Summary

The project was carried out by Lafarge Dakproducten Tegelen. Information was gathered from different disciplines. In the beginning it looked like Lafarge needed a new kiln. However, having started the project it soon became clear we should not jump to conclusions.
First of all we needed to know what we have to produce. Looking into the future is hard to do, so some assumptions are made. With this data we proceed. Mr dipl. Ing. A. Laumans acted as a sounding board, and in cooperation with him and drawing on his knowledge we got closer to our aim. Producing far more tiles in Tegelen at an acceptable (lower) cost price.
One of the problems is that Lafarge produces tiles in various ways, making comparisons difficult. Overall the market is becoming increasingly demanding which means that some of the proposals, which cost money, also have to be carried out in the near future to meet the market demand.
Some problems we defined are: Producing tiles at different refractory, U-cassettes and H-cassettes, quality aspects. Producing tiles in different kilns. Producing products in very small quantities. And during the project, the sale of 65% of shares to an investment company.
These and other aspects meant that the project boundaries were difficult to establish and subject to fluctuation. In the course the process preconditions changed. However by taking a concurrent approach, we managed to get a clear view of what was required for our purpose.
The result of this project can be summarized as that we have to produce more tiles, the Lingl production needs to increase from a 3-shift to a 4 shift operating plant. Overhauling or renewal of the old Gibbons kiln is not strictly necessary to achieve the sales budgets in the near future. However there are more aspects to validate an overhaul like this, for example: the gas consumption, the reliability and safety. Also the strategic position inside the Lafarge Group has to be taken into account. Therefore whether the pay back time is acceptable, or the only issue, depends on the vision of our group and shareholders in short terms, as well as their vision of how to use their production facilities in the future.