News

The Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) has released a report estimating the development of the mining industry in Finland from 2010 to 2020 and 2030. According to researcher Mari Tuusjärvi, the output of metal ores is expected to increase by 14% per year from 2010 to 2020. Moreover, the output of all extractive operations will double to €4 billion by 2020 and triple to €6 billion by 2030. In terms of rock materials, the growth will be more even.

Terex Washing Systems (TWS) has expanded its team by appointing two new sales managers, Amol Sinha in India, and James Bulebush in the USA. Responding to business growth and increased customer demand in these two countries, TWS hired these team members as dedicated contacts to provide customers and distributors with washing expertise, project management, technical and service support locally in India and USA, says the company. Amol Sinha is based at the Terex facility in Hosur, India, and James Bulebush is

The board of CRH has co-opted to the board, with effect from 1 July 2013 Donald A. McGovern, Jr. as a non-executive director. McGovern, 62, a United States citizen, is currently vice chairman, global assurance at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a position he has held since July 2008. He will retire from PwC on 30 June 2013, following a 39-year career with the company, during which time he directed its services for a number of large public company clients. He has held various leadership roles in PwC and was, f

Lafarge has sold its subsidiary North American Gypsum's assets at an enterprise value of US$700 million (€533 million) to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds. Lafarge North America’s Gypsum division manufactures gypsum wallboards and joint compounds throughout a network of plants in the United States and Canada. In 2012, these operations generated sales of $310 million.

French construction materials group Vicat has launched industrial production tests on its new low-carbon cement, baptised Alpenat. Tests will take place over a ten-day period at Vicat's Créchy site, with production expected to stand at 10,000 tonnes. This is the first step towards launching industrial production of the cement, which is the result of several years' of research.

Bike in the UK (15-23 June), which promoted cycling, has also highlighted the need to keep vulnerable road users such as cyclists safe. The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has introduced a policy initiative to improve vulnerable road user safety in the UK, and a key element is requiring all drivers delivering for MPA member companies to receive vulnerable road user training.

Management of seven Cemex UK sites around Rugby in County Warwickshire, central England, in partnership with Butterfly Conservation, has resulted in increased numbers of one or more nationally rare butterfly species despite numbers being at an all-time low. Green Hairstreaks, which nationally have declined by 68% (according to the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme), are now found at four of the Cemex sites, with biodiversity priority species such as the Small Blue and Grizzled Skipper also increasing at the s

In 2012, the Austrian cement industry saw sales remain stable with 4.46 million tonnes, compared to 4.43 million tonnes in 2011, according to the association of the Austrian cement industry VÖZ. The industry is increasingly facing price pressure. Turnover dropped by 4.7% to €375 million and this is attributed to the fact that different types of cement are being demanded and sold at different prices.

Johnson Crushers International (KPI-JCI) has celebrated the shipment of its 3,000th screen, marking nearly US$200 million (€150 million) in revenue for the company from screen sales and providing 47 jobs to its skilled workforce. “We are very proud that our success as an American manufacturer has allowed us to create jobs in Oregon and beyond,” says JCI president Jeff Elliott. “We are also very proud of our employees, who have made this achievement possible through their commitment to continuous improvement

Aggregate Industries has awarded Babcock International Group a £50 million (€58.35 million) five-year contract (with a five-year extension option) to provide a fleet managed service for its heavy mobile equipment (HME) within the UK. Babcock is using ALCAMiE, its proven method of delivery, to optimise the performance of over 400 HME located across more than 150 sites.

Graeme Macdonald is to succeed Alan Blake, who is to retire at the end of the year, as chief executive officer at JCB. Blake, 63, joined JCB in 1989 and became CEO in 2010 after holding a number of senior positions in the company and after leading the biggest production expansion in JCB’s history. Since his appointment as CEO, Alan has presided over the company’s return to sales and production growth against a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty around the world. He will remain as a senior advisor an

Martin Clarke, chief executive of the British Precast Concrete Federation, has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to industry. “I am overwhelmed at this recognition and especially delighted that the citation is for services to industry. This is a great boost for an unsung but critical British manufacturing industry,” he said. “This honour is completely down to my wife and family who have supported me unstintingly throughout my career and my long absences at home and abroad

Bell Equipment UK has promoted Nick Learoyd to be its new managing director for the UK and Ireland as the company gears up for the launch of its next-generation E series of articulated dump trucks. The company says the internal appointment reflects “the exceptional work Nick has achieved for the company over the past two years, in his role as sales and marketing manager.”