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A decision to install an automated external defibrillator (AED) and the prompt actions of a colleague have saved the life of a contractor who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest at a site in Coatbridge, western Scotland.

Having started work at the site shared by Patersons Quarries and Gartsherrie Engineering, the contractor, in his early 50s, had complained to a colleague on the day of the incident of feeling unwell, then suddenly collapsed.

The AED, a Powerheart G3 from Cardiac Science, was used within

Companies involved in Germany’s aggregates industry, Europe’s largest, are looking to 2016 with optimism. Patrick Smith reports. Germany is Europe’s largest producer of aggregates with an annual demand of 500 million tonnes of gravel, sand, silica sand and natural stone products. The industry has in the region of 1,600 companies with approximately 3,200 plants and 27,000 employees, and its main customers are contractors and construction materials producers. However, other sectors of the German economy from

CRH, the international building materials group, has appointed Senan Murphy as Group finance director with effect from 4 January 2016. Murphy will succeed Maeve Carton who will become Group Transformation Director as previously announced. Both will be members of the Group Board.

Murphy is a chartered accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin. He has over 25 years’ experience in international business across financial services, banking and renewable energy.

The 4

Shareholders in LafargeHolcim are to receive an exceptional dividend of one share for every 20 held.

This follows completion of the merger to create LafargeHolcim, and the decision was taken at an extraordinary general meeting in May when the group’s shareholders voted in favour of an authorised share capital increase, based on which the distribution of the scrip dividend is authorised.

For the purpose of the scrip dividend, 28,870,252 new LafargeHolcim shares, representing 5% of the LafargeHolcim sha

Alex Car has been unveiled as the Essroc Italcementi Group’s (EIG) new chief executive. Having previously served as senior vice president of cement sales and marketing and general manager of construction materials at Essroc, Car succeeds Francesco Carantani, who will be undertaking new duties within the company.

The European Commission’s fitness check of European Union (EU) nature legislation is now well-advanced, with a report expected out early next year. Simon Trahair-Davies, partner at Stephens Scown, looks at the progress of the project to date, and what the signs may be from an aggregates industry perspective

The European Commission is now well along the path of conducting a ‘fitness check’ of EU nature legislation, the outcome of which is likely to be of interest to anyone connected to the aggregates and

The European Aggregates Association (UEPG) has a new President who will lead the largest non-energy extractive sector for the next three years. He talks with Patrick Smith.

The recent UEPG Delegates Assembly elected Jesús Ortiz to take over for the period 2015-2018 from Arnaud Colson, sustainable development and environment director at Lafarge, France.
The 54-year-old will be ably supported by vice-presidents Thilo Juchem (MIRO, Germany) and Nigel Jackson (Mineral Products Association/MPA, UK).
Jesús

Japan’s ruling government has ploughed huge sums into upgrading Japan’s infrastructure, creating huge opportunities for aggregates producers and construction equipment manufacturers. But, as Guy Woodford asks, will such investment lead to long-term success for those involved in the Asian nation’s construction and aggregates sectors?

After coming into power in December 2012, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aimed to spend 10 trillion yen (US$107 billion) on infrastructure over the following 15 months in

A Volvo EC220DL excavator is said to be increasing productivity by 30% at the Alam Jaya volcanic rock quarry in Indonesia, and also reducing fuel consumption by 2litres/hour.

At the foot of Tangkuban Perahu, a dormant volcano that last erupted in 1983, is West Java’s capital city, Bandung, home to 2.5 million people.

At 768m above sea level, Bandung enjoys one of Indonesia’s coolest climates, with an average year-round temperature of 23°C. It does not escape the tropical rainstorms however, and sees a

Equip2 Processing Solutions has supplied the first Rockster R900 in New Zealand to Napier-based Mulching, Crushing and Screening (MCS), with the unit said to be adding speed, precision and flexibility to the company’s machine fleet.

The new Austrian-manufactured Rockster R900 impact crusher is currently working the hard yards for MCS on a contract at Winstone Aggregates’ Whitehall Quarry on the outskirts of Cambridge, a town in North Island’s Waikato region. It is busy producing material for a huge expre

India’s Pearl Mineral and Mines extracts 1,500m³ of granite/year with over half of its produce sold overseas.

Granite, the second hardest natural rock after diamond, owes its hardness and density to the fact that it has solidified deep inside the earth under extreme pressure.
Over time, shifts in the planet’s crust forces veins of granite to the surface, where commercial uses are found for it.
Pearl Mineral and Mines is one of the top producers and exporters of Indian granite. Located on India’s south

Machines from Volvo Construction Equipment are helping a South Korean quarry meet production targets 170m below ground.

On a chilly November morning in Jecheon, in the heart of South Korea, machine operators at the Jangchimi limestone quarry are hard at work. Located in peaceful countryside a two-hour drive from the capital Seoul, the quarry comes as somewhat of a surprise, nestled amongst trees in beautiful natural surroundings. White dust swirls in the air and the sound of thunder can be heard in the d

North India-based LSC Infratech is one of India’s earliest crushing plant owners. Ever since its inception, the company has been investing heavily in newer technologies, a strategy helping the company’s operational efficiency and profitability in the highly competitive Indian crushing business. With four crushing plants in the Indian state of Uttarkhand on the foothills of the picturesque Himalayan region, 255 kilometres away from India’s capital Delhi, and two plants in Rajasthan state, north India, LSC In

Ambitious Chinese equipment manufacturer XCMG has big plans to develop its quarrying and heavy civil construction-based products. It is investing in the development of its model range and aftermarket services, while seeking to maintain a competitive price advantage. Guy Woodford spoke to Liu Jiansen, XCMG’s assistant president and general manager of imports and exports, to learn more about the company’s big quarrying and civil markets vision.

A keen calligrapher, Liu Jiansen is confident that XCMG has dr

While it was understandably a time to celebrate the years of hard work that had led to the creation of LiuGong’s new US$43.4 million Global Research & Development Centre next to the company’s HQ in Liuzhou, southern China, it was also time to get a sobering reality check on the local market. As a large crowd of senior company representatives and around 300 distinguished guests, including government officials, industry and association leaders, experts and scholars, customers, dealers, and members of the int

I’ve been doing a lot of travelling around Europe since the last issue of Aggregates Business Europe and what has struck me is how willing quarry-based construction equipment manufacturers are still willing to innovate and launch new products on to the market, despite sales remaining flat for much of the continent and the wider international market.

The Lukyanovsky Mining and Processing Plant in Russia plans to up production to 200,000tonnes of quartz sand/year for the glass industry.

In 2016, the company plans to begin the construction of a dry mixes plant, raise the output of quartz sand to 500,000tonnes and increase staff numbers to 150 workers.

Mexican construction holding Grupo de Oro and cement company Holcim Lafarge Mexico have consolidated their strategic partnership with the launch of the new Holcim Fuerte cement.

The development of the new product started in 2012 and has been proved in different testing projects before starting its commercialisation.

Holcim Fuerte claims the new product offers a better performance, longer durability, 50% less cracks and high-quality constructions.

The new cement is aimed to lay foundations and rein

In the first half of 2015, Tunisia’s Carthage Cement posted turnover down nearly 11% to TND 90.66 million (€41.66 million/US$46.59 million).

The group recorded a net loss of TND 25.35 million, after a loss of TND 20.35 million one year earlier.

The pre-tax profit of Vietnam Cement Industry (Vicem) increased year-on-year from VND 1 trillion (€39.24 million/US$44.02 million) to VND 1.34 trillion in January-June 2015.

Member unit Vicem Hoang Mai reported post-tax profits of VND 30 billion, higher than VND 24.7 billion booked in January-June 2014, while net revenue from sales and service supply amounted to VND 499 billion in April-June 2015.

Meanwhile, the post-tax profit of Vicem Ha Tien 1 increased from VND 13 billion to VND 397 billion during