News

Eurovia, a subsidiary of French group Vinci, is reinforcing its presence in Canada with the acquisition of Canadian company Imperial Paving which specialises in road construction works for local authorities in the Greater Vancouver area.

The acquisition should enable Eurovia to generate annual revenue of €100 million in British Columbia with seven asphalt mixing plants. Western Canada represents strong potential for growth. Vinci generates annual turnover of over €600 million in Canada.

Testing the knowledge and competence of parts and service personnel worldwide, the team from Volvo Constructioon Equipment’s Warrington, north-west England, customer support centre has won the final round of the Volvo Global Masters competition.

The team represented Volvo CE’s GB dealership in the contest that tests parts and service personnel on their skills and knowledge of the company’s products.

Over the course of national, regional and global rounds the original 3,000 participants from dealers i

Roskilde University, the Department of Civil Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Byg), Swedish construction company NCC and the Danish Road Directorate (Vejdirektoratet) are involved in the COOEE research project, which aims at developing a type of asphalt concrete that results in lower friction compared to traditional paving.

Tests have shown that friction can be decreased by up to 10% with the new material, and this could in turn reduce the consumption of fuel by up to 3%.

There

Holcim has received unconditional clearance by the European Commission for its proposed acquistion of Cemex West in Germany. The decision follows a detailed Phase II review by the European Commission. The acquisition in Germany is part of the strategic portfolio optimization in Europe that includes a series of transactions together with Cemex and that is separate from the intention to merge with Lafarge. In the Czech Republic, the proposed acquisition of Holcim Cesko by Cemex was cleared by the local co

The previously announced acquisition of Terex’s hauler business by Volvo Construction Equipoment has been completed. The purchase consideration amounted to US$160 million (approximately SEK 1 billion/€118 million) on a cash and debt-free basis.

The deal includes the main production facility in Motherwell, Scotland, and two product ranges that offer both rigid and articulated haulers. It also includes the distribution of haulers in the US as well as a 25.2% holding in Inner Mongolia North Hauler Joint S

Experts forecast that concrete prices in the Russian city of St Petersburg will increase by 10-15% by mid-summer 2014. In May 2014, for the first time in the last five years, local manufacturers raised prices by 4-6% to an average €639.79 (RUB 30,000) per m³ of concrete. It’s reported that according to market players, the increase was initiated by LSR-Bazovie, the leader occupying 16% of the market.

Cemex and BirdLife Europe have released a joint statement backing the EU’s Nature Conservation Policy. It calls for the strengthening of public consultation procedures and strategic land planning and asks the EU and its member states to pass sweeping public procurement policies. The statement also underlines the role that businesses can play in the preservation and management of Natura 2000 sites and the conservation of biodiversity.
EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik has declared that the effectiv

French senator Roland Courteau and MP Marie-Hélène Fabre have told Lafarge they will raise its concerns over claimed unfair competition from rival foreign firms on a local and national level.
The high profile politicians made the pledge to the French construction materials specialist after a recent visit to the company’s Port-La Nouvelle cement plant. The site has reserves estimated at 75 years and produces some 700,000tonnes/year of clinker. The officials noted that although Lafarge has a high-quality env

Italmobiliare, the Italian investment holding that controls building materials specialist Italcementi, has appointed a new board. Giampiero Pesenti has been confirmed chairman, while his son Carlo Pesenti has been appointed CEO and Director General.

In April 2014, sales of aggregates fell 7.8% on the previous month and 5.9% on April 2013, reports Unicem, the French national union of quarries and construction materials. Sales of ready-to-use concrete fell 1.9% in April as compared to the previous month, and 6.2% compared to April 2013. In the first four months of 2014, sales of aggregates rose 6% year-on-year, while sales of ready-to-use concrete rose 2.3%.

HeidelbergCement has opened a new factory in Tbilisi, Georgia, where the latest generation separator has started work, contributing to the rise of cement quality and assortment expansion. About US$10 million (€ 7.4 million) was spent on its installation.

Stuart Keighley and Al Laverty of CEMEX Readymix Central region are on their bikes cycling from CEMEX Uddingston office near Glasgow, Scotland, to eventually reach Thorpe office near Heathrow. They will cover 600miles (966km) in five days calling at three CEMEX offices along the way, all in aid of the charity, RoadPeace.
“RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims is chaired by Cynthia Barlow. She has been involved with the charity since her daughter was killed in 2000 in a road collision invo