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Lafarge has reported sales in the first three months of the year were down 10% on the same period last year at €3.2billion. Nonetheless, the company has said that the results for the first quarter traditionally reflect the seasonality and are not indicative of the full year. The company also pointed out that earnings from aggregates and concrete stabilised during the period, offsetting declines int eh cement and gypsum divisions.

Despite difficult trading conditions in the first two months of the year, CRH has reported in its interim management statement that conditions have improved in recent weeks. The company reported that on a like-for-like basis sales in January and February were down 23.5% on 2009 levels due to the poor weather conditions. Sales in March and April showed further declines but at 7% below the levels seen in the same period last year to give an overall decline of 14% for the first four months of the year. CRH has

Lafarge has announced that its involvement in the French Fête de la Nature will involve public
open days at 17 of its quarries between 19 and 23 May. The company hopes to show visitors the rich biodiversity in quarries with walks and workshops with local nature associations.

Anglo American has announced that it is to sell Tarmac’s building material business in France and Belgium to Foundations Capital for €67million. Tarmac Matériaux de Construction is one of the leading independent producers of concrete blocks in the French and Belgian markets, producing prefabricated concrete blocks, such as street kerbs and paving stones.

Holcim is reported to be planning to resume activity at its limestone quarry in Antoing near Tournai by 2015. The company expects to extract around 4.3million tonnes of limestone from the 162ha site each year. Holcim is understood to be planning to be planning to invest €50 to 70million on the Obourg cement facility to support the new activity.

Introduction of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive will help protect the aquatic environment but what does this mean for the marine aggregates sector. Claire Symes spoke to the UEPG's Marine Aggregates Task Force to find out. Pressures on land use mean that gaining permission to access new aggregate resources in Europe is becoming increasingly difficult. But in many areas, marine aggregates offer an untapped source that could be the key to meeting future demand.

France-based Vicat has announced sales of €398million for the first quarter of 2010 – a 6.2% decline on the same period last year. The company has said that it is still pleased with the result given the difficult weather conditions in the US and European markets. In a statement, the company said, “Activity levels in the emerging countries remain solid, with a good performance in West Africa and confirmation of the strong recovery in Turkey. In Egypt, because of poor weather conditions and one-off issues, Vi

Contract crushing is gaining popularity as quarry operators try to match production to market need. Demand for aggregates in Spain has been steadily rising over the last decade and the growth looks set to continue. But regional variations mean that keeping production in line with demand is a challenge.

Hanson's Spanish subsidiary, Hanson Hispania, is rising to the demand challenge at its Cabezo Gordo limestone quarry, near Alicante in Murcia, by turning to contract crushing. The company is using Transp

Continuous economic growth in Indonesia is the main driver behind a decision by Holcim to build a new US$450million cement plant on the island of Java. The new facility is expected to have a capacity of 1.6million tonnes per year and will be located in the eastern part of the main island of Java, near the city of Tuban. The new plant with open sea loading and unloading facilities will go into service in the first half of 2013, providing all necessary local licenses are granted in due time. This investment w

Heidelberg Cement has reported turnover of €2.18billion for the first three months of this year, a 7.6% decline on sales in the same period in 2009. The company has said that its figures were not only affected by economic influences, but also to a considerable degree by seasonal factors. In a statement the company said, “Long-lasting wintery conditions were experienced both in large parts of North America and in Europe and had a further negative impact on sales development. To which extent the sales volumes

"A niche player" is how Sandvik construction president Thomas Schulz describes the company and said recent acquisitions reinforce this claim. Claire Symes reports. Sweden's Sandvik has a long history of strategic acquisitions - there were no less than eight in the first half of 2007 across the group and many others during its 145-year history. Yet the company's buyout of two UK-based mobile crushing and screening companies took the sector by surprise when it was announced at this year's Bauma exhibition in

Cemex Latvia has announced that it has merged its operation with its quarrying subsidiary Sauleskalna Karjers. Cemex has said that the administration of both companies has already been merged and Sauleskalna Karjers production is currently being restructured.

Sales of crushed rock aggregates and asphalt in the UK have returned to positive growth in the first three months of 2010, according to the latest report from the Mineral Products Association (MPA). The organisation has reported that sales of crushed rock aggregates and asphalt were up 6% and 9%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2009.

France-based quarry operator GSM has been granted permission to continue operating its Roussas Quarry in Drôme, south eastern France. The Italcementi-subsidiary has consent to continue extraction until 2032.

Delivery truck restrictions, combined with current high demand for aggregates in the Middle East, places quarry operators under pressure. ABE takes a look at how Demir's Wadi Isfini Quarry in Ra's al Khaimah copes. It is estimated that there are more than $1000billion (€784billion) of construction projects either underway or in the pipeline in the Middle East. But while these projects are big in scale and value, the deadlines being set for completion are very short, creating a high demand for building mat

Heidelberg selected the Natura 2000 protected File Hajdar on Gotland, Sweden as the location for its first sustainable quarrying summit. The company said it selected the area which is operated by its subsidiary Cementa as a limestone quarry because it is hone to one of the largest population of the threatened Pulsatilla patens. Heidelberg organised the event last week to tell local stakeholders about progress of a project to investigate the possibilities of establishing and increasing the number of Pulsatil

Denis Mertens took on the role of president of the European Aggregates Association just four months ago, but he is already building a clear view of his strategy to take the industry forward. He talked to Claire Symes about his plans

Lafarge has launched a new service in the UK to minimise the amount of wasted cement sent to landfill. Under the scheme, customers will be able to arrange collection of out of date materials through the existing ordering system. The collection and recycling service applies to all Lafarge's packed cements, whether a merchant customer wishes to dispose of one bag or a full lorry load. The new service is a follow on from the pallet recycling service launched last year.

Hanson is aiming to improve safety at 350 of its UK sites with the roll out of new hi-viz safety workwear. The company has just awarded a £250,000 contract to Cosalt to supply three sets of safety wear over a two year period. Cosalt was awarded the contract on the back of its extensive experience of supplying bespoke workwear to the aggregates and quarrying market. Cosalt has said that it has done a great deal of research to design workwear that meets the specific needs of the industry and ensuring garments

Holcim is reported to be planning to invest €7million in improving the operation of its plant at Lägerdorf in Germany. The work on installing new environmental technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is due to be completed by next summer.