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The UEPG (European Aggregates Association) says that now more than ever aggregates producers need to make their voices heard in the EU corridors of power in Brussels, with membership of the Association providing a crucial platform for their views. The European aggregates industry is a heavyweight with 2,600 million tonnes of production, 25,000 extraction sites and 15,000 companies, but less than 50% of the Industry is organised within national or regional associations. UEPG identified mega trends and lays o

Lafarge Africa’s profits after tax fell by nearly US$10 million in the first nine of months of 2015, compared to the same period of the previous year. The Nigeria-based company’s post-tax profits dipped to NGN 29 billion (US$ 145.6 million) from NGN 31 billion ($155.38 million) in Q1-Q3 2014. Lafarge Africa subsidiary United Cement brought the profit after tax to NGN 3.3 billion ($16.54 million). Another subsidiary, Ashaka Cement, was affected by the unrest at the beginning of 2015, and profit after tax fro

Polish concrete output reached close to 15 million m³ in the first three quarters of 2015, up 4% on the same period last year. Furthermore, the national concrete sector expects a marked improvement in 2017-18. The rise in demand to date in 2015 is said to have been brought about by an increase in residential construction. In 2016, the concrete market is forecast to grow 3%.

Algerian cement group GICA has announced that it will end a cement shortage by the end of 2016 due to the opening of extensions to its existing production sites in Aïn El-Kébira (Sétif) and Chlef. Both sites will have increased capacities of 2mn tonnes per year, with the former having potentially more.

GICA is also shortly set to reach an agreement with a foreign firm to extend its production sites in Zahana and Beni Saf, leading to a potential increase in production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes/year.

Cemex Latam Holdings (CLH) net sales reached US$354 million during the third quarter of 2015, a decrease of 23% versus the third quarter of 2014. The decline is being mainly explained by the Mexican construction materials’ firm as due to currency fluctuations and lower sales in its operations in Colombia and Panama.

Operating CLH EBITDA, also adjusted for currency fluctuations, declined by 10% during the third quarter of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014.

Hope Construction Materials’ employees recently completed 100 days of voluntary work, as part of the organisation’s Hope for Others initiative.

The scheme, launched by the UK-based firm in 2014, sees Hope employees choosing to partake in charity work close to their heart, with the organisation offering two fully paid days leave to each employee per year.

Cemex UK has won a prestigious Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) award for its outstanding work to help protect vulnerable road users.

The award was sponsored by Transport for London and highlights the considerable work that Cemex has done since 2004. Judges commented: “Cemex’s ambition is to become a beacon and really make a difference in helping to make Britain’s roads safer for vulnerable road users. Extensive investment and stakeholder engagement has returned impressive results o

Atlas Copco reported higher-than-estimated profit in the third quarter of 2015 and signalled demand is improving in European markets.

For the second straight quarter, earnings at the Swedish quarrying equipment manufacturer hit a new high. The company reported that operating profit jumped 28% to 5.31 billion kronor (€580.78 million), buoyed by the Swedish krona’s weakness that’s boosting earnings of exporters.

Atlas Copco, whose products include rock drills for quarrying and mining, forecast demand in

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) net sales fell 6% in Q3 2015 – but the Swedish giant took heart from market share gains and stable operating margins in what remains a tough global market.

Net sales in the third quarter decreased by 6%, amounting to €1.26 billion (SEK 11.884 billion) compared to €1.34 billion - SEK 12.582 billion in Q3 2014. Operating income, excluding restructuring charges, decreased to €61.38 million (SEK 576 million), from €69.06 million (SEK 648 million) in the same period of

The inaugural CONEXPO Latin America has been hailed a success with strong exhibitor support, valued industry cooperation, and positive reaction from attendees. Nearly 32,600 registrants from more than 90 countries attended the landmark event, exceeding organisers’ original expectations. In addition to the host country of Chile, significant numbers of professional attendees came from throughout the region. The top five Latin American countries besides the host country (in order) were Argentina, Brazil, Peru,

Hanson UK chief executive officer Patrick O’Shea is stepping down in December after eight years at the head of the construction materials business. His successor will be Daniel Cooper, who is currently northern regional general manager for Hanson Australia.

O'Shea joined Hanson in 1990 and held a variety of senior financial and operational roles before becoming chief executive of Hanson Pacific in 2001. In 2003 he added responsibility for continental Europe to this role, becoming chief executive, Hanson

Major OEMs have new seen their new leading loaders take centre stage at a variety of successful quarrying and aggregate material supply businesses. Guy Woodford reports. Hitachi’s largest wheeled loader has been delivered to the impressive Lasa Marmo’s Whitewater marble quarry near the village of Laas in northern Italy. The new ZW550-5’s main function is to lift each marble block that has been extracted from the cavernous site – situated 1,600m above sea level – and transport it through a series of passagew

Eberhard Wedekind is a key member of Volvo Construction Equipment’s executive management team. Based at the company’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Wedekind is drawing on his vast experience, including within the quarrying and mining sectors, to help steer the construction industry giant through the current tough trading climate. Guy Woodford went to meet him.

Anyone wanting to learn about the competitive nature of Eberhard Wedekind, Volvo Construction Equipment’s Executive Vice President (EVP) of s

The heart and head were both evident at bauma Conexpo Africa 2015. Talking to representatives from leading OEMs and their sub-Saharan Africa dealerships, there is some optimism that Africa’s largely depressed mining and quarrying industry will be kick-started from its slumber by a number of nations’ governments injecting large financial sums into new infrastructure works.

But some of the senior figures at the Johannesburg, South Africa-located exhibition said it would be those best able to meet customer

I have to admit to having a soft spot for Italy. I got married in Rome and have enjoyed numerous minibreaks and longer holidays in cities such as Verona, Florence, Pisa, Bologna, Bari and Catania. So it was not a hardship to spend three days on the road this summer visiting nine construction and quarrying equipment manufacturers spread out across northern Italy.

Whether it was a crushing and screening solution manufacturer, a plant management technology firm, a quarry dust control product specialist, or

Standfirst: The June 2014 completion of the US$160 million acquisition of Terex Trucks by Volvo Construction Equipment was one of last year’s biggest deals in the global construction equipment market. While the acquired company’s rigid dump trucks now fill what was a notable gap in Volvo CE’s product range, there was always going to be some short-term pain for Terex Trucks before the long-term benefits of investment from one of the world’s leading construction equipment names take effect. Guy Woodford repor

In just a few seconds, some 20,000tonnes of rock at the Quenast Quarry near Brussels in Belgium had been blasted from the quarry face and was ready for processing.

An Atlas Copco Rock L6 had been used to drill the neat series of holes, which were packed with 3.5tonnes of explosives to be detonated from an on-site vehicle.

The quarry, run by Sagrex (part of the Heidelberg Cement Group), produces porphyry (hard and abrasive igneous rock), has a production capacity of 2 million tonnes/year and reserves o

A successful family-run quarrying business in Norway has increased its high-quality sand production capacity after investing in the latest Terex Washing Systems wash plant technology. Guy Woodford learns how the investment was secured thanks to a loyal, long-standing customer-dealer relationship. Ole Haugum has known Terje Kristiansen, of Power System, the Oslo-based Terex Washing Systems dealer for Norway, for 20 years, and the pair have become firm friends as well as business colleagues.

Komatsu has unveiled an updated WA380 wheeled loader with more power, less fuel consumption and improvements for operator comfort.

The WA380-8 is powered by a 6.69litre, Komatsu SAA6D107E-3 turbocharged engine producing 142kW. The machine employs a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), Selective Catalyst Reduction (SCR) and Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) to reduce emissions and meet Tier 4 Final requirements.

An electronic control system – managing airflow, fuel injection combustion parameters and after treatm

Sandvik Construction’s new QE241 heavy-duty scalper is said to be the ideal solution for smaller end users where performance, versatility, transportation and set up times are most important. The QE241 also benefits from Sandvik’s long history of mobile scalper development as well as sharing common characteristics from its larger siblings including a two way split configuration option and sequential start-up.

Capable of scalping before or after a small crusher, the QE241 features a heavy duty variable spe