First cement train arrives for loading at Padeswood

The first train has arrived for loading cement deliveries at our Padeswood works near Mold, Flintshire, after almost three decades.

This milestone follows upgrades to the site’s rail loading facility and is part of a £24 million investment programme to improve efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and increase output at the North Wales plant, principally through the integration of a vertical roller mill – capable of grinding up to 650,000 tonnes of clinker a year.

The installation of three new cement silos alongside the existing railhead at the site will allow up to three trains a week to be loaded with cement and transported to our depots in London, Bristol or Glasgow for use in projects across the UK. This will help to reduce our lorry movements by road and minimise traffic locally. 

Jim Claydon, Heidelberg Materials UK cement managing director, said: “The rail link was previously used to bring coal in to fire the plant’s kilns, but the last train to come into Padeswood for loading material for delivery was in 1990. This new integrated solution marks significant progress in our capabilities to supply cement to customers from the site, while taking tankers off the road, and is proof that investment in securing the long-term future of the plant is starting to deliver.”

In addition to the new rail loading facility, other upgrades at the cement works include a plastic packing machine, the re-commissioning of an existing paper packaging machine and an upgrade in the capability to use recycled paper and plastics as fuel.