You're invited to visit MAAG Gear in Milan, Italy - a company with a rich legacy in the mechanical engineering world, founded by an Italian entrepreneur in 1960. Today, we are a global leader in high-precision, efficient, and sustainable gear solutions, serving the cement and mining industries as well as a range of other sectors. Our advanced technology and engineering expertise enable us to meet the complex needs of heavy industry, delivering performance and reliability while driving sustainability forward. With a commitment to innovation and excellence, we empower our clients to operate at peak efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and achieve lasting success in a rapidly evolving world.
During the Production Unit Tour, you will experience the impressive scale of our massive girth gears and a wide range of specialized gearboxes that power various industries. You’ll feel the energy of our passionate team, and we’re confident you'll return with a deeper understanding of advanced technology from a company that’s truly shaping the future.
Event Schedule: 2:00 pm: Depart from conference hotel 2:30 pm: Arrive at MAAG Gear factory, refreshments, PPE distribution, safety briefing, and introduction 3:00 pm: Factory tour 4:00 pm: Regroup for refreshments, comfort break (buffet), farewells 4:45 pm: Depart from factory 5:30 pm: Return to conference hotel
To book your place on this free visit, please contact the following directly:
A spouse tour programme will be organised during the conference, including attendance at the Gala Dinner and Farewell Party.
The Spouse Tour programme will include two days of tours, on 17 & 18 September, taking in many of the highlights of Milan and the surrounding countryside, and which will give participants fabulous lifelong memories!
The spouse programme is charged, at cost, at UK£345 - please book during registration.
We will be very pleased to welcome all our fabulous spouses from around the world, to greet old friends and to make new ones, while having a ball and seeing the world!
The Spouse Tour programme includes attendance at the Global CemFuels Awards Dinner. Please register for the Spouse Tour online, during the conference registration process. Otherwise, please contact amanda.crow@propubs.com.
Please pick up your 'Spouse Tours' badge and programme at the conference registration desk, from 16:00 - 20:00 on 16 September 2025, at the conference venue..
Global CemFuels Conference - Media
18th Global CemFuels Conference & Exhibition on alternative fuels and hydrogen for cement and lime 2025
BOOK THE TRAINING COURSE DURING REGISTRATION - or contact Mrs Amanda Crown, amanda.crow@propubs.com
What the course attendees said...
Loved the information: Great crash course on AF - well done!
Thank you so much for this valuable course
Extremely insightful and useful, with well-informed presenters
Really interesting - lots of information
Programme
09:00 Registration and networking
09:30 Presenters and delegates introduce themselves
10:00 course starts
Basics of clinker production AF Development as Best Practices of the cement and lime sector Main AF KPIs and business models for AF Development (Waste to Resource Value Chain)
Coffee break and networking
Main AF types and how and where to feed them (Co-Processing) Typical AF production processes (Pre-Processing)
Lunch
Critical Elements and Properties of AF Main Impacts of AF on process, quality & emissions and the way to mitigate them Typical AF Quality Control (QC) and Assurance procedures
Coffee break and networking
Design and Process Safety aspects of Pre- and Co-processing Wrap-up and conclusion
17:00 - Training ends
16:00 - 21:00 Conference Registration 18:00 - 20:00 Welcome party in Exhibition area
Below: CemFuels Short Course 2023
Global CemFuels Conference - Field Trip
What's the secret behind the top-performance in waste recovery at ENCI-Maastricht?
"Vision" and "passion", that are the key-words behind the extra-ordinary results that ENCI achieves in alternative fuels- and raw material usage. In the early sixties the plant started as one of the first kilns in Europe to co-process shale, a residue of the local mining industry. A next remarkable step was made in the nineties, long before the word biomass and CO2 trading became popular, by utilising the potential of sewage sludge as a fuel and raw material substitute. Today, the plant is still experimenting with new waste streams in order to remain competitive in financial and ecological terms.
Early mover in recognizing the value of waste
The oil crisis of 1973 was still "unthinkable" when ENCI decided to start co-processing shale, a residue from the local mining industry. Although the heat value was extremely low, due to the high ash-content, the entrepreneurs of ENCI believed that it was possible to produce high-quality clinker with this material in the fuel mix, as long as the shale was grinded fine enough. Significant investments were made in grinding equipment and storage and feeding lines. Finally it turned out to be a big success and the shale usage lasted till 1999, so more than 30 years!
By using the shale the management, engineers and operators learned to trust "low quality" fuels. Next to this, a good relation was build with the Flame-Institute in Ijmuiden, that could simulate the burning behaviour in a small scale kiln.
Early mover in biomass wastes
In the nineties, the landfilling and use as fertilizer of sewage sludge was banned in the Netherlands, due to risks associated with it. ENCI initiated a platform with all sludge producers in the area to investigate potential solutions. Although the sewage sludge, even after drying, would have a low calorific value, the ENCI-engineers were convinced that it would work. At that time there was no CO2-trading market, so no-one was interested in this biomass. ENCI however investigated intensively the burning behaviour, health and safety-aspects and made large scale pilot tests. It was the first plant in the world that started to grind sewage sludge.
Finally all this entrepreneurial work in technology ànd in developing a public private partnership with the waste water treatment company in Limburg, resulted in a unique feature: until today, the plant is replacing 30% of its primary fuel by sewage sludge.
Early mover in exchange of knowledge
Already in the nineties the cement plants recognized that sharing non-commercial knowledge gives mutual benefits. Becoming part of HeidelbergCement, ENCI-engineers were well prepared to share the knowledge with other plants within the Group. Meanwhile, the knowledge of ENCI has been very helpful for sewage sludge applications in Germany, USA, Belgium, Czech Republic, Turkey, China and Sweden. On the other hand, ENCI benefitted from the knowledge in HC-Group on valorising hazardous waste.
Development of application of sulphuric acid ammonia residue
The experience of HeidelbergCement in hazardous waste usage is a considerable support in the current evaluation of the use of ZA-oil, a residue from a sulphuric acid ammonia plant that is operated by the chemical multinational DSM. The material has been carefully analyzed on its composition and health and safety aspects.
The ZA-oil will be stored in a separate tank and will be supplied by a just-in-time principle. In order to make that possible a transparent and professional agreement and cooperation with the waste management company involved is key.
The visitors of ENCI on 7 march as part of the Global Fuels Conference in Aachen will be able to see also this new facility in operation.
