News

French industrial minerals specialist Imerys saw a 4% fall in its net profit to €155 million in the first half of 2013. The firm’s turnover was also down 4% to €1.88 billion in H1 2013. Growth continued in North America, but the prolonged recession in the Eurozone is said to have continued to weigh on results, notably in the construction and industry sectors.

Russia needs around 20 new cement plants, ten glass works, over 30 enterprises producing non-metallic materials, 15 heat insulation-producing plants and 15 concrete goods plants in order to cover the deficit of building materials on the market, according to investment and consulting company SMPRO. The reconstruction of around 200 existing concrete goods plants is also necessary, says SMPRO. The required investments are said to have not been calculated yet. Different measures of state support are planned to

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)’s Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) has published the latest update to the Getting the Numbers Right database, with evidence of significant CO2 emissions reductions and improved efficiency. As the cement industry’s global database of CO2 emissions and performance, the latest Getting the Numbers Right (GNR) data for 2011 shows that the industry has reduced its specific net CO2 emissions per tonne of cementitious product by 17% since 1990 (fr

Spanish construction materials company, Uralita, has doubled its losses in the first half of 2013 compared to a year earlier to €19.9 million, due to a fall in sales. The companysays it has seen a drop in sales across all regions in which it operates, especially in Spain where they fell 24%. It operating profits dropped 11.4% to €274.2 million, with its tiles and pipes businesses being especially affected (down 26.1% and 18.3% respectively). Ebitda reached €13 million, which was down 46.3%, due to rising ra

In France, plaster industries recycled 50,000tonnes of waste in 2012. Plaster industries estimates the volume of plaster-based waste at 350,000tonnes: either construction waste such as the 50,000tonnes cycled to date or waste coming from building sites. Waste from selective demolition, however, is currently not recycled.

The French competition authority has approved the acquisition of terracotta brick specialist Imerys Structure by cooperative brick manufacturer Bouyer Leroux. Following an in-depth examination of the acquisition, the authority has ruled that the group must sell 25,000tonnes of wall bricks at cost price to two competitors or a wholesaler active in the distribution and trade networks in Aquitaine each year for a five-year period. As for the new entity's quasi-monopoly on the manufacturing of partition bricks

Komatsu Europe International has made the first worldwide sale of its new D61PXi-23 bulldozer equipped with Komatsu’s latest system for intelligent machine control, a technology developed jointly with Topcon Corporation. The medium-sized Komatsu dozer was sold by BIA, Komatsu’s distributor for Belgium, to the Verhelst Group, located in Oostende, Belgium. The intelligent machine control system featured on the D61PXi-23 is factory integrated and offers full auto-blade control and blade load control. It is des

Bell Equipment UK has appointed Andy Wilkinson as sales manager for the north-east of England, reinforcing the company’s team as its new E-series articulated dump trucks are launched into the UK. For the past two and a half years, he was territory manager for Ritchie Bros Auctioneers, giving him an insight into the current state of plant equipment in the UK. Prior to that he was regional sales manager for JCB Attachments. The north-east territory, extending from the Scottish borders to County Lincolnshire,

Lafarge has opened an R&D laboratory for new types of cements for use in oil and gas wells at the Port of Sagunto in Spain. It is the first laboratory of this kind the company has in Europe and only the second it has globally. The laboratory will carry out the tests needed to simulate pressure, temperature and chemical conditions which cement will be subjected to at depths of 3,000-5,000m. As well as developing new cements, the laboratory will also provide technical assistance and support to customer needs.

A UK Mineral Products Association (MPA) survey results shows a significant improvement in sales of aggregates, ready mixed concrete and asphalt in the second quarter. Following a poor first quarter, Q2 sales volumes increased by 14% for crushed rock aggregates; 9% for sand and gravel aggregates; 18% for ready-mixed concrete and 9% for asphalt, all compared with the same period of 2012. MPA says the figures represent welcome improvements but also reflect some carry-over of work from the first quarter due to

Lafarge’s second-quarter figures show a surge in profit in the absence of the Greek impairment charges of last year, although operating income and EBITDA were down on last year after a fall in sales and volumes were affected by adverse weather conditions. The company says it aims to achieve additional EBITDA of €650 million in the year through its performance and innovation measures, and it also expects to reduce net debt to below €10 billion in 2013, and below €9 billion in 2014. “Our results in the second

CDE Global has appointed Martin Jackson as global custom care manager to develop the suite of after-sales services offered by CDE through the custom care department for CDE Global, CDEnviro and CDE do Brasil. Having gained almost 16 years’ of experience in field-based services including the mechanical and electrical engineering industries, he joins the custom care team to take the lead in the strategic development of the Custom Care Department across all operations and throughout the company’s global partne

The aerated concrete block plant, controlled by Denmark's H+H, located in the Volosovo district of the Leningrad region of Russia, accounts for 30% of the market in north-west. The enterprise manufactured over 330,000tonnes of products in 2012. The designed capacity is 400,000m3/year.