News

Spanish cement and concrete company, Cementos Molins, wants to start industrial operations in Qatar and China in 2013, both of which will be new markets for the company. The investment is being channelled through Precon (Linyi) Construction, which is controlled by Molins' subsidiary Precon. The company will initially have 50,000m² of space available, but depending on how its business fares, this could quadruple. Construction of the factory is currently being finalised in Linyi (Shandong).

At the Belfast Telegraph 2013 Business Awards in association with British Airways, held at the Culloden Hotel, Belfast, Anaconda Equipment picked up the top business award and the Best Small/Medium Business Award. The Northern Ireland company designs, manufactures and exports a range of mobile screening and conveyor equipment for the materials processing industries, and the Belfast Telegraph Awards recognise “excellence in challenging times.” According to production director, Martin Quinn, in making the awa

Turkey's Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation has fined 53 Istanbul-based quarries for failing to comply with environmental regulations in production. Companies, mainly located in Cebeci, Sultangazi, were fined a total of €424,143.39. A number of companies' operations were also halted temporarily. The ministry will continue with inspections in Tuzla area.

BedRock Software is said to be preparing to release a new version of AggFlow, its successful aggregate plant simulation program. AggFlow says the program is widely used by both aggregate producers, equipment manufacturers and consultants in more than 120 countries around the globe, and is said to be the only simulation program that calculates both mass aggregate and mass water balances in the plant. Rumour has it the new version, AggFlow 400, will provide significant new features including corporate network

Austria's Strabag SE is launching an asphalt and concrete mixing plant on a five hectare plot in Maxim Gorky settlement, the Volgograd region (south), Russia. The plant, relocated from Poland, will have a capacity of 250tonnes of asphalt and concrete mix per hour. The company implemented infrastructure projects for 2012 UEFA Euro in Poland. According to Strabag SE's representatives in the Southern Federal District, Volgograd will be one of the first cities in Russia where noise-reducing asphalt will be prod

Ritchie Bros Auctioneers has held its first-ever unreserved public auction in China. Over 500 bidders registered to bid on equipment at the one-day, multi-million renminbi auction and over 1,000 people attended the auction in person to see the global marketplace in action. The auction featured a selection of more than 155 unused and used heavy equipment items and trucks, including more than 25 hydraulic excavators and 20 wheeled loaders.

Ciments Français, a subsidiary of Italcementi Group, has appointed Jean Paul Méric chairman of the board and Fabrizio Donegà as chief operating officer. Outgoing chairman Yves René Nanot, who has reached the statutory age limit, has been nominated honorary chairman of the company and will continue as a director. Méric, aged 69, studied at the École Polytechnique and the École Supérieure d'Electricité. He began his career with EDF before moving into the cement industry, first with CERILH (Centre d'Études et

Deutz celebrated a special anniversary at the bauma show in Munich, Germany. In 2013 the Cologne, Germany-based engine manufacturer is delivering its 500,000th engine to its long-standing partner Atlas Copco. In addition to the main Atlas Copco brand, Deutz also supplies other well-known companies in the group such as Dynapac and Chicago Pneumatic in China. The various applications make use of virtually the entire Deutz product range.

Metso has agreed to a six and a half year life-cycle services contract with ZAO Russian Copper Company (RMK), for its Mikheevsky copper concentrator in the Chelyabinskya region in south-western Russia. The contract encompasses a total comminution solution from process assistance to complete maintenance services which will also include grinding media. The new agreement is an extension to an earlier services contact signed in 2011, making it the largest ever services agreement for Metso. The value of this add

The UK Mineral Products Association (MPA) survey results for the first quarter of 2013 are said to confirm the slow start to construction activity in 2013. Compared with the first quarter of 2012 sales of construction aggregates (crushed rock and sand and gravel) fell by 7%; ready-mixed concrete by 4%, and asphalt by 18%. Sales of cement are likely to reflect a similar picture to concrete, says the MPA. Aggregates and concrete are heavily used throughout the construction sector being the largest material su

HeidelbergCement has increased its holding in the Russian cement company CJSC Construction Materials from 51% to 100%. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The purchase of the stake is included in the HeidelbergCement capital expenditure plan. CJSC Construction Materials, located in Sterlitamak, is the market leader in the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan and one of the leading cement producers in the Wolga area with about 760 employees.

Peter Tom, chairman of Breedon Aggregates, delivered an outlook statement at the company's annual meeting. “Trading in the first quarter reflected the dramatic swings in the weather. A challenging January was followed by a better February in which activity returned to more normal levels, only to be succeeded by snow and freezing temperatures during March, which had an inevitable impact on volumes, especially in asphalt. “However, our underlying order book remains sound and with the return of more seasonal w

Metso has signed two repeat orders with Altay Polimetally for their open pit copper mine in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The orders include the design, supply, installation and commissioning of complete secondary, tertiary and quaternary crushing and screening plants as well as an automation system. The combined value of the orders is €25 million, and the two new contracts follow the delivery of the world's biggest fully mobile crushing and conveying system, signed in June 2012 for a value of €11 million. "For our