Quarry Products

Investment at Holcim's Chepintsi Quarry in Bulgaria is not only increasing production, it is also adding new products to the offering. Claire Symes reports. Countries that have recently joined the European Union are in real need of investment in infrastructure to bring them in line with standards common in more established member nations. Bulgaria is no different and to deliver the materials necessary for this infrastructure upgrade, the local quarries also need to undergo a step change to meet demand.

The use of reclaimed asphalt has increased over the past 30 years, and it is set to grow even more, Patrick Smith reports. In the USA, asphalt from roads is said to be the most recycled material. Figures show that up to 80% of that removed during widening or resurfacing projects is remixed to be used in new roads, sub-base, shoulders and embankments.

Crushed rock seems the obvious way to make aggregate in rock abundant Scandinavia, but it was not always so. Adrian Greeman reports

Lafarge’s French aggregates business Lafarge Granulats is aiming to focus on meeting customer expectations with launch of a new customer charter.

Portuguese cement producer Secil has announced that it has gained approval from the competition authority for its takeover of Lafarge’s subsidiary Lafarge Betoes.

Turkey has a wealth of stone deposits and its internal aggregates consumption is expected to rise in line with increased development. Lisa Russell reports. Turkey is very lucky in terms of its geology, according to Ozgur Ozturk, who is raw materials manager at Akçansa and represents the Turkish Aggregates Producer's Association (AGÜB) at the European Aggregates Association (UEPG). "There are so many kinds of geological formations and outcrops - it is possible to find any kind of rock in Turkey," he said.

The European Minerals Forum in November last year encouraged delegates to look at the positive opportunities presented by recession.

There is no doubt that 2009 was a difficult year for the aggregates industry and the first of the full year reports seem to suggest business was down a third on 2008 levels. Nonetheless, there seems to be a lot of optimism that things will gradually improve accross Europe in the coming 12 months. This optimism is fairly widespread too and is coming from quarry operators, construction equipment producers and building materials consumers alike. However, it does seem to come with the universal caveat of the ne

Caterpillar displayed the Twenty dozer for the first time in 1927 and this year the machine was featured again at its Conexpo stand to demonstrate the evolution in construction machinery. ompared to the modern construction machinery equipment on display at this year's Conexpo exhibition in Las Vegas, US in March, Caterpillar's Expo Twenty dozer looked very small. But its size belied the significance of the design within the company's innovation history.