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Use of blue cones on the ground to mark potential overhead obstructions has helped Lafarge Contracting to win national recognition from the UK’s Institute of Highways and Transportation. The initiative took the highly commended spot in the health and safety at work category of the institute’s annual awards. Judges called it an “exceptional addition to on-site health and safety management” and said, “This is a simple but very effective system that clearly identifies a real hazard to those working within the

UK-based Breedon Aggregates has announced that it has reached an agreement with administrators to buy out C&G Concrete for £10.15million. Breedon has said that the acquisition is an excellent geographical and operational fit for the company. “We are delighted to have secured such a high quality business as our first bolt-on acquisition and look forward to welcoming C&G’s employees into the group,” said Breedon executive chairman Peter Tom. “C&G has a strong market position and excellent asset base in Lincol

Improved sales in the Northern Europe, South and Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico are cited as the main drivers for increased sales at Cemex during the second quarter of the year. Sales were up 9%, compared to the same period last year, to US4.1billion with infrastructure and residential markets being noted as the main growth areas. Nonetheless, operating EBITDA was down by 7% to US$615million. “This is the third consecutive quarter of top-line growth in our results,” said Cemex executive vice pres

Coastal defence work is a race against the changing tides, requiring heavyweight engineering answers and on-site technical support, as well as high quality materials Rising sea levels mean that coastal defence schemes are becoming increasingly important to many seaside towns and villages. While the technology to track the rate of change in sea levels is advancing, so are the materials to provide the engineering solutions.

In the UK, a £7.7million (€8.9million) project is underway to protect up to 10,5

Portugal-based cement producer Cimpor has said that it has secured €100million of private investment from an unnamed international company. According to Cimpor, the company offered better terms than local banks or the Portuguese government. Cimpor has said that the loan will be repaid over the next four years and means that the company will not need to seek extra funding in the next two years.

Ensuring contractor competence has always been key to reducing accidents but is not always easy to do. ABE takes a look at the passport scheme used in the UK. Reducing accidents is a target for the whole European quarrying industry and many companies have implemented initiatives and employee training to minimise risks. But significant numbers of aggregates operations rely on contractors for a whole variety of quarry tasks and ensuring this group has sufficient training and knowledge is a difficult challenge

Eurocement has announced that it is planning to build a new cement plant in the Stavropol region of Russia and has signed agreements with the North Caucasus authorities. According to the company, the region has proven reserves of limestone but no operating cement plant.

In the first half of 2011, the plant of reinforced concrete structures company Beton Nova, based in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, increased its output to 23,638m³ from 11,568m³ a year earlier. The revenue from sales totalled €6.94 million a 2.34-fold growth year-on-year.

Lafarge has announced that it has agreed to sell the Australian part of its gypsum business to Knauf for €120million. The division represents two manufacturing facilities for gypsum wallboard and other compounds along with a national network of distribution and retail centres.

The Arbitration Court of the Voronezh region of Russia has ruled that Sberbank’s transfer of Pavlovskgranit’s shares was illegal and the court has seized the shareholding. The ruling follows the bank’s transfer of a 36.37 % stake in Pavlovskgranit, owned by Vitera, a major shareholder of Pavlovskgranit, to the account of Sberbank Capital, Sberbank’s subsidiary.

Finnish construction group, Lemminkäinen, has reported net sales of €550 million in the second quarter of 2011, up from €460 million in the same period of 2010. The group's operating profit amounted to €20.6 million, which was up from €19.5 million in the second quarter of 2010. Earnings before taxes amounted to €16.1 million in the second quarter of 2011, which was up from €14.6 million a year earlier.

Delivery of a three stage mobile crushing and screening plant is a logistical challenge, but one powerscreen Dealer semc hardware recently completed this in South America. Getting new equipment to the quarry site can always be a logistical challenge and often involves final assembly of equipment on site. But one recent delivery of a new crushing and screening plant to a quarry in the South American jungle brought an even larger range of challenges

The reuse of old asphalt is set to increase rapidly, with predictions that one day it will be possible to utilise 100% of the 'waste'. The use of reclaimed asphalt has been on the increase for some years, but according to asphalt plant producer Ammann too much is still consigned to noise barriers or landfill.

The Swiss-based international company claims that more than 500million tonnes of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) produced in 2008 was perfectly useable with the quality of the mineral and filler

Environmental innovation and efforts to extend eco-friendly practice have helped Lafarge Readmix’s division in the UK win an International Green Hero. The company was presented with the award by The Green Organisation in recognition of the environmental benefits of the company’s Exentsia flooring product range, which has 20% lower CO2 emissions than other similar products.

Building materials suppliers are said to be bracing for more pain as the UK Highways Agency, cuts spending by 44% over the next three years. Cement and other producers have warned of plant closures and job losses as the HA, which is the responsible for maintaining and developing the nation’s road network, looks set to cut spending €1 billion in 2014, compared with just under €2 billion.

The resignation of CRH chief executive of building products and distribution in Americas Bill Sandbrook has triggered a change in the management structure in the business. CRH has said that Sandbrook has stood down in order to pursue other business interests and that the chief executives of the building products, building envelope and distribution divisions will now report directly to CRH Americas CEO Mark Towe.

Plans to extend Cemex’s limestone quarry in Carresse-Cassaber in south western France have been submitted to authorities and the company hopes to gain consent early next year in order to maintain production at the site. Consented reserves at the site are expected to be exhausted at the end of this year but Cemex has submitted plans to extend the quarry by 11ha in a bid to maintain the 200,000tonne per year output.

Spanish cement producer Cimsa has announced the opening of a new cement terminal and packaging facility at Alicante Airport. The new €10million facility has a capacity of 10,000tonnes and will be further extended towards the end of the year with installation of a second storage silo at the site.

High inflation and slow recovery in mature markets has prevented Lafarge growing is sales in the second quarter of the year. The company has reported revenues of €4.4billion, which are stable compared to the same period last year. The company also reported a drop in operating income of 16% to €702million.

Efforts to reduce the risk of accidents at Cemex’s Lloseta cement plant in Spain have helped the facility to win an award from the Baleares Confederation of Business Associations. The company was presented with the award for recognising and fostering the integration of labour health and safety in the company’s development, as well as educating workers so they can adopt safe behaviours in the workplace.