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Stockbrokers placed a 'buy' rating on the Irish building materials company. A robust first quarter performance by Masco, a US-based producer of building and home improvement products, was cited by NCB as a factor contributing to it placing a 'buy' rating on CRH. However, NCB warned of the unpromising prospects for the residential construction sector.

Swiss cement and aggregates manufacturer Holcim is concentrating on organic growth in emerging markets, being currently active in 13 of the 15 most significant construction markets. Holcim believes that its international business enabled it to remain relatively resistant to the financial crisis, as 75% of its production capacity is in the emerging markets. The company is not active in Japan, due to over-capacity cement production there, meaning that the company would have to enter the market via a takeover.

In 2010, the net income of the HeidelbergCement Ukraine, comprising HeidelbergCement Group's cement plants in Ukraine, grew by 3.6% year-on-year to €79.95 million. According to verified data, net loss totalled over €17 million against the previously reported €16.4 million.

Tarmac has boosted its capacity to deliver aggregates by rail to sites in central London, England, and the south-east of the country following an investment in a new fleet of state-of-the-art rail wagons by DB Schenker, the transportation and logistics company. The 12 new freight wagons, manufactured by County Nottinghamshire-based company WH Davis, are each capable of hauling over 75tonnes of product and will allow Tarmac to deliver product more easily and efficiently to sites and terminals in the heart of

According to forecasts by SoyuzCement (the Russian cement producers organisation) cement production may grow by 15% in Russia in 2011. In 2010, according to preliminary estimates, cement output will increase to 50.4 million tonnes as against 44.3 million tonnes in the previous year. Local cement plants are capable of producing 78 million tonnes of cement per year, and in 2011-2012 potential output could reach 85 million tonnes.

Holcim has announced a 40 hectare extension of the limestone quarry (which covers 100 hectares today) at its Dannes cement factory in northern France. The unit, which employs 90 staff, produces 300,000tonnes of cement out of an installed capacity of 400,000tonnes. In 2011, the Swiss construction materials giant will invest €2.5 million in the factory, whose activities will be discontinued from mid-February to mid-March.

According to a report on global cement consumption in 160 countries from the International Cement Review, some 3.86 million tonnes of cement will be used in 2012. In 2008, cement use rose 2.4% to 2.83 million tonnes while 2009 saw a 5.9% increase to 2.99 million tonnes.

SPC, the Polish Association of Cement Producers, predicts that cement production in Poland will grow by 1-1.6%, year on year, in 2010, reaching 15.7-15.8million tonnes. In 2011, demand for cement is forecast to increase by 7-8%, which will mean that after the economic crisis in 2009 the cement industry will be able to come back to the record-breaking levels it achieved in 2008.

With the price of fuel continuing to rise across Europe, quarry operators are turning to conveyors as a more cost effective hauling option. Claire Symes reports

When Cemex started to look at ways of cutting its energy bills at all of its quarries across France, it looked at a range of options to meet its targets. But one initiative that it is trying to apply at every site is the move from trucks to conveyors for hauling materials.

"Our overall aim was to reduce our fuel and electricity bills by 10% be

Cemex says it has developed a carbon footprint tool, the first of its kind in the building materials industry that allows the company to measure the greenhouse gases emissions of its cement, ready-mix and aggregates products. Unveiling to CO2 tool at COP16, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, the company says the footprint tool considers a cradle-to-gate approach, from raw material sourcing to product manufacturing, providing significant assistance to customers in the building se

New crushing and screening equipment investment at the Isle of Man's historic Poortown Quarry has given the site a new lease of life. The Isle of Man is world famous for the motorbike TT races and attracts motorsport fans from far and wide who want to test the island's famous roads for themselves. Probably few consider where the materials to surface the island's roads came from but for the last 128 years much of the aggregates have been sourced from Poortown Quarry.

Lafarge, which claims to have the most advanced research laboratory in the world for construction materials, based in Lyon, France, is currently working on improving cement production techniques and also improving the performance of products to make them more energy efficient, and thus help the group meet European regulations. The French cement company, which invests €150 million in research, says a key element towards this is reducing the use of clinker as its decarbonation represents 60% of emissions when

According to CMPro, in 2011 the Russian cement production may grow to 55 million tonnes. In the first quarter of 2011, the output totalled 8.5 million tonnes of cement: in 2010 the manufacturing reached 50.5 million tonnes.

Cemex has been informed by the European Commission that it has decided to initiate formal proceedings in respect of possible anti-competitive practices in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Confirming receipt of the notice from the EC, a statement from Cemex said: "The Commission has indicated that Cemex, as well as seven other companies [not named], will be included in these proceedings. "This development stems from an investigation

Moscow-based Gras has launched a new plant producing Ytong cellular aerated concrete in the Saratov region of western Russia. The project investments totalled some RUB 2.4 billion (€58.67 million). The plant has been built using technology by Hess from the Netherlands; its capacity totals 500,000m³ a year and it employs 120 workers.

Janos Sarkad, president of the Hungarian Association of Cement Producers (Magyar Cementipari Szovetseg), has revealed that domestic cement consumption is predicted to continue to decline in 2010. The country's total cement consumption is forecast to drop to between 2.5 and 2.6 million tonnes compared to the 4 million tonnes recorded in 2008. Sarkadi predicts that cement consumption may start to increase from 2012, when growth is forecast to reach between 2-4%.

HeidelbergCement has been informed by the European Commission about the decision to initiate formal proceedings in respect of possible anti-competitive practices in the markets of cement and related products in some countries of the European Economic Area. The Commission has indicated that HeidelbergCement, as well as seven other companies, will be included in these proceedings. This proceeding is not new, but stems from an investigation launched by the European Commission in November 2008. No concrete alle

Two graduates from Aalborg University, northern Denmark, have invented a new method for curved concrete casting. Mathias Kræmmergaard Kristensen and Christian Raun have now started a business based on the new casting method and believe that a commercial form will be available by early 2012. The casting form, according to Kristensen, will speed up the production of double-curved concrete elements for architects. It will also reduce the cost in comparison to the common method used today.

High cost of landfilling and difficulty gaining permission for new quarries means that soil washing can provide vital resources to the construction market. Claire Symes visited two sites in Switzerland to find out more

On the outskirts of Zurich is an industrial unit that has been transforming contaminated granular material into prime aggregates for the last 15 years. The blue clad building is not a warehouse but is home to what was one of the worlds first soil washing facilities when it opened in 1992.

Aardvark Concrete, the UK-based concrete pumping company, is to be wound up. The winding up of the business, which is no longer trading, follows a hearing at Leeds District Registry in November. Aardvark, officially known as Multicat Plant Sales, had UK distribution rights to the Bay-Linx Multicat spreader, a vehicle that can unload and spread 18tonnes of sand, stone or topsoil within seconds.