Europe is starting to look closer to home for essential raw materials as globalisation creates fierce competition for non-energy commodities. Robert Camp looks at the issues. By the end of this year the European Commission is expected to have finalised a new strategy to ensure that European industries get better access to raw materials, including aggregates. The Raw Materials Initiative, was first floated in November 2008 in recognition of growing concerns about global resource scarcity as the world's popul
A UK quarry takes advantage of equipment designed to optimise the crushing process, producing a finer product and greater reduction. As the largest independent aggregates company in the UK, Breedon Aggregates supplies a wide range of products and services to the construction and building sectors from its 23 quarries.
In the US, Martin Marietta Materials has launched a $4.8 billion (€3.7 billion) hostile takeover bid for gravel, sand and stone supplier Vulcan Materials, which has extensive operations in Azusa and Irwindale in the state of California.
The 2009 downturn hit Romania’s construction industry harder than any other in central Europe: it is likely to lead the recovery. Romania’s construction industry was hit harder than any other in central Europe by the 2009 downturn, but there are signs of optimism. European Union funding is beginning to fall into place alongside major infrastructure plans throughout the country. Just three or four years ago, Romania’s construction industry was doing well: cement use alone reached record levels in 2008 at 600
Breedon Aggregates, the UK’s largest independent aggregates producer, has issued a statement in advance of its preliminary results announcement, which is due on 6 March, 2012.
