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CRH, the international building materials group, says it has reached agreement to dispose of its clay and concrete businesses in the United Kingdom and its clay business in the United States (combined referred to as ‘the Business’) to funds managed by Bain Capital Europe for an Enterprise Value of €522million. This amount excludes real estate assets with an estimated market value of €37.8 million that are being retained by CRH for future disposal.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is

Atrus Cement Holding (Austria) has suspended indefinitely the construction of a cement plant in the Krymsk district (Krasnodar region, South) of Russia

According to the Head of the National Committee of Cement Producers, Jihad Al-Rashid, cement demand in Saudi Arabia has declined by 5%.

Output growth of 10% at Lafarge’s Toledo, Spain plant

Pakistan domestic cement sales are up, but the country’s cement exports are down, according to All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) data. Domestic cement sales July-November 2014 rose year-on-year by 9.39%, while cement exports were down 2% over the same year-on-year period. In the month of November 2014, domestic cement dispatches stood at 2.37 million, representing a year on-year increase of 11.51%, while cement exports saw a year-on-year increase of 9.76% to 659,000. Total dispatches in

The board of directors at South African cement producer PPC has received a conditional and non-binding merger offer from AfriSam, a producer of construction materials. PPC is said to have restructured its board of directors and its board will now have 12 non-executive directors and will not consist of any former or current permanent executive directors that served within the 10-year period.

A new cement plant is being built by Indonesia-based Cemindo Gemilang (CG) in Banten's Lebak regency. According to CG's Aos Gumilar, the plant is being constructed on a site covering 500 hectares in the subdistrict of Bayah. It will produce cement under the Merah Putih brand. The plant will have an annual output capacity of 3.2 million tonnes. Earmarked to become operational from 2016.

Kenya-based ARM Cement has taken a US$49.74 million (KES 4.5 billion) loan from CfC Stanbic Bank, to help fund several of its projects. These include a planned 2.5 million tonne/year cement factory in Kitui, a 2,500 tonnes/day grinding plant in the Tanga region of Tanzania, and an upgrade of the Rwanda grinding plant to 2,000 tonnes/day. Further cash may be made available if Nigeria's Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) decides to convert its $50 million bond from 2012 to shares in ARM.

Kobelco Construction Machinery Europe (KCME) has appointed McSharry Bros. Manufacturing Ltd (McSharry Bros.) as its exclusive dealer for service and supply of the Kobelco brand throughout the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

McSharry Bros. was first established in 1970 as a distributor of agriculture machinery before importing excavators. Today the company comprises of two divisions: Machinery Sales and Undercarriage. The firm is said by KCME to be the leader in both machine and undercarriage sa

French building materials supplier Saint-Gobain is to acquire Swiss building materials and construction chemicals producer Sika. The French company is to take over Sika for €2.29 billion (CHF 2.75 billion), and is to have a 16.1% share capital and 52.4% voting right at the firm. Sika’s management as well as part of the company’s board of directors are reportedly threatening to step down once the transaction has been completed. Pierre-André de Chalendar, the head of Saint-Gobain, is said to have been surpris

Nigerian cement producers and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) have sealed a pact for the training of artisans in the cement and building sectors. The move aims to bridge the skill gaps in the two sectors and also reduce the export of jobs to other African countries. The ITF has received around US$82.21 million (NGN 15 billion) from the Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN) for the initiative.

The first phase of the artisans’ training is set to begin soon. It will cover one Nigerian state each

The Indonesia Cement Association expects Indonesia’s cement sales to rise by 6% in 2015, due to government infrastructure projects like new seaports and the Trans Sumatra toll road. Between January and November 2014, sales of cement increased by 3.4% compared to the same period of 2013 to 54.6 million tonnes. For 2014, the association expects cement sales to grow by 4%, slower than the 5.8% growth in 2013. The slower growth was due to national and regional elections that led to a delay in infrastructure pro

Representatives from more than 120 companies and associations active in fields involving natural stone and machinery for quarries and building sites in Italy, Egypt, China, India, Turkey, Russia and Poland were meeting today in Cairo for the first day of MS Marmomacc Samoter Africa and Middle East.

The debuting four-day Veronafiere event aims to promote contacts between 120 exhibitors and a qualified audience of designers, construction companies, distributors and hire companies from the African cont

Nepal's cement producer Arghakhanchi Cement is said to be targeting large-scale infrastructure projects as part of its new growth plan. The company, which is owned by three Nepali industrial firms: Siddhartha Group, Kedia Group and Mararka Group, owns a manufacturing plant with a daily capacity of 1,000tonnes and 1,200tonnes of cement and clinker, respectively. The firm is planning on increasing its clinker production, although authorities are reluctant to provide permit for such expansions as the plant is

The tax on cement in Morocco is handicapping the nation’s concrete producers and favours importation of concrete products over local production, according to the president of the Moroccan association for concrete industries (Amib), Azzeddine Abaakil.

Abaakil has also noted a decline in housing projects and the depletion of the public infrastructure order book. A decline in sales prices has also had an impact, he says, alongside an extension in payment delays and unpaid bills by building and public works

Swiss cement giant Holcim has announced that Jacques Bourgon, currently Head of OH&S for the Holcim Group, and Senior Advisor to the CEO, Bernard Fontana, is to leave the company on 31 December 2014.

A company statement says: “Holcim thanks Jacques Bourgon for the valuable contributions he has made to the success of the Group in various roles during his 24 years with the company.”

ASA CONS, a Romanian producer of concrete products owned by the French group Consolis, estimates that its turnover will reach around RON 62million (€14.01 million/US$ 17.24 million) in 2015, similar to the sales recorded in 2014.

The company forecasts a 40% rise in sales in 2014, from previous year.

ASA CONS is involved in projects such as the construction of Shopping Center Targu-Jiu, developed by NEPI, and the construction of the Reci wood processing factory by Holzindustrie Schweighofer.

The GITG company is to build an autoclaved aerated concrete plant in the Klin City region of Moscow.

It will be built on a land plot with an area of more than 65,000m² some 88km from the Leningrad highway.

The plant with a total area of 26,700m² will include a manufacturing building, a boiler house, storage facilities (including outdoor ones), wastewater treatment facilities, a transformer substation, a backup diesel power supply.

The project cost is estimated at RUB 335 million (€4.99 million/US$

In a bid to boost the visibility of its services and products online, French construction materials group Vicat has announced the launch of a website dedicated to cement activity.

The site will present Vicat's different products for all client types (individuals, traders and craftspeople). There are two ways of using the site. The first is via the product ranges, for people familiar with Vicat's products, while the second is by field of application, to direct clients towards solutions adapted to their ne

The Moscow authorities are considering the use of concrete for road construction.

It is claimed that concrete is supposed to be more durable than asphalt; heats up less and does not crack and slip if it contains polymer additives (polymer concrete).

However, it is also claimed that concrete pavement can produce more noise and their construction costs more.