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Mexican cement firm Cemex’s strong overseas performance is said to have offset an 11% drop in sales and a 21% fall in Ebitda in Mexico during Q3 2013.
Overall, Cemex consolidated revenues grew year-on-year by 3% in July-September 2013, reaching €2.91 billion, while Ebitda totalled €541.1 million in this same period – up 2% on the third quarter of 2012. These positive results are mostly linked to higher volume sales in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and Asia. Cem

French construction materials group Lafarge is focusing its strategy towards industrial ecology in a bid to reduce its energy dependency by recovering waste.
Energy represents around a third of cement costs. The inauguration of a new workshop for the recovery of shredded solid waste at its Saint-Pierre-La-Cour site in Mayenne, northwest France will use up to 50% of alternative fuels. According to Lafarge, at some sites, such as those in Germany, this substitution rate has reached 60%, while in emerging cou

Reports says that in In Finland, the outlook in the concrete element sector is bleak.

According to Finnish concrete company Lujabetoni, the winter of 2013-2014 will be difficult, and demand for elements may fall by about 10%-15% while the Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries RT forecast a slowing down of about 3% for the autumn of 2013, but the decrease may be more.

Meanwhile, it is also reported that Finnish concrete company Betonimestarit has taken its concrete elements to India.

The cement plant which Mexican cement company Cemex has in the Spanish town of Alcanar will restart operations shortly, with two of the three furnaces there reopening already.

The facility has been shut for a year, which resulted in the redundancy or relocation to other sites of 136 of its 166 workers.

Most of the cement produced in Alcanar will go towards export, and there will be 70 or 80 people working at the plant, but they will have a 25% wage cut in accordance with terms agreed previously.

In France, a crushed solid waste unit has been inaugurated at the Lafarge cement- orks in Saint-Pierre la Cour.

The unit allows non-hazardous waste, such as plastics, papers and textiles, to be transformed into fuel. The waste is used to power the furnace during the cement production process. With the new unit, the use of traditional fossil fuels at the cement-works will be cut in half. By 2015, the aim is to reach 75%.

Cement producer Thai TPI Polene Public Company has placed an order with Siemens Drive Technologies, Nuremberg, Germany, for engineering and supply of the power distribution system and drives for the new clinker production line in Saraburi, Thailand.

Siemens will be supplying the drive solutions as well as the switchgear for the high, medium and low-voltage distribution systems. It is also responsible for project management and engineering.

Cement consumption in Spain dropped 21.9% to 10.7 million tonnes between January and September 2013, with the drop in September alone coming to 9.1% according to figures from the industry association Oficemen.

The year began with a fall, of 21.5%, and this trend has continued with double-digit drops which included a 40% decline in March. This follows a 34% fall in consumption in 2012 to 13.5 million tonnes.

Cement production is following a similar trend, with a drop of 18.9% in the January to Septemb

Authorities of the Leningrad region of Russia have offered several variants of compensating for road damage that appears due to goods being transported to the non-metallic quarries developers.

The first variant is to lease roads for the nominal fee, providing that developers will repair and maintain them at their own expense. The second variant is the payment of a certain sum per cubic metre of shipped material. The third variant is establishing a regional operator that will collect a fixed charge depend

Archaeologists have started the careful reburial of a model of the town of Messines, Belguim, covering an area of over 1,400m², which commemorated a battle victory in the World War I and helped to train troops for future battles.

A team of archaeologists working on Cannock Chase, central England on behalf of Staffordshire County Council and funded by Natural England, uncovered the historic treasure after a painstaking dig. The scaled terrain model was built by German prisoners of war at Brocton Camp in

Cemex’s consolidated net sales reached US$4 billion (€2.9 billion) during the third-quarter of 2013, an increase of 3% versus the comparable period in 2012. Operating EBITDA increased by 2% during the quarter to $747 million versus the same period in 2012.

The company says the increase in consolidated net sales was due to higher prices of its products in local currency terms and higher volumes in most of our regions while operating earnings before other expenses, net, in the third-quarter increased by 14

A family-run quarry in Ireland, near Abbeyleix, County Laois, some 100km south-west of Dublin, played host to the official launch of Terex Washing Systems newest modular aggregate and sand washing plant.
The Aggresand modular wash plant brings together aggregate and sand washing on a modular chassis, producing three aggregates and two sands on one machine.

Tyre monitoring pressure systems specialist AM Bromley, has unveiled a state-of-the-art off-the-road (OTR) tyre monitor system.
It utilises advanced telematics technology that is said to provide substantial cost-saving benefits, improved safety, and increased tyre life.

Developed in collaboration with ENAiKOON, the global telematics communications company, the system combines AM Bromley’s Tyre Monitor System (TMS) with ENAiKOON’s advanced tracking software to deliver an integrated system that offers rea

Finning has delivered the first Cat 336EL hybrid excavator in the UK to Dumbarton, Scotland-based quarrying specialists William Thompson & Son. It supplies quarry products, haulage, landfill for inert materials and plant hire services across the west of Scotland. The new excavator will be put to work in its main quarry, where it is “expected to save the company approximately £70,000 (€81,000) on fuel costs alone across five years of machine ownership.”

HeidelbergCement has priced a Eurobond issue (ISIN XS0985874543) under its €10 billion EMTN (European Medium Term Note) programme with an issuance volume of €300 million and a maturity date of 21 October 2020. The proceeds of the transaction will be used for general corporate purposes.
“The new Eurobond is a great success,” says CEO Dr. Bernd Scheifele.
“With the seven-year bond, HeidelbergCement could raise capital at more favourable terms for a longer maturity compared to one year ago. This is a clear

As part of a global effort to expand its dealer and service network, Volvo Penta has signed a deal that will make CJD Equipment in Australia its national importer and distributor for industrial engines.

With most Volvo Penta dealers historically situated on the coastlines where marine engines are sold and serviced, now industrial engine customers across the country will have access to dedicated dealer and aftermarket service.

From 1 November 1, Volvo Penta will have representation at each of CJD’s 17

The British Aggregates Association (BAA) says that more than 11 years after ”the ill-conceived Aggregates Levy was introduced in April 2002, real progress is finally being made.”

In an update on the situation, the BAA says: ”Following a favourable judgment by the EU General Court, HMRC [HM Revenue and Customs] are being compelled to suspend most of the exemptions and the Treasury has opened a consultation: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/briefs/excise-duty/brief3113.htm

“This consultation is open for submiss

Customers and distributors from over 21 countries attended the 2013 Powerscreen Open Day at Arden Brickworks near Birmingham, UK. The successful event saw Powerscreen unveil three new machines: the Premiertrak 300 jaw crusher, the Trakpactor 320SR impact crusher, and the Warrior 2100 screen as well as showcase some well-established products.

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, plans to spend €258.84 million building a new cement plant in Niger.

With a 1.5 million tonnes production capacity annually, the plant is part of a continent-wide drive to boost output by Africa's largest cement producer, which is looking for production of 55 million tonnes by 2016.

The realisation of the project is expected to create 6,000 to 7,000 jobs according to Dangote.

Land in County Shropshire, England, has been sold by Michelmersh Brick to help fund investment to raise production.

Some £4.6 million (€5.42 million) has been paid by Bovis Homes for the 15 acre former factory site adjacent to the brickworks in Telford.

The brick maker says it will look to maximise the value of other land assets.

A prototype self-healing concrete is going to be trialled by the UK contractor Costain.

The company is going to invest £600,000 (€709,000) into the project, which will attempt to develop an inbuilt concrete immune system able to repair cracks and wounds.

Scientists are planning to add special bacteria to the concrete, and this is contained within protective microcapsules, which will come to life as soon as water enters a crack. They will then produce limestone deposits, which will plug cracks in the