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Polish aggregate supplier Dolnoslaskie Surowce Skalne (DSS) recorded a net loss of €5.61 million over the first three quarters of 2012. The loss was despite the in administration firm generating €24.68 million in revenue, €6.37 million in EBITDA and €1.19 million of operating profit between Q1-3 2012. The DSS board said that the net loss is attributable to high finance costs related to loans taken out for motorway contracts. However, the financial situation is likely to change as a €39.06 million liabilit

Italian cement producer Italcementi has introduced a temporary lay-off scheme for up to 665 workers in a bid to cut costs. Two-thirds of the scheme’s participants are at its production sites and one-third in its Bergamo headquarters in northern Italy. The Group's 2013-2014 business plan envisages cuts of around €40 million, and a business reorganisation that sees the production sites of Rezzato, Calusco, Samatzai, Colleferro, Isola delle Femmine and Matera act as its core plants. Meanwhile, production in it

As 2012 draws to a close it is a good time to reflect, but also to look forward. From my viewpoint it has been an interesting and informative year, visiting many countries for conferences, industry shows, and also quarries to compile reports for Aggregates Business Europe. At all of these events the most important aspect has been meeting and talking to those people involved in the European aggregates sector, all of whom have shown a great passion for the industry.
Only recently at the European Minerals For

Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe)/(HCME) has launched its new EH5000AC-3 rigid dump truck, the largest Hitachi dump truck featuring the advanced Hitachi AC drive system, which was developed using advanced propulsion technology of the type that also powers Japan’s bullet trains. The new EH5000AC-3 features the third generation Hitachi Drive Control System, which incorporates such functionalities as slip control for traction (similar to active traction control) and slide control for grip (similar to an

More than 50 Terex distributors from around the world, including distributors from Africa, Asia, France, Norway, Russia and the Middle East travelled to the home of Terex trucks in Scotland, UK, visiting the manufacturing facility where sheets of metal are transformed into rigid and articulated trucks, some of which have payloads of up to 100tonnes. During the event, visitors were able to speak with key Terex representatives and had the opportunity to see each stage of the manufacturing process, from assemb

An Indian quarry operator is using a Sandvik BA2424 hydraulic breaker to increase basalt production at its facility in Gujarat State. Amrut Quarry, a pioneering quarry operator, selected the new Basic Line breaker to help increase productivity levels. Charged with secondary, post-blast boulder breaking, the breaker is spearheading an upgrade to a quarry that has 17.5 million tonnes of reserves and a life expectancy of at least another 20 years. The 36-plus hectare Amrut Quarry is owned by Sri. Kamal Bhai, a

In Spain the Escuela Politecnica Superior de Linares, part of the University of Jaen, is developing bricks made from waste paper, which could bring about both economic and environmental benefits by utilising as a raw material something which is otherwise dismissed as waste. The scientists have collected all the cellulose waste which a paper factory produces as well as the sludge which comes from purifying sewage and combined it in the clay which is used in construction. The addition of the waste makes a pro

Castle Hill Quarry has bought the UK’s first Doosan DL420-3 Stage IIIB compliant large wheeled loader. Based in Cannington near the town of Bridgwater, County Somerset, south-west Egland, the company acquired the machine from the local authorised Doosan dealer, Kellands (Plant Sales), also of Bridgwater. With a bucket capacity of 4.2m3, the new wheeled loader is intended to meet a wide range of material-handling needs from loading and transporting granular material (such as sand and gravel) to industrial, m

French company Placoplatre (Saint-Gobain) has presented plans for a new open air quarry for gypsum, the mineral which is used to produce plaster. The company already owns the land in Villevaudé, Seine-et-Marne, where it plans to open the new quarry and is to submit a request for operating authorisation in the first half of 2013. Placoplatre, which accounts for one quarter of plaster production in France, aims to ensure the future of the factory in Vaujours, Seine-Saint-Denis, which employs 150 staff and is

According to data provided by the Czech Cement Manufacturers Association, in the first nine months of 2012 some 2.6 million tonnes of cement were produced in the country, down by 10% year-on-year. At the same time, the volume of exported cement fell by 20%. The decline is mainly a result of unfavourable economic situation and slump of the construction sector.

Cement group Cemex is continuing to obtain ISO 14001 environmental certification for its various French sites, with an additional 110 sites certified in 2012. Some 183 Cemex sites comply with the ISO 14001 standard in total, or 53% of its sites, which include aggregate quarries, production units for ready-to-use concrete, ports, administrative headquarters and equipment depots. Cemex's aggregate activity is fully certified, and the group is aiming to have 100% of its sites certified by the end of 2014.

JCB has marked the production of its half millionth backhoe loader with a ceremony at its World Headquarters in Rocester County Staffordshire, England. Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford joined hundreds of employees to celebrate the 500,000th milestone of the machine that the company says made it famous around the world. The 500,000th JCB backhoe to be produced was a 5CX model, which is the most powerful commercially available JCB backhoe ever made, and which is also JCB’s most productive, being able to shift 34

According to experts, concrete consumption in Russia may amount to 62 million tonnes in 2012, and the market may grow by 9-10%. Demand for concrete in the Southern and North-Caucasian Federal Districts is growing by 15-20% per month during the peak construction season. Concrete prices have increased, and they are growing mainly due to increasing construction volumes and growing tariff rates for energy and rail transportation. Motor transport accounted for 45% of cement transportation and its share continues

Volvo Construction Equipment’s A40F articulated hauler has received the iF Product Design Award following on from winning the ‘red dot: best of the best’ product design award in February. The A40F was awarded the prize in category 15: special vehicles, construction and agriculture. “We are extremely proud to win another globally-recognised mark of industrial design quality for the A40F articulated hauler,” says Anders P. Larsson, executive vice president of Volvo CE’s technology function. “This award is a

Tyre granulate from French used tyre recycling organisation Aliapur is said to help make concrete more solid, according to two studies (launched in 2000 and 2007) and financed by Aliapur, tyre manufacturer Michelin and the French environmental and energy management agency Ademe. In 2010, a partnership was formed between Aliapur, Ademe, Eiffage Travaux Publics and the laboratory for materials and durability of constructions of Insa Toulouse in order to test the new concrete on the ground. Some three concrete

Launching the new XH320X impact crusher, Damian Power, Powerscreen global product director, said: “Building upon the success of the XH320 in the quarry and recycling industry, the new XH320X is the next generation of impact crusher for these markets.” The XH320X has been developed to incorporate a fully independent hydraulically driven pre-screen, which Powerscreen says will improve fines removal and reduce chamber wear costs for the customer. To coincide with the independent prescreen feature, a hydraulica

An award-winning concrete system from SensoCrete, of Quebec, Canada, is now being trialled by a number of European companies. The Concrete Optimizer technology, handled in Europe by SensoCrete’s dealer Polarmatic of Finland, allows the monitoring and adjustment of fresh concrete properties. Invented by Berthold Berman, CTO of SensoCrete, it was one of four innovations selected by the Construction Innovation Forum (CIF) in late 2011 to receive its prestigious NOVA Award for outstanding innovation in construc

Keestrack is highlighting its new transport solution for its Combo Combo Keestrack mobile screening plant, which it says separates easily three fractions at a maximum capacity of 250tonnes/hour. The 17tonne Combois said to be ideal for smaller screening jobs or for rental or where mobility is of the essence, and the machine can be used for scalping or for precision screening. “Mobility is one of the biggest assets of the Combo. Just because of this, Keestrack looked out for an alternative way of transportin

Metso and ZAO Russian Copper Company (RMK) have signed a contract to supply crushing, screening and grinding equipment, as well as on-site services for six years, to the first plant of the new Tominsky GOK copper concentrator in the Chelyabinskya region in south-western Russia. The complete value of the order is approximately €150 million. The complete value of the equipment order amounts to approximately €65 million. Under the current equipment contract, Metso will supply a primary gyratory crusher, three

The Middle East Dredging Company (MEDCO) has selected Weir Minerals to supply pumps to be used in the dredging of the New Doha Sea Port in Qatar. Construction of the port, which will be one of the deepest in the world and will cover an area of 26.5km² will require approximately 45 million m³ of mainly hard rock to be dredged from a 20km-long approach channel and the basin itself. Weir Minerals will supply heavy-duty skid-mounted pump assemblies, each incorporating a Warman 550 TUL slurry pump, a 1,000hp die