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Sicily-based Calcestruzzi is to the re-incorporated into Italcementi following a decision by the court of Caltanissetta to revoke in full the preventive seizure of the company and an order for the return of the company assets to entitled shareholders. Calcestruzzi’s assets were removed from the control of Italcementi in 2007 following reports of mafia involvement and price fixing.

Construction of a new precast concrete panel plant for Essentium in Spain could get underway before the end of the year. The Spain-based company has said that it is to invest €2.5million in the new facility at La Moral de Langreo which will take 12 months to complete.

Italcementi has announced that it raised €500million from the sale of non-core assets in the first quarter of this year and has said it plans to continue with this strategy through the rest of 2011. One of the major businesses sold off by the company so far this year was its wind farm assets in Turkey, which were estimated to be worth €367million.

The markets for aggregates and ready mixed concrete in Europe have declined by 25% since the recession hit the region but improvement is underway, according to a new report from BDS Marketing Research. The report said that trading conditions continue to be difficult in countries such as Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Greece but analysis of 20 European countries shows conditions are improving. Production across the 20 survey countries in 2009 reached 2.8billion tonnes – the lowest figure since the start of the

Cemex Bétons is aiming to improve customer understanding of the latest concrete technology with opening of a new showroom at its French headquarters in Palaiseau. The new ready mixed concrete display facility will also be used to demonstrate the decorative finishes possible when concrete is used with Grace Construction products.

Call for new crushing equipment is almost as high as the demand for higher quality aggregates from customers. Claire Symes reports. Europe's crushing and screening sector has been valued at around €2billion annually and is growing fast. "The crushing sector is growing at roughly the same rate as GDP and in some markets in Europe, it is increasing at a higher rate than that," said Metso Minerals president for Europe, Middle East and Africa Luis Santos.

Ifsttar is to develop new types of concrete for the two tunnels on the railway being built between Lyon, France, and Turin in Italy. Called the Lyon-Turin Ferroviaire, the Ambin Tunnel will be 57km and the Orsiera Tunnel 19km. Ifsttar joined forces with Holcim, Vicat, the materials research lab LERM, and the railway designer to find ways of using a third of the estimated 19million m³ of debris removed while digging the tunnels.

Organisers of Smopyc 2011 say they have reached agreements with groups of buyers and trade missions from “strategic countries” that will make the event “a key gate to the markets of North Africa, the Mediterranean arc, South America and Asia.” The 15th international show of public works, construction and mining machinery (www.smopyc.es) is being held in Zaragoza, Spain, from 5-9 April, 2011. Feria de Zaragoza, the organisers, said that this edition of the exhibition shows its ongoing commitment to the secto

In 2010, the net income of Ukraine’s Mikolaiv Cement, which belongs to France's Lafarge, dropped 8.3% year-on-year to €40.82 million. The volume of incomplete construction grew to nearly €17.6 million, and while the plant produced 851,900tonnes of cement worth nearly €37.9 million, its long-term liabilities grew by 24% to €6.2 million.

Austrian gravel producer Köhler Kiesabbau is reported to have filed for insolvency but has launched a restructuring programme in a bid to keep the business operational. Quarrying at the company’s site ceased on 28 October and directors have since been working to find a financial solution.

French aggregates association Unicem has announced that Lafarge’s quarry in Fercé-sur-Sarthe, France has achieved level four standard in its environmental charter – the highest level possible. The site is the 51st within Lafarge’s French operation to gain this standard.

Enlargement of Rotterdam Harbour in the Netherlands will call for one of the largest marine aggregates extraction sites in Europe. Ad Stolk from the Netherlands' Rijkswaterstaat (Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management) reports

Marine aggregates form a vital source of sand for many construction markets in Europe, but in the Netherlands much of the material extracted is not used for concrete production. The Netherlands' current annual 42 million tonnes extraction is mainly used for coasta

Risk to direct employees in quarries has been cut significantly in recent years but the potential for preventable accidents among contractors remains high. Claire Symes reports

Sberbank has offered to restructure Russia-based quarry operator Pavlovskgranit’s €121million loan in return for a 51% share in the business with a buyback option. The company has said that it has produced 3.8million m3 of aggregates in the first nine months of this year compared to 2.9million m3 in the same period last year but experts have warned profits are likely to be lower in 2010 due to debt levels. Pavlovskgranit has said that it is currently looking into other refinancing options and is in negotiat

Germany-based Oberrheinische Baustoff (ORB) opted for a Doosan DX420LC excavator following a three month trial of the machine from Doosan dealer F Schünke at the granite quarry. With the previous excavator at the quarry definitely showing its age, ORB invited various manufacturers to provide excavator models to compete in the three month stone quarrying test to find a replacement. According to ORB, the Doosan machine was a clear winner with it delivering up to 35% less fuel consumption than one of the other

Investments linked to Euro 2012 are expected to provide a boost to the Polish cement market, according to Cemex Polska. The company has also warned that the demand will drive up price by around 10% but this will be necessary to meet higher maintenance costs. Despite the improved prospects, Cemex has said that its plans for a new cement production facility in Poland will remain on hold and investment in reserves has been given a higher priority.

France’s aggregates association (Unicem) has announced that production of aggregates in the country rose to 33.3million tonnes in September this year, significantly up from the 22.5million tonne total recorded in August 2010. Nonetheless, the organisation has said that the September total for this year was slightly down on the 33.9million tonnes recorded in the same month in 2009.

Lafarge Aggregates and Concrete has gone beyond the requirements of new UK legislation by fitting new blind spot mirrors to its entire road transport fleet. Under latest legislation, all new trucks must be fitted with front blind spot mirrors but Lafarge has opted to improve safety across the board by retro-fitting the mirrors to all its haulage fleet. The company has retrofitted the mirrors to around 250 aggregate and asphalt trucks and is liaising with hauliers to ensure a quick turnaround.

Investing in new equipment and selective working has enabled Alves Ribeiro's quarry near Lisbon to remain profitable despite Portugal's ongoing recession. Claire Symes reports. High in the hills above the vibrant city of Lisbon is a quarry which is equally as vibrant, despite the current recession in Portugal. Alves Ribeiro's Moita da Ladra quarry has seen its output drop from 240,000tonnes in 2002 to 100,000tonnes this year but has still managed to remain profitable. According to Alves Ribeiro equipment di

Many quarry operators opt for pumps with long-used designs rather than looking for newer alternatives that could offer cost and efficiency savings. Claire Symes reports. Limited access to new mineral resources in Europe means that quarry operators have to quarry deeper at existing sites or work in less than ideal conditions. In many cases this involves managing ground water on site effectively to allow work to continue, but while minimising environmental impact.

According to Godwin Pumps managing direc