Kharkov Cement Plant efficiency in late 1950s in the context of USSR transition to mass construction

Cement is one of the substantial construction materials and is most frequently used as a bonding material. Despite a rather frequent continuous use of cement there are still a lot of discussions concerning its efficient production. Besides discussions of pure technological advantages and disadvantages of dry and wet productions of cement, the economic efficiency of types and sizes of cement plants is still not so clear. The shrinkage of cement sales in the first years after the collapse of the USSR showed the weak point of large cement plants: the downfall in output below the calculative figures resulted in sharp growth of the production cost due to the expensive assets. Small cement plants / milling units found themselves in a better situation. Relatively cheap assets, simple technology and small product ranges at the existing sales level made it possible for them to stay positive. However, the sales crises no matter how long they are always come to an end. And when the active demand comes the efficiency of large cement plants becomes high and this has already been proved by the whole history of the cement industry in the USSR. So as of today the issue of economic efficiency of small cement plants / milling units under the conditions of active demand is still open. A detailed study of the USSR history of cement industry can help decide if the milling units are efficient under peak demand for cement. For example, in Kharkov during the start of mass construction using reinforced concrete in the end of the 1950s - the beginning of the 1960s there was a cement plant / milling unit with the capacity of 300 kt per annum. This plant used completely external raw materials. However, the analysis of its efficiency proves that it was no less than the average among the large cement plants in the USSR with the capacity of over 1 Mt and their own raw materials. This high efficiency was ensured by the production program calculated in details and strictly followed and based on: a) a continuous flow of the raw materials backed up by the sales in the region; b) the use of energy saving high output technologies; c) optimization of the equipment and production process automation in use. So the study of the work of Kharkov Cement Plant proves that although milling units cannot live without plants with their own raw materials they still can be efficient and necessary under the increased demand for cement.

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