The savings on energy will derive from the higher efficiency of the new kiln relative to that of kiln 4 which has been put on reserve.

"The project has brought down the cost of personnel needed to manufacture a tonne of clinker because it takes the same amount of persons to run (kiln) 5 as it does (kiln) 4," said project manager Ken Wiltshire. "Kiln 5 requires 70 per cent of the fuel needed by kiln 4 to produce a tonne and 50 per cent of the fuel required by kiln 3."

Management is eyeing the possibility of undertaking a project to improve the efficiency of kiln 4 but that won't be for another four years, should the project be justified.

Kiln 5 can produce 970,000 tonnes of clinker, which can make 1.25 million tonnes of cement, while kiln 4 can produce 400,000 tonnes clinker. Kiln 3, has been taken out of service.
According to Wiltshire, deriving savings from modernisation projects prove to be difficult in a fast changing international environment.

"For example, equipment bought in 2004 when coal was US$20 by time installed four years later coal reached US$60," lamented Wiltshire. The manufacturer will of course spend less on energy relative to what it would have without the expansion drive - the cost of bunker C is four times the cost of coal per energy unit - and will see real dollar savings should the price of coal, and petcoke, which are used to fire the kiln now, drop.

Carib Cement's operating cost has been running at $2 billion each quarter for the year thus far, up by 30 per cent over the comparative quarters in 2007.

The final stage of the expansion project, involving the construction of Mill 5, is now expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2009.

Mill 5 has the capacity to mix 831,000 tonnes of cement, which is equal to the company's total annual sales. Running mill 4 along with 5 brings the company's output to 1.5 million tonnes while running mills 3 through 5 brings annual capacity to 1.8 million tonnes.

Local demand for cement has contracted since the start of the project which began in 2006.

Annual sales in 2007 was 813,448 tonnes, down from 843,295 tonnes the year before. Cement sales for the first six months of 2008 was 394,068 tonnes, down from 409,427 tonnes during the comparative period in 2007.

There was also room for imports into the market this year - 120,000 tonnes by Carib Cement's general manager Anthony Haynes' estimate -suggesting total demand locally has fallen below a million tonnes a year.

This has prompted the cement manufacturer to determine the optimal level of exports it can undertake.

For next year, Haynes expects his company to export 100,000 tonnes of cement.