News

UK sales volumes of aggregates, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt improved again in the first quarter of 2015, says the Mineral Products Association (MPA).

Seasonally adjusted results, which provide a consistent quarter by quarter comparison, indicated that crushed rock and sand and gravel sales volumes rose by 2.2% and 3.6% respectively compared to Q4 2014, and ready-mixed concrete and asphalt sales were 1.3% and 1.2% up. Annual sales of cement grew by 7.8% in 2014.

To put these improvements into a l

Swiss cement maker Holcim has revealed that its Q1 2015 net profit almost quadrupled after the sale of its minority stake in Siam City Cement.

The sector giant, which is in the process of merging with France's Lafarge, revealed earlier today that its first-quarter net profit jumped to €295.7 million (CHF 310 million) from €76.3 million (CHF 80 million) in the same period last year.

Holcim said it expected 2015 operating profit adjusted for merger costs to be between €2.57 billion (CHF 2.7 billion) and

O’Donovan Waste Disposal, one of London’s leading construction and demolition waste management company, has scooped the renowned Health, Safety and Environmental Skills Development title at the 16th annual Environment and Energy Awards.

The award, which recognises excellence in staff development to meet industry environmental, health and safety requirements, adds to O’Donovan’s growing number of plaudits, including a National Motor Transport Award for Training and the Institute of Directors South-East a

Elaine Ball Technical Marketing (EBTM), a leading consultancy in technical marketing for the geospatial, mining and offshore industries globally, has won a major contract with Trimble Geospatial, Westminster, Colorado, USA.

EBTM will be delivering strategic and marketing workshops to Trimble’s global dealer network on behalf of Trimble’s Geospatial division. The workshops involve reviewing strategic roads maps of dealers, current marketing strategy, what works and what does not and leaving them with key

Hanson Bath & Portland Stone is planning to create a new entrance to its Hartham Park underground quarry in Corsham, County Wiltshire, southern England.

The new site off the B3109 Bradford Road will include facilities for the storage and maintenance of underground machinery and the storage of stone blocks, as well as new office and welfare accommodation. The mine access will be on a shallow incline and intercept an existing underground roadway.

A planning application for the £1 million (€1.4 million)

Volvo Penta is partnering with Italian manufacturer Tesmec on its stringing machines.
Already used in a variety of construction machines, including pumps, air compressors, crushers, drill rigs and cranes, Volvo Penta engines are soon to be available in a new construction application: power line and fiber optic cable installation.
Italian construction equipment manufacturer Tesmec is now using Volvo Penta engines in its Argano Idraulico ARS802 stringing machine.
Tesmec has already produced a prototype wi

Middle East Stone, a new exhibition dedicated to the stone product sector, will take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre next month, as industry experts tip the industry to be worth US$5.4 billion in 2015 – up from $5.1 billion in 2014.

Created by dmg, the show from 18-21 May 2015 comes as the stone market has been increasing due to the green building codes and sustainable development plans in the GCC region, according to a report.

Stone is said to be one of the most environment-friendly products

Thirty HGV drivers are being sought by Hope Construction Materials, one of Britain’s leading independent concrete and aggregates producers, to operate the company’s new fleet of Renault trucks.

Hope says it is expanding its fleet of ready-mixed concrete mixer trucks and aggregate tipper wagons to meet growing demand in the construction sector.

The company currently has 450 core fleet drivers – both directly employed and independent contractors – and is bolstering its transport work force with new driv

Trimble has announced the availability of Trimble LOADRITE 360 for loadout automation and reporting for quarry loadout activities.

The LOADRITE 360 (LR360) system consists of a wheeled loader onboard scale, an automated communications connection and a performance reporting tool. The system provides a 360° view of quarry loadout operations between the loader scales, scale house and quarry manager.

The California, US-headquartered telematics giant says the LR360 can reduce fuel and maintenance costs by

Leadway Heavy Machinery (LHM) has placed an order for nine Terex Trucks TR100 rigid haulers after the contract was finalised and signed during the truck manufacturer’s first appearance at INTERMAT 2015 in Paris, France.

LHM was appointed as Terex Trucks’ official dealer in Myanmar in 2013, and has since delivered 26 TA400 articulated dump trucks into Jade mine operations in the region. Its latest purchase of nine TR100 rigid dump trucks is a good sign of the pick-up in the market, having opened up to inv

Construction materials giant Cemex’s consolidated net sales reached US$3.4 billion during the first quarter of 2015, an increase of 7% on a like-for-like basis compared to the same period of 2014.

Operating EBITDA increased by 6% during the quarter to US$569 million versus the same period in 2014. On a like-for-like basis, operating EBITDA increased by 14% in the same period.

The Q1 2015 consolidated net sales increase was said by the Mexican headquartered company to be due to the higher prices of it

Demand for exhibition space at bauma 2016 in Germany is said by show organiser’s to be very high following the March 2015 deadline for applications.

The globally renowned exhibition for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles and construction equipment will take up all the available 605,000m² of space at the Messe München exhibition center in Munich, Bavaria.

Again the event is set to be very diverse and international. At this point in time, almost 3,