To speak of the use of lime is to speak of the history of humanity. This chemical compound derived from limestone is a basic material used in multiple economic sectors, such as agriculture, construction, mining, feed production, or the paper, glass, and tanning industries. Without lime, for example, steel could not be manufactured, as it is indispensable in the production process of steel mills. Likewise, lime is necessary for purifying polluting gases and also for the process of water purification and remineralization and wastewater treatment.
In Catalonia, there are four lime factories. The largest, with an installed capacity of 135,000 tons per year —40% of the total— is located in Pacs del Penedès (Barcelona) and belongs to Cales de Pachs, a family business founded in 1967 and currently led by brothers Xavier and Valentí Grané. Although lime is a very regional material that, in general, travels little, Cales de Pachs has managed in the last ten years to raise the weight of exports to 50% thanks to its commitment to innovation and the development of new applications for high value-added lime.
"Before, we depended 60% on the steel industry; this level of dependence was dangerous, and we decided to diversify into other sectors by investing in R&D&i, which has allowed us to give new uses to lime and reduce the weight of steel to 15% or 20%," explains Xavier Grané. According to the businessman, Cales de Pachs has specialized in "producing to measure" for each client, manufacturing different lime derivatives that adapt to the problems and needs presented by clients.
This specialization with higher value-added products has allowed the company not only to export 50% to about thirty countries —in Europe, Africa, Asia, and America— but also to differentiate itself from the large multinationals in the sector, which focus their activity on the production of commodities and low prices. Among these new applications, for example, is the production of calcium oxide to aid in plastic recycling or an additive that improves the properties of concrete and is used by one of the world's largest companies in technical flooring for large logistics and industrial warehouses.
In 2022, Cales de Pachs invoiced close to 30 million euros, compared to 20 million in the previous year. According to Grané, this 50% increase is due to the price hike motivated by the high energy costs that the sector has had to face and the increase in sales. The year closed with a record ebitda of 7.3 million and the goal is to invoice between 33 million and 34 million euros in 2023. The company's workforce is 62 people, 20 of them in Microlime, its subsidiary in Portugal.
In Catalonia, Cales de Pachs operates two quarries from which it extracts the limestone necessary for lime production. One is located next to the factory in Pacs del Penedès and the other is located in Garraf, in the municipality of Vilanova i la Geltrú, facilities they bought from Cemex in 2014 and for which they have now managed to extend the mining concession. Specifically, with a long-term view, the company will double the surface area of its concession in Garraf, which will allow it to cope with the depletion of the resource in the Pachs quarry, which, according to Xavier Grané, "has a limited life." "In the long run, all the material will be extracted from Garraf," he anticipates. In parallel, Cales de Pachs has approved a third exploitation in Catalonia, a "use of a byproduct" from a quarry located in Bellvei del Penedès.
The big bet for Cales de Pachs, however, is Portugal, a country where they plan to execute an investment of 13 million euros with the aim of doubling their production capacity. Cales de Pachs landed in the Portuguese market in 2010 with the purchase of a local factory, an initiative that was very well received in the country, especially by its powerful paper industry, as the Catalan company broke the monopoly that the Belgian multinational Lhoist had exercised in that market until then. Now, in Portugal, Cales de Pachs owns two factories, each equipped with a production kiln. The kiln at the main plant was inaugurated in 2017 and, since then, "it hasn't stopped," explains Grané, so the company now wants to build a third kiln that will allow it to double production in the Portuguese market and cope with the surge in demand.
"The factory in Portugal is already producing the same tons and even more than what we do in Pacs, which raises our production to 230,000 tons of lime per year," says the executive. Given future growth expectations, the company has already begun the process to obtain the necessary financing to undertake this 13 million investment in the new kiln. To do this, it is negotiating the signing of long-term supply contracts with the country's paper and mining companies. The goal is to be able to start construction at the end of 2023 and, in two years, to be able to double production.
Although this project in Portugal is the largest investment on the table, Cales de Pachs has other initiatives underway, such as the construction of a 1.3 MW solar park for self-consumption in its complex in Pacs del Penedès. The project will occupy an area of 13,000 square meters and is currently in the processing phase.
Cales de Pachs is promoting two other important environmental initiatives that position it as a leading company in this sector. On the one hand, it has proposed that, in two years, 100% of the fuel it will use in its two kilns in Pacs del Penedès will be biomass, and, secondly, it is developing with Veolia an innovative R&D project to fix the CO₂ that is naturally released from limestone when it is transformed into lime.
To manufacture calcium oxides or quicklime and other products such as calcium hydroxide and magnesium oxide, Cales de Pachs introduces limestone into kilns that reach a temperature of over 1,000 degrees, in a process that lasts 20 hours. Until a few years ago, 100% of the fuel used was petroleum coke, but the company was a pioneer in introducing the use of biomass, which allows the use of the caloric energy of by-products such as almond shells, olive pits, coffee grounds, or wood pallets. For the first time, in 2022, Cales de Pachs was supplied with 50% biomass and 50% petroleum coke, and now the challenge is to reach 100% biomass, says Xavier Grané.
R&D project with Veolia to fix CO₂
The businessman explains that 25% of the CO₂ emitted in the production of a ton of lime corresponds to fuel, but 75% responds to "the natural decarbonation process of limestone," something that cannot be avoided if lime is to be obtained. In this sense, they are working with Veolia on the project to try to fix, that is, trap, these natural CO₂ emissions. Reducing emissions is an indispensable objective for the business group, as the lime sector is one of the most affected by the new European regulations that oblige companies to pay for emission rights. "Until 2020, the emission rights we had assigned were free; if we need to pay for the rights, we cease to be competitive, since a ton of CO₂ costs 90 euros, compared to 120 euros for a ton of lime," he argues. Grané regrets that this type of regulation ends up benefiting large groups and harming small companies, which is why he believes there should be "a certain protection" for small operators to favor competition.
In the field of CO₂, and in alliance with Grupo Sorigué and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), Cales de Pachs also participates in the development of a material that, adhered to different city surfaces, can capture CO₂ using sunlight.