News

Italy's marble exports to the US rose by 24% in volumes and by 30% in value in the first nine months of 2013.

This means that Italy's stone and marble sector achieved a rise of 3.2% in volumes and 7.2% in value to €1.40 billion in exports in the same period.

Growth exceeded 10% both for marble blocks and slabs, and for processed marble.

Organisers of the ninth Steinexpo 2014 stone quarry demonstration exhibition, being held at the basalt quarry at Nieder-Ofleiden, Germany, from 3-6 September, say the exhibition layout will differ noticeably from previous events.

The trade fair, which had its premiere at the quarry (which belongs to the MHI group) in 1990, is held in a three-year cycle and offers live demonstrations against the backdrop of the magnificent stone quarry where manufacturers and dealers of building and processing machinery,

Lafarge announces the sale of its 20% minority stake in European and South American gypsum operations to Etex for an immediate cash consideration of €145 million. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to be completed in the coming weeks

The newly-appointed managing director of RDS Technology is Angela Simkins who has 25 years of general management experience and more recently has spent ten years in an electronic engineering environment supplying to both on-road and off-road sectors.

Being a chartered engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering means that she brings engineering expertise to the role combined with a strong Lean bias gained during her time acquiring a Master’s Degree in Lean Operations.

Simkins’ arriv

Entrepreneur Amit Bhatia, who is chairman of Hope Construction Materials, has told of his optimism for the future as the company celebrates its landmark first anniversary.

The company, launched 12 months ago, has gone on to sell two million m³ (enough to build 22 Wembley Stadiums); 1.3 million tonnes of cement and four million tonnes of aggregates in its first year.

Hope was launched in January 2013 after the acquisition of 180 UK operational assets, from the south coast of England to the Scottish Hi

The government of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, North Caucasus, Russia, has extended the income tax relief period for producers of cement.

In 2014, the tax will be 13.5%. The largest cement producer in the region is Kavkazcement (part of Eurocement group).

A cement plant is planned to be built in the Republic of Mari El, Volga, Russia.

The raw material will be supplied to the plant from the Chukshinskoe deposit with Chinese investors expected to run the project.

In Sweden, building material producer Cemex has formed a contract with Swedish port company HallandsHamnar.

Cemex is to introduce two new cement products, especially adapted for the Swedish market, and each year about 30 ships will arrive at the port of Halmstad.

The port of Halmstad has had a trying time, following, among other things, the fire in Swedish salt distributor Hanson & Möhring's storerooms and glass manufacturer Pilkington, one of the port's main customers, closing down.

Hence, the n

In England, Rutland County Council has awarded Lafarge Tarmac Contracting a highways contract that could be worth up to £35 million (€40 million).

The deal is worth £3.5 million/year for the next five years, but can be extended by another five years.

The work includes resurfacing, winter maintenance, reactive maintenance and gulley cleaning.

Algerian cement and derivatives company Entreprise des ciments et dérivés d'Ech-Cheliff (ECDE) launched an international, restricted call to tender for the construction of a site in Rchaiga (Tiaret) to produce sand and aggregates for hydraulic concrete production.

The site will have capacity of 1 million tonnes/year, and candidates have to present their technical and financial bids before 3 March, 2014.

Each year, Algeria produces 18 million tonnes of cement. Over 11.5 million of this comes from publi

It is reported that Spanish precast concrete production plant, Prefabricados Hormitec, situated at the El Bayo Industrial Estate, León, northern Spain, has decided to close down.

This has been attributed to the lack of activity in the construction sector. The plant, which employs 14 people, has begun the liquidation process.