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At the British Aggregates Association’s annual meeting a record number of nine certificates were awarded to member companies that had successfully completed the Association’s Assessment of Operating Standards Scheme. The successful companies included Huntsmans Quarries; Henry Streeter (Sand & Ballast); Johnston Quarry Group; Middleton Aggregates; Tillicoultry Quarries and Raymond Brown Minerals & Recycling. The awards were made by Eric Darlow MBE who has chaired the awarding panel since its inception in 200

FLSmidth has received an order from Indian cement manufacturer Orient Cement for the supply of main equipment for a greenfield plant in the state of Karnataka in southern India. The plant will have a capacity of 6,000tonnes/day, and the order is reportedly worth over DKK 200 million (€26.8 million). Under the agreement, the order covers engineering and supply of main equipment from limestone crusher to packing plant.

Global economic growth in the first half of 2013 was weaker than foreseen, says Holcim in its first-half results for 2013. Construction activity was hurt by the severe winter as well as the bad weather encountered in many regions, and demand fell short of expectations particularly in India, Canada, Mexico and Morocco. By contrast, the economic climate was significantly better in the Philippines and Ecuador, among other markets. Holcim succeeded in increasing group net income and cash flow from operating act

The first Hitachi ZW-5 wheeled loader in Europe has been delivered to Norwegian company. Farbu & Gausen, which specialises in road and railway construction projects, and electricity contracts on a national basis. The new ZW220-5 has already been dispatched to a limestone quarry that its owner rents from Hall Farm, close to its base at Kjerknesvågen, located along the Trondheimsfjord on the Inderøy peninsula.

Rocamat, the French limestone, marble and tile specialist, posted an 8.5% increase in turnover in H1 2013 to €41.2 million, compared to the same period of 2012. Billing for two large projects boosted sales by 44.5%. French sales rose 3% despite the unfavourable environment. Its North American subsidiary Polycor saw sales grow 22%, while its non Polycor activities posted growth of 1.6%, largely due to lower exports to China and the UK. North American growth is expected to continue into the second half of the

Eurovia says it will not be pursuing plans to build a €2.68 million asphalt plant on the Isle of Wight. A new partnership involving the firm will result in asphalt production at Blackwater Quarry, St George's Down being upgraded, negating the need for the new asphalt plant facility. Residents had opposed plans for the new plant. A 25-year Public Finance Initiative was awarded to Eurovia Roadstone in 2012 to maintain the island's roads.

Towards a competitive industrial production for Europe is the title of the conference of the construction equipment and agricultural machinery industry in Brussels, Belgium, on 16 October, 2013. Every two years the CECE-CEMA Summit provides a platform for business leaders of the sector to meet and discuss industry matters with representatives of the European institutions. This year’s event will take place in the political heart of the EU, directly within the European Parliament. Ms Amalia Sartori , Member

SreeJayajothi Cements of India has been acquired by CRH of Ireland for INR 14 billion (€172.44 million) through joint venture with My Home Industries. The Indian cement company is a subsidiary of Shriram Group. SreeJayajothi Cements would use money generated from the deal to retire close to INR 9 billion debt and the remaining would be shared by the Jayavilas Group and Shriram Group. The acquisition of SreeJayajothi Cements allows Shriram Group and Jayavilas Group to completely exit the former. Jayavilas Gr

The precast concrete element production plant of Max Bögl in Sengenthal, Germany, has been awarded a contract worth around €80 million from the ATCOST21 working group for the production of 53,620 tunnel lining elements for the planned Fildertunnel railway tunnel that will be part of the Stuttgart-Wendlingen railway line. The contract is the biggest individual contract in the plant's history. The Max Bögl plant will produce the precast concrete elements for the Fildertunnel railway tunnel from spring 2014 un

A new range of ready-mixed concretes has been launched by British independent concrete supplier, Hope Construction Materials. HOPEFlow is a suite of high-performance, self-compacting concretes and flowing screeds that can be placed in a fraction of the time of conventional concrete, says the company. The product also provides a high-quality surface finish that requires little or no further remedial work. The range, which is available nationwide, is said to be ideal for any situation where conventional concr

Hope Construction Materials, Britain’s newest and biggest independent supplier of concrete, cement, aggregates and asphalt has become the UK’s first construction company to join the World Economic Forum’s Global Growth Companies (GGC) community. The company has been recognised by the Forum after demonstrating strong growth potential during its first six months of trading. Hope Construction Materials is also one of just two European construction companies to show it meets membership criteria. Formed in 2007,

According to Peterburgskaya Nedvizhimost, cellular concrete houses account for 22% of all houses in the Leningrad region's country settlements. Panel structures account for 10%; brick houses for 7%, and houses built under cast-in-place technology for 3%. Some 45% of settlements use several types of materials. Houses made from expanded concrete cost RUB 20,000 (€455.21) per m²; houses made from foam concrete cost about RUB 50,000 per m² and brick houses cost RUB 100,000 per m².

Researchers at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) in Spain and the University of São Paulo in Brazil have developed a new construction material which incorporates green coconut fibres, ash from the rice husk and cellulose pulp into conventional Portland cement. The material has been developed with usage in low cost housing construction in mind, although it could be used for any type of construction. It is said to be an alternative to traditional cement but is more sustainable and is cheaper. It al

Ivano-Frankivskcement has started building a new plant producing special cements used in roadbuilding and mining sectors, including the shale gas production segment. The new plant's capacity will be 1 million tonnes of products a year, with its staff numbering 300 people. The project will be funded by five banks: the World Bank, EBRD, Danshe Bank, Raiffeisenbank, and Ukraine's Ukreximbank, with the loan agreement signed on 5 August, 2013.

talian cement and concrete manufacturer Italcementi is reported to have plans to close two of its domestic plants as of 1 January, 2014. They will be the one in Monselice (Padua), that employs 102 staff, and the one in Scafa (Pescara), that employs 67 people. The unions have argued that Italcementi's capacity reduction plan agreed in 2012 did not include the two facilities.

Croatian construction company Viadukt has published its letter of intention, through the Zagrebacka Stock Exchange (ZSE) dealer, for examination of investments in the two cement producers, Nasicement and Nexe Group. Viadukt became an important trustee in the liquidation processes of both companies, after a takeover of debts from the Slavonia Closed Investment Fund with shares worth HRK 86mn (€11.47 million). The company said that it holds knowledge, experience and resources necessary for the processing of t

Trimble has introduced its TirePulse tyre monitoring system to assist fleet managers in reducing maintenance costs, increasing overall fleet productivity and promoting site safety. Part of the Trimble Connected Site portfolio, the advanced machine monitoring solution wirelessly reports tyre temperature and pressure data from the jobsite to the VisionLink fleet, asset and site productivity management solution from Trimble. Automatic, real-time tyre pressure and high-temperature alerts help fleet managers and

Metso has completed the acquisition of the steel foundry in Quzhou City, Zheijang Province some 400km south-west of Shanghai, which was announced in February 2013. The acquired assets of Quzhou Juxin Machinery and Quzhou Chixin Machinery and approximately 220 employees are now transferred to Metso as of today. The value of the acquisition will not be disclosed. The target of the acquisition is to improve Metso's capabilities to supply wear parts to its mining and construction industry customers in China and

Finning has delivered the first Cat 336EL hybrid excavator in the UK to Dumbarton, Scotland-based quarrying specialists William Thompson & Son, who supply quarry products, haulage, landfill for inert materials and plant hire services to all sectors of the construction and building industry across the west of Scotland. The new Cat 336EL Hybrid 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 ma

French construction materials group Vicat posted turnover of €1.15 billion for the first half of 2013, up 1.7% on year (3.2% at constant perimeter and exchange rates). Cement turnover rose 2.9% and concrete and granulate activity grew 6.9%. Other activities and services saw turnover dropped by 4.7%. Consolidated EBITDA rose 2.1% to €201 million for an EBITDA margin of 17.5%. EBIT rose 1.3% to €105 million and group net profit increased 9% to €54.9 million for the period.