Hope announce major investment

Company celebrates second anniversary with £14 million investment at Hope Works
 
HOPE Construction Materials, the UK’s leading independent suppliers of cement and concrete, are investing £14 million to boost production at their Hope Works cement plant.
 
The company, which this week celebrates its second year of cement production, has initiated several major capital projects which will help improve the plant’s sustainability and operational efficiency, and help secure future supplies for construction.
 
Hope have owned and operated the cement works since January 2013 and say they have made significant strides forward, using state-of-the-art technology, in the two years since then. The company believes the £14 million investment will help it meet ambitious growth plans in the coming years.

Located in the Hope Valley, in the Derbyshire Peak District, the cement works originally opened 85 years ago and has played a major role in UK cement production ever since, supplying around 15% of the UK’s cement consumption. Hope Works is also an important employer in the local area, providing jobs for around 200 people plus a range of contractors.
 
Investment projects at the site include:

• Completion of a multi-million pound system to increase the amount of sustainable waste-derived fuels the operation can accommodate
• An internal overhaul of the iconic Hope chimney, which will involve the construction and use of a second temporary chimney for a number of months
• Construction of a new 20,000-tonne storage facility to increase the stockholding of cement clinker
• Improvements to the way raw materials are fed into the two 70m long x 4.9m diameter kilns
• Maintenance and refurbishment of a large section of one of the two kilns. The delivery and installation of this section of kiln has involved months of project planning, complex transport logistics and the use of oversize cranes on site.

Hope Works operations manager Ed Cavanagh said: ‘We are very excited to be involved in the largest investment programme on site for many years. This works has operated for more than 85 years and directly employs nearly 200 people, making a massive contribution to the UK construction industry, producing 1.5 million tonnes of cement in 2014.
 
‘The installation of the new kiln shell section is a spectacular piece of engineering involving several teams and very careful planning. We are delighted with the way that this individual project has evolved and look forward to seeing the others progress to schedule.

‘Once this programme is complete, we will have an upgraded production plant, ready for the challenges of an increasingly busy time for building in the UK.’