News

Hyundai Construction Equipment Europe (HCEE) has won the SaMoTer Technical Innovation Award, in the ‘Medium Wheeled Loaders’ category, for its new HL960A wheeled loader

The coveted award was secured during the SaMoTer Innovation Award ceremony, held at the Hotel Due Torri in Verona, Italy, on Thursday 23 January.

Hyundai Construction Equipment Europe (HCEE) has appointed Sungwoo Lee as its new managing director.

Lee, who took up his new position in December, has over 20 years of service at the Hyundai group and brings a longstanding international sales career to Europe. 

He replaces J.H. Chun who will return to Korea where he will lead the international marketing team of HCE (Hyundai Construction Equipment).

Mineral Products Association chief executive Nigel Jackson has urged the UK government to press ahead with the massive HS2 rail project.

The scheme will connect London, the Midlands and northern England and cut travel times using trains that can travel at up to 250mph. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has asked for more data before making a final decision. Some estimates now put the total cost of HS2 at £112bn, compared to the figure of £56bn given in 2015.

FLSmidth is reducing its global number of employees by around 500 as part of the business improvement initiatives announced towards the end of 2019.

The Danish cement and mining equipment and services company said the cuts are a consequence of current industry caution and delays tied to large capital investments.

It adds that the move will improve efficiency and adapt to the anticipated business activity in 2020. The reductions will include around 80 staff at FLSmidth's headquarters in Copenhagen, with the other approximately 420 in offices around the world.

HeidelbergCement has been recognised with a place on the "Climate Change A-List 2019" as one of the leading companies worldwide for its commitment to climate action. 

The list is compiled by international non-profit organisation CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project).

Irish screen manufacturer Maximus has rebranded as RM Dungannon to become part of the RM (Rubble Master) Group in name. 

Hyundai Construction Equipment Europe has appointed a new managing director

Building materials supplier CEMEX has agreed a new partnership with UK transport company Turners for the distribution of cement.

The contract will see Turners operating 20 bulk cement tankers for CEMEX across the country. 

CEMEX says that utilising Turners fleet will provide it with increased capacity and flexibility in its haulage operation, allowing the supplier to better meet customer demand. 

CO₂ emissions in the UK cement industry reduced by 25% between 1998 and 2018, according to the Mineral Products Association Cement Sustainable Development report.

The report states the reduction is largely due to the industry’s success in improving its carbon footprint by increasing energy efficiency, using alternative fuels instead of traditional fossil fuels, and utilising renewable energy sources. 

Metso has started consultations to evaluate the centralisation of its European warehousing operations.

During the consultations, the Finnish aggregates equipment and services company says it will evaluate the different options related to the continuation of its current warehouse operations in nine locations in Norway, Sweden, the UK, France, Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey, and Russia. The consultations affect approximately 40 employees and are related only to the warehouse operations. 

Niklas Nillroth has taken over as president of European construction equipment association CECE, starting from January 1 this year. 

He succeeds Enrico Prandini, vice president of Italian construction industry association UNACEA and MD of Komatsu Italia. 

Irish building materials giant CRH has posted a strong set of trading figures for the first nine months of 2019.

Clean energy startup Heliogen, whose offerings include the Heliomax solution for solar energy-based cement production, has commercially launched its business.

The California-based company has backers including Bill Gates and says its mission is mission is to create "the world’s first technology" that can commercially replace fossil fuels with carbon-free, ultra-high temperature heat from the sun and to transform sunlight into fuels at scale, helping to combat climate change.

The company says its techn

Caterpillar has launched its new D5 dozer, replacing the previous D6N model.

The vehicle is now available in South Korea, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, having already been rolled out in North America in October.

The new D5 is designed for superior performance and the broadest choice of technology features, with power for dozing and finesse for grading. It offers net power of 127kW and has an operating weight range of 17,180 to 19,170kg.

Cat says the update from D6N to D5 is part of an effort t