Features

Dr Edelio Bermejo is Holcim's global head of research and development (R&D) and intellectual property (IP). He oversees a large and highly gifted team based in different parts of the world which works daily on new, greener building materials that can drive down the global construction industry's significant carbon footprint. Aggregates Business editor Guy Woodford spoke to him about his vital work.

Leonie van der Voort is director of Cascade, the Dutch aggregates association, whose 18 member companies account for 90% of the almost 40 million tonnes of high-quality aggregates produced on land and riversides in The Netherlands each year. She spoke to Aggregates Business editor Guy Woodford about the major challenges facing the nation's aggregates industry and her vital work, not just in The Netherlands but at a wider European level.

Chris Evans, Mitsubishi Electric UK’s Vertical Industry Group Director, explores how aggregate production plants and quarries of all sizes can benefit from adopting automation and begin the road to plant digitalisation.

A few months ago, the fleet of Arthur Scheuermann GmbH in Kleinrinderfeld, Germany, was further strengthened by the purchase of a Komatsu WA600-8 “Stone Handler”, that will break down and transport shell limestone blocks. Sold and delivered by Schlüter für Baumaschinen, Germany’s largest distributor of Komatsu premium products, the robust and powerful wheel loader will advance shell limestone excavation in Arthur Scheuermann GmbH’s quarry.

European aggregates association UEPG held its annual conference in Cyprus this year at a critical time. Delegates at the two-day event heard how the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ever-growing requirement for sustainability have highlighted the sector’s vital importance to European economies going forward. Liam McLoughlin reports.

Having first introduced the John Deere-branded construction equipment in Africa some 18 months ago, Jaco Beyers, managing director for John Deere Africa Middle East, reports that the first phase of the rollout has been highly successful. The second phase – which entails the introduction of production-class equipment – has rolled into action, with Beyers confident that John Deere will ‘shift the yellow metal equipment market’ in Africa