantly improving in terms of safety. During the shutdown, they implemented the “ARE YOU READY” plan, which basically consists of leaving evidence of the requirements in terms of safety carried out by the employees who participated during the shutdown, either to recognize good practices or to amend unsafe acts or conditions.

Alfran participated actively and was considered the company with the highest participation during the shutdown. Several of our collaborators received recognition from the customer.

How to make Health and Safety a Value

Generating processes of reflection and self-knowledge, through which people acquire skills and self-confidence to take responsibility for their own safety and welfare, achieving positive changes as human beings at individual and social level

The Conference on Knowledge, Circular Economy and Recycling in the Refractory Materials Sector was organized in October by the Refractory Section of the Spanish Society of Ceramics and Glass. The Conference had the collaboration of the National Association of Manufacturers of Refractory, Materials and Related Services (ANFRE) and the Institute of Ceramics and Glass (ICV).

With the participation of more than 70 registered attendants, from Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Sweden and Germany, belonging to companies in the sector (Raw Materials, Producers, Users and Recyclers), Research Centers, Technology Centers, Associations and different Ministries of the Government of Spain, it has been considered a beneficial day from the scientific-technical point of view for all participants.

Strategically, Europe’s dependence on raw materials in our industrial sector makes the search for alternative supply possibilities a necessity. These include the ability to properly manage by-products of our own activity and even others as a source of resources.

The speakers shared their experiences from different approaches in the refractory world: End users and, therefore, waste generators after their useful life, Valorizers, Manufacturers, Academics and Researchers as well as Institutional Regulators.

This Conference on Knowledge, Circular Economy and Recycling in the Sector had the participation of colleagues from ALFRAN. Among them José María Dominguez, as speaker at the closing table, where current issues and some possible future approaches were discussed. Also present was Margarita Álvarez, vice president of the Refractories section, as part of the organizing and chairwoman committee during the session.

Contract for Fireproofing, Supply and Application of Alfran Fire Ind in the PSA PQ Hydrogen Recovery Project of Cepsa La Rábida, Spain.

At the end of August 2018, the O&G EMEA company was awarded the Fireproofing Contract for the PSA PQ Hydrogen Recovery Project of Cepsa La Rábida. The Fireproofing tasks began in mid-July and were completed in mid-September 2019, managing to finish the work before the pre-established deadline.

The scope included the fireproofing of equipment skirts, fireproofing of the structure of the PV-C-1 compressor, Pipe Rack, PV-E-2 air cooler and Rack,

Finally, 37.5 MT of Fire Ind have been installed in more than 1,200 m2 of the structures and equipment described above

Again, CEPSA Engineering relies on Alfran to carry out the work of Ignifugado for its latest refining projects.

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