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Ireland-based CRH has announced that it has appoint Maeve Carlton as its new finance director, replacing Glenn Culpepper who has resigned from the post in order to return to the US. Chartered accountant Carlton joined CRH in 1988 and has held a number of roles in group finance where she was appointed as group controller in 2001 and more recently head of group finance in 2009. Commenting on these changes, CRH chief executive Myles Lee said, “We thank Glenn for his many years of significant achievement in CRH

It has been reported that Skanska Asfalt’s Mats Rönnbo has written to Norway’s public road organisation Statens Vegvesen claiming that NCC and Veidekke are operating a price fixing cartel for asphalt. Rönnbo is understood to have looked into the offers of NCC and Veidekke concluded that they make higher offers where there is no competition and give offers below the cost price on stretches where there is competition from other players. Veidekke and NCC are about to win 75% of the offers for this year's contr

UK-based HD Ricketts is aiming to diversify its business with a venture into aggregate production and has invested in a new Terex Finlay 683 Supertrak 3-way split mobile screen. The hauling company worked with Finlay Central to specify the screen for use at its Weeford Quarry base in the West Midlands and is being used to produce six size of single size material.

Inteco has announced that it is to build a new 4.6million tonne per year capacity cement plant in the Tula region of Russia. Construction on the €660million facility is expected to start in 2011 with full operation planned for 2014.

Efforts to help families in Mexico and Latin America build better homes has helped Cemex to win the Big Tick award from the Business in Community’s (BITC) in the UK for responsible business practice. The awards are presented to company’s that demonstrate the positive impact they have had on society and also the business benefits created by ensuring that being responsible is integral to their business model.

Finning has used one of its Caterpillar 777F rigid dump trucks to display a 20ft England flag at its headquarters in Cannock, UK in support of the World Cup football team. The UK Cat dealer is also giving away 50 sets of ‘Union Flagged’ Cat hats and safety glasses for those subscribing to Lastability service package. According to Finning, the flag is causing a stir in the local area with a number of fan posing by the Union flag to have their pictures taken.

Operator comfort and wellbeing is high on the agenda for both construction equipment manufacturers and quarry operators, and introduction of the Human Vibration Directive will add a new legislative driver to the trend. Claire Symes and Mark Cherrington report

Trafficking over rough ground is almost unavoidable in a quarry or on a construction site and the vibrations this creates are a major cause of wear and tear on equipment. Manufacturers have developed better suspension systems to reduce the impact bu

Safety is the responsibility of everyone in the supply chain from equipment producer and quarry owner down to the individual worker and their colleagues. ABE reports. Improving the safety of quarry workers has been a key target for the industry over the last decade and these continual efforts have helped improve the sector's reputation. But to achieve the next target of zero lost time accidents at more than just a few sites will call for everyone to take responsibility.

Caterpillar's rigid dump trucks are a well established range but their origins date back 45 years to the 32tonne 769 machine. Mike Woof looks at the company's original concept. When Caterpillar's 769 rigid dump truck (RDT) made its debut in 1962 the machine featured a 32tonne (36 short ton) payload and a mechanical drivetrain that allowed a top speed of 66km/h. Aimed mainly at the quarrying and construction sectors, this machine was conventional by the standards of the time and technically at least, it di

Investment in crushing and screening equipment is helping one Irish quarry operator make the most of its decorative deposit. Demand for high quality paving products has helped boost the fortunes of Donegal-based Muckish Sand & Gravel and the company has invested in equipment to keep pace. The family-owned Irish quarry operator uses a fleet of six Fintec machines and a Sandvik crusher at the Fallay site. The company processes the crushed and screened material to produce a number of aggregate products from th

Production at family-owned Earsham Gravels in Norfolk, UK has been boosted with the delivery of two new Volvo wheeled loaders to join the existing fleet of Volvo machines. “They are not the cheapest on the market, but at the end of the day you get what you pay for and we know where we stand with Volvo,” said Earsham proprietor Jim Bennett. “We are also very conscious of our carbon footprint in the locality both on emissions and noise pollution and again we believe the Volvo product goes that extra mile in r

Following the change of government in the UK, the British Aggregates Association (BAA) has renewed its campaign to have the country’s Aggregates Levy scrapped. The organisation has written to Chancellor George Osborne to repeal the tax, which the BAA has said is a stealth tax that has failed to produce the benefits claimed when it was introduced in 2002. BAA director Robert Durward said, “Not only was this levy based on research which was set up to produce the answer the previous government wanted, it was n

France-based Carrières du Boulonnais has said that it is planning to grow its business in the Rhône-Alpes area through acquisitions. The company bought out the 200,000tonnes per year Carrières Blanc as well as two Normandy-based quarry operators last year.

SteinExpo has announced that is has signed an agreement with Mitteldeutsche Hartstein-Industrie to host the next edition of the quarrying equipment exhibition. Under the deal, SteinExpo will use the company’s basalt quarry in Nieder-Ofleiden, Germany as the venue for the show between 31 August and 3 September this year. Organiser of the event, Geoplan, has said that 105 exhibitors representing 140 brands have already booked space at the 8th edition of the show. Geoplan has also said that the 2011 even will

Strike action over pay freezes halted cement production at three of Secil’s cement plants in Portugal this week. The walk-out started on Tuesday 22 February and affected the operation of the Maceiras, Pataias and Outao plants. The strike was triggered by the announcement of a pay freeze in 2011 despite Secil declaring a 60% rise in profits to €120million in 2010.

Eurovia’s bid to acquire Tarmac’s European aggregates assets has been granted partial approval by the European Commission. Under the EU Merger Regulations, the EC has approved the buyout of operations in Poland and Germany but has referred the acquisition of the French and Czech operations to the competition authorities in the individual countries. According to the EC, preliminary investigation found that the proposal may significantly affect competition in the French and Czech civil engineering, road works

Carbon emissions from Tarmac UK’s Tunstead cement plant are set to be cut by 40% following investment in a new lime kiln at the site in Derbyshire. The new £13.4million (€16.2million) Maerz kiln replaces two existing rotary kilns that were installed in 1955. Tarmac has already cut energy consumption at the site by 35% in the last five years through investment in efficient plant and by introducing waste-derived fuels but the new kiln will further cut costs and reduce emissions.

With the experience of four quarrying companies behind it, Turkey's Maden Yapi is well positioned to capitalise on the country's future growth. Quarrying is in abundance in Turkey as the country tries to meet demand for aggregates and even the government is offering incentives to encourage this type of work. The reason for all the activity is part of the work needed to help towards Turkey joining the EU in 2015, which calls for development of an improved infrastructure. One company well positioned to benefi

For centuries production of an industrial mineral has shaped the Cornish countryside but Aggregate Industries is working to return it to its natural state. The landscape of one UK county could be set to change forever because of a boom in the demand for recycled and more sustainable sources of rock. For hundreds of years, unused by-product from the china clay industry in Cornwall has been abandoned as part of the process, creating huge piles of waste material, known locally as the Cornish Alps.

Deutsche Börse is to include the share price of Heidelberg Cement in Germany’s DAX index from 21 June. “We are very happy about the inclusion in the blue chip segment, comprising the 30 largest listed companies in Germany,” said Heidelberg CEO Dr Bernd Scheifele. “This marks the achievement of an important company target in 2010. Inclusion in the DAX reflects the successful development of our company over the past twelve months. Due not least to the high commitment and excellent performance of our employees